Throughout my teaching career I have been confronted with three challenges:
-1-How can I inspire students to think critically, creatively and independently?
-2-How can I give students a way of viewing our society through the eyes of others so that they come to realize that there is more than one rational way to solve any given problem?
-3-How can I give students a feeling that they have a moral obligation to make personal contact with people living other ways of life?

The first challenge is one which many teachers seem reluctant to face. While we live in a nation where we have access to staggering amounts of information, we usually only teach students how to read a text and then regurgitate on a test what they've read. We teach knowledge, but what about wisdom? Critical thinking?

I've developed a method which encourages students to think critically and to welcome criticism. My students must complete two take home essay tests. Each one amounts to one third of their mark. The tests are, in effect, short research papers. They select one of several questions, each of which has more than one correct answer. They are graded on how rationally and completely they support their point of view with specific, detailed information.

However, the key to my method is the other third of their grade. This consists of five short reaction papers focusing on controversial topics which are relevant to the course work. Papers must be thoughtful, contain specific detail and be properly formatted. If the paper is completed, it receives an "A" and if not, a zero. A preprinted cover sheet is attached to each paper with a checklist (for teacher's use) of positive and negative criticisms. An estimate is also given of what the paper would have earned if it were a test.

For many years students overwhelmingly report many positive outcomes:
*They explored issues they were never aware of before.
*For the first time in their lives, they were criticized without being penalized. Being rewarded for accepting criticism made them demand more.
*They became more demanding of themselves and thus assumed more responsibility. Learning now had a positive,rather than a negative impact.
*They developed renewed appreciation for the essential role the library plays in a high quality educational institution and in developing critical thinking.
*They got to explore certain issues in detail at their own speed. This frequently leads to a desire to continue being well-read and well-informed long after the class ended.
*They got several "dry runs" before the tests, eliminating much pre-test anxiety and frequently making the test itself a positive experience.
*They learned to share their ideas with other students and to rebut challenges from their professor without feeling intimidated.
*They realized that their professor was committed to this college's policy of emphasizing reading and writing across the curriculum.

The second challenge is one of great personal concern. Many of today's students are just as unaware as some of our elected officials are that this nation was founded by people who realized the importance of making compromises. Ethical compromises cannot be made unless individuals attempt to visualize issues and problems through the eyes of all others who are involved.

I attempt to deal with this challenge in several ways. I frequently make use of my collection of rare books containing contemporary accounts of key events in early American history so that my students can experience the swirling emotions of the immediate event, before it has been coldly dissected by historians using the luxury of accumulated data.

I also make use of slides of my visits to the Huli, Yatmul and Karawari peoples of Papua/New Guinea as well as the Sao people of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu to communicate to my students how they view American society. I have also shared with students my experiences temporarily living with the 45 inhabitants of remote Pitcairn Island, descendants of English sailors who precipitated the famous mutiny on the "Bounty" in 1789.

I frequently include guest speakers in my teaching agenda. Besides foreign guests, state and local officials my students have also had the experience of meeting prominent federal officials and key members of the international diplomatic community "off the record."

The third challenge is often ignored in our country now that "neo-isolationism" seems to be loudly trumpeted from many quarters. One of the 25 people (of all ages) whom I regularly correspond with, a Russian professor of English literature, wrote to me that world peace can only occur if all people assume a moral obligation to communicate with at least one foreign friend. How true!

I have connected more than five dozen students, neighbors and relatives in the last ten years with Russian, Ukrainian, German and French counterparts. In the 1980's I persuaded our local elementary school to "adopt" the little primary school in Mandou Village on tiny Vonavona Island in the Solomon Islands. The children exchanged water color drawings and written messages. My wife and I visited Vonavona in 1989 as the guests of the villagers of Mandou and were fascinated to see how interested the children were in quickly learning how to speak English to better communicate with their distant American friends.

Over the years my students have raised money to pay for a year in high school for a boy from Tongoa Island,Vanuatu, helped collect childrens' books for the little library on Pitcairn Island and collected clothing and books for children on the remote south Atlantic British Colony of St. Helena Island.

I hope that my multifaceted attempts at reaching my students have helped to create compassionate, self-confident individuals who value learning as a lifetime commitment.

In our nation teachers do an excellent job of conveying knowledge. However, the real challenge is to effectively encourage students to acquire wisdom.