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.
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Katie Wilson Clackamas Print
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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«