1/16/2001
On Teaching and Learning
I am a professional Romantic. I am a follower of
Rousseau in his emphasis on the distinctive nature of the
individual human being. Each student is unique and learns
differently from all other students. Teaching must,
therefore, be a process that is constantly created and
re-created, just as learning is. The American philosopher
John Dewey once said that there can be no teaching
unless learning takes place. A teacher must be
constantly attentive to his or her students and must
address their needs rather than adhere to some
predetermined ideal or standard of what a student
should be. When I step into a classroom, my aim is to
have this credo before me and to keep it there.
James Shokoff
Professor of English
State University of New York
Fredonia, New York 14063
My First Teaching Experience
In a woods near Fuerth and Nuremberg, Germany, November 1955
Photo by Avrum Hyman. Left to right: William Sherman, Watertown, NY; Morton Blankman, Baltimore, MD; James Shokoff; and Raenard B. Walker, Asheville, NC.
Background
Contact me at: Fenton Hall 264, or phone 716 673 3858, or e-mail:
James.shokoff@fredonia.edu
Return to the home page of the Department of English, SUNY Fredonia.