Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2007)
4 Clackamas Print Feature Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Instructor loves job, poetrv Katie Wilson I Co-Editor-in-Chief For part-time English Instructor Steve Wallin, working at the college is a little bit like being a squirrel. “It’s a lot of work/’ he said. “I didn’t get to sleep until 1 this morn ing. I work really hard for about six months, and then in spring, when the workload lightens into the summer, I have more time to pursue my own interests. It’s kind of like being a squirrel, in a way.” Wallin has taught at Clackamas since 1990. “I did leave for a while,” he said, talking about a break he once took from teaching. “I went back into the real world, and I didn’t like it.” So, he returned to the college and has been teaching ever since. “Once I started, nothing else really compared to it,” he said. And he loves where he works. “I drive up to work with a smile on my face every day,” he said. “It’s a really nice place ... just the ambi ence. “Also, I like working with [stu dents]. I enjoy it more as I get older. I was afraid, when I started getting older, that I would be out of touch, but no. Now, I’m remembering what it was like to be them ... I’m much more protective of them now. “It’s a cool profession,” he added. “It’s a privilege ... It has its draw backs, but I don’t worry too much. I feel lucky I’m getting paid to do this.” It has its challenges as well. What doesn’t? “You see yourself when you are brain.” He went on to study sociology at tired or upset,” he said, speaking about how easy it is to take personal Portland State University, and while troubles out on the students or let it he was there, he took his first litera show in class. “You have to say, ‘No, ture class. no. Remember who they are.’ The Wallin credits the instructor of that instructor may not mean it, but they, class and another friend, a literary .critic, as being two of the people who the students, take it to heart.” The lot of a part-time instructor brought him to where he is now. It only took six words from the lit is often considered difficult, but for erary critic to keep Wallin encouraged Wallin it is near perfection itself. “In some ways, I’m a selfish per and writing poetry. “He said, ‘Don’t give up; there’s son,” he said. “I do what I like. This [part-time job] gives me time'to write, something there,’” said Wallin. “As an instructor, you never know and I’m always around really pleasant how you’re going to influence and people.” The journey Wallin took to becom affect lives,” he added, recalling how ing an instructor at the college is not these men influenced his own life. Wallin says that sometimes all a the average trip. He grew up in Vancouver, Wash.- student needs is someone to say his or and still considers it “home” even her work is good. “It’s surprising how much it helps,” though he’s lived in Portland for the last 20 years. He attended high school he said. “For better or worse, I took in Vancouver; however, his interests [my instructor] at his word.” He went on to study at Brown at the time ran more towards sports - not that this was entirely a bad thing, University, and now, as an English according to Wallin. “I learned about not giving up and being tenacious from my coaches,” he said. As for the rest of high school: “I wasn’t very academic,” he said. “I only studied what I wanted to.” But that all changed when he began tak ing classes at Clark Community College. “Clark opened so many doors,” he said. “For the first time, I realized I had a instructor, Wallin feels quite capa ble at his job. Post-graduate work in English made up for his lack of cre dentials in that department. “I think I’m competent enough now,” he said, “or I fake it pretty well.” ■ He has taught almost evejy class, from the writing sequence, ¡to Introduction to Drama, to poetry. I “Poetry, of course, is my favorite,” he said. He began writing poetry in high school. What got him started was the usual muse: love. He set out to write a love poem to a young lady, but then something unexpected happened: “I realized I liked the poem more than the young lady, and I’ve been writing ever since.” Wallin loves poetry, his work and being a part-timer. “My goal is always the next class ... to live in the moment and be as I effective as I can on any given day,” ] he said. He admits that, yes, j someday he will have | to retire. But ... “They may have to ] drag me out of here.” I English Instructor I Steve Wallin says he has taught nearly I every class offered] by the English Department, but he doesn’t find his jobl boring or mundane;] he looks forward to I each class and the I challenges of work-1 ing as a part-time I instructor. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Katie Wilson Clackamas Print Class credits: They DO make sense! Frank Jordan j FINISH YOUR DEGREE AT MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY Exciting field studies Innovative instructors and motivated students Hands-on experience in small classes One-on-one mentoring Scholarships for transfer students ✓ Free parking and a convenient campus location Year-round admission To meet with an advisor, e-mail studentinfo@marylhurst.edu or call 503.699.6268. ★ US News & World Report BEST COLLEGES 2007 "Number one in thè Northwest for small dasses" MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY JUST 10 MINUTÉS SOUTH OF PORTLAND Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredited 17600 PACIFIC HIGHWAY (HWY. 43) MARYLHURST, OREGON Serving students since 1893. www.marylhurst.edu 800.634.9982 The Clackamas Print biology, for example. A biology class at Clackamas is offered for four credits. That is one hour a week, three days a week in the lecture portion and three hours a week in the lab. The lab is used to supplement the lecture. Some biology classes are inclusive; that is, they have the lecture and the lab included together.” A lot of classes that meet in the evenings and on weekends use the all-inclusive method, mainly because those classes are limited in the hours that they can meet. Those classes meet three hours a night, two nights a week. Why do they do it this way? No particular reason, except that the state university system has their requirements as far as col lege credit is concerned, and the community colleges do their best to make sure that their students are able to transfer those credits Everyone at Clackamas takes classes for different rea sons: Some want to use CCC as a springboard to further their education at a four-year school, some just want to acquire knowl edge for personal use, and some just take classes to help decide what they want to do with their lives. Clackamas requires a certain amount of credits in order to achieve a transfer degree or a certificate. Financial aid will only pay for a minimum amount of credits taken in any given term. So, the concept of college credits leaks into almost every one’s collective consciousness. But how are credits deter mined, and who decides what constitutes a college credit? “Credit for a class is essentially amount of time for lecture in a topic and any lab time used to supple ment that topic,” said Jennifer B o w n , CCC science instructor. “A specific example is lab science classes. Illustration by Kayla Berge Clackamas “Take to the state universities. Instructors at Clackamas are given great freedom on how to teach their individual classes, as long as they meet the lecture! time and lab time requirements Some instructors love to talk about a topic, so they use!up most of the lecture time, as soml of us students who have taken these classes can well attest to. Some instructors, however, love to get students some more hands-] on learning, so they use the labs I to their full extent. In the end, it really does not matter how much time is used outside of class to get homework] done. Some students do almost] no work outside of class in cer-1 tain subjects, while others spend three to four hours a week study ing and doing homework. We all learn differently. But] that time is not figured in to the] credit break down for each! class. So, next] time you sign! up for a class,] you might want to take I into account how much time you are going to be in class and how much time you will spend studying outside of class. All of those credits add up, and hopefully all of those credits earned will transfer. That is a goal that most of us share«
