In today’s post, I wanted to highlight two more works (previous posts here and here) of University of Michigan Professor Emeritus George Siedel.

First, Siedel recently wrote an informative piece in the ABAJournal entitled, Consider teaching law in a business school as an alternative career.  This helpful article should be especially useful to BLPB readers who might be interested in teaching law in a business school or simply curious to understand ways in which teaching law in a business school might be different from teaching law in a law school.  

Second, in a previous post (here) I mentioned Siedel’s book Seven Essentials for Business Success: Lessons from Legendary Professors.  I just finished reading it.  Definitely well-worth my time and effort!!  There are so many great ideas here that I can’t wait to put into practice when the fall semester begins!  It seems that great teachers combine stellar “teaching processes” with what Siedel terms “authenticity.”  From his study of and interviews with the legendary professors, he identifies “[s]ix themes relating to the teaching process” (p.186): 1) “Prepare, Prepare, Prepare,” 2) “Build a Learning Community,” 3) “Emphasize the Big Picture,” 4) “Simplify, Simplify,” 5) “Make the Learning as Interactive as Possible,” and 6) “Emphasize Why the Course Is Important.” (pp. 186-203)

While a professor’s “authenticity” is perhaps a more challenging concept to define, it is nevertheless highly important.  Siedel shares that at the beginning of a U. of Michigan course, he sends the following question to his students “What qualities do you value most in a professor?” (p.185)  While “comments on course content and delivery” seem predictable responses, he shares the following insight:

“What you might not expect – and what surprised me when I first used the questionnaire several years ago – are the large number of comments that mention qualities that are more elusive.  Almost 60% of the students used these words when describing what they value most in a professor: authentic, empathetic, passionate, love of teaching, humility, interest in and respect for the students, fair, transparent, enthusiastic, friendly, approachable, kind, lack of ego, curious, understanding, candid, energetic, patient, committed, available, and honest.”  (p.185) 

Siedel distills examples of these qualities into three clusters based on the seven professors the book profiles: “passion for the material and concern for students, dedication to continuous learning, and a higher purpose that has a positive impact beyond the classroom.” (p. 204)

Several quotes throughout the book really struck me.  I’ll highlight just three of my favorites:

“Every moment students are engaged by participation is good.” (p. 68, quoting Richard Shell, one of the profiled profs)

“[M]ost students want to know how much you care before they care how much you know” (p. 204, quoting Chris Christensen in Education for Judgement)

“[G]ood teaching cannot be reduced to technique: good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher” (p. 203, quoting Parker Palmer)

Finally, one of the seven legendary professors that Siedel profiles is Wharton Professor Richard Shell, who was also my dissertation advisor.  In the conclusion of the book and in wrapping up his discussion on authenticity, Siedel remarks “Professor Shell, says another student, is one of ‘those rare people you meet who appears to walk the talk.’ ” (p. 210)  While attending the Wharton Fin Reg Conference this past April, I had an opportunity to catch up with Richard and to seek his wisdom and advice about many things.  I can assure the student quoted that Richard is a truly rare person and a legendary professor who indeed “walks the talk.”