entertainment
events
issues
music
art
14118
hilltopics
monday
4.26.99
eight.a
joing the distance
KU professor sets high goals in and out of the classroom
story by kimberly erb photo by matt daugherty
center is a resource for those facing challenges in the classroom as well as for award-winning faculty members seeking new ideas or guidance he said. There is a strong core of people on campus with a deep interest in their own improvement as teachers, he said. The role of the center is to provide support and recognition for their efforts.
cemetery was segregated. In schools, the Hispanic children were often lumped together and taught remedial courses regardless of their capabilities.
"I learned really early on that if I never raised my hand I was not going to be called by 'Rodriguez said'. He faced the discrimination again in college. A professor who knew he was considering pursuing a doctorate told Rodriguez that although he had done well, he should not attempt to always draw further. But he rose above these hurdles, go any way. During the support of his parents, who he said encouraged all of his educational goals, he would not allow space to determine his future." "The course always
Most mornings, before the sun peers above the horizon, Fred Rodriguez is running. Through the streets of Lawrence, up steep inclines and down brick roads, his 50-year-old runs because he loves running. He runs about four miles a day, and when it too cold outside, he runs on a treadmill in his home.
"To improve teaching, to improve one's profession is not a 100-yard dash. It's a long run."
Fred Rodriguez director for the Center for Teaching Excellence
In October, Rodriguez competed with 21,000 others in the 26-mile Chicago Marathon. To prepare, he right tight or nine miles daily and to 20 miles on weekends.
"My whole goal was to finish in a vertical position and to have a good time," Rodriguez said.
He held both.
together to fight the challenge for him. He did not expect to be instructed into his teaching when asked about the fact that he entered into his teaching Rodriguez said that the biggest challenges facing him were those the students noticed.
"Closing the gap between those who have resources and those who don't, the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don't, the gap between teachers who have a passion for learning and teachers who don't and the gap between those who have a system for teaching and those who don't are the biggest obstacles," he said.
A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Rodriguez began his career in education in 1971, taught at an elementary school in Ogallala, Neb. He worked as an educational consultant for the Nebraska State Department of Education and as an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia, before coming to KU in 1978. He has been an assistant professor in the department of curriculum and instruction and was made an associate professor in the department of teaching and leadership in 1984. He was named director of the center when it opened in 1997 and continues "each one course each semester."
Running is a form of therapy for him and has been a catalyst for many thoughts and ideas about his other passion - teaching
He said the two worlds, as different as they appeared, were quite similar. Both require stamina. Both require practice and a foundation on which to build. Both require goals for improvement.
Rodriguez has received several awards for his efforts to close those gaps. Among others, his honors include the W.T. Kemper Teaching Fellowship the Mortarboard Outstanding Educator Award, the Gene A. Budig Distinguished Teaching Professor and Who's who in American Education. Most recently, he was nominated to the board of the National Association for Multicultural Education. He said that of the awards, the most meaningful were selected by students.
10 improve teaching, to improve one's profession is not a 100-yard dash," he said. "It's a long run."
Rodriguez is the director for the Center for Teaching Excellence and an associate professor of teaching and learning in the School of Education. In these roles, he has been setting and achieving goals for the achievement of education for more than 60 years.
Joe McComb a Lawrence graduate student who works at the wester, said Rodriguez had taught him a great deal about teaching in and outside the classroom. He's immensely well-prepared," he said. "About every workshop that I've ever worked on with him, every little detail is well thought out." Mary Rodriguez said that her husband was driven
A significant aspect of Rodriguez's career has been his dedication to equity in education and multicultural education. He has written 10 books, several journal articles and many other scholarly guides on these subjects. His work promotes the value that americans must strive to understand, appreciate and respect the diversity that exists in society and that these ideas must be integrated into school systems.
Mary Rodriguez said that her husband was affection by a professional enjoyment of working with people.
"I think, move than anything else," he really concerned about the student's learning," said Judy Eddy, program director for the center. "In all of the programs that we have, that's what everything leads back to. You can only affect so many students in your class. This gives him a venue to do more."
terms and teaching practices.
For all students to be given an opportunity, a teacher must believe that all students can learn.
Berlioner said
"For some people it just there," she said. "I speak his gifts. He's found his silent."
our Iguiza's love of teaching and learning enhance the learner's experience motivates him as
just one of his gifts. He's found his talent." Rodriguez said he intended to preserve it. "Rodriguez said he would never give up teaching" he said. "It keeps you young. It keeps you in tune with what's in the minds of young folks today." He will keep running the race, despite hills, void
"Probably what prompted me into that field was that I saw a lot of discrepancies with how people were treated." he said.
The middle child of Hispanic parents. Rodriguez grew up in Mitchell, Neb., a rural agricultural community near the Wyoming border with a population of 1,500. The town was 30 percent Hispanic and divided by cultural differences.
He said that everything from the church to the
the center scribe:
"Is there a way that we can create a culture on this campus to acknowledge teaching, to support teachers and to improve what we do?" Rodriquez asked.
He thinks that the answer is 'yes' and that the center can be its facilitator.
The center evolved out of the need to preserve the integrity of teaching at the University. It champions excellence in teaching and offers support and encouragement to faculty members seeking to heighten their own abilities.
"Sometimes we forget that a lot of people in higher ed really don't have the background in 'how to teach' Rodriguez said.
Offerring workshops, symposiums, reference materials, department and individual conferences, the
"this is not for the short-winded," he said.