Faculty Excellence at UMUC

Interviewer:

Please tell us about yourself—what made you decide to teach at UMUC? What kind of work do you do when you are not teaching at UMUC? Are there any life experiences that have influenced your teaching at UMUC? If so, please share one story.

Fritz Logan

I had left Mexico for Tokyo and was staying with friends, Dave and Patti, while I searched for work.One hot morning Dave looked over the top of his Japan Times and said, "The University of Maryland’s looking for an English teacher." I said, "So, why are they advertising here?" "Dunno," said Dave."Some kinda branch office? Maybe you should give ‘em a call."  "Maybe," I said, "I should give ‘em a call." That was twenty-five years ago.

These days I do a little journalism including ad features and book reviews for the Timaru Herald. Until recently, I worked at Rolleston Prison, helping inmates get their employment certificates. Currently, I work for the Literacy South Canterbury, helping adults learn to read.

I have had many such experiences, negative and positive. Among my favorites are those that I think of as echoes. These include e-mails from former students--some of them extremely former: ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. One woman, for example, and as I recently learned, is now a professional writer. She’s doing well. She said hi and thanks. I was touched. 

Similarly, a man who had studied with me in the early 90s chanced to be seated beside a UMUC friend and colleague on a trans-Pacific flight. They conversed, as people will on long flights, and soon discovered much common ground. My former student is now an English professor in his own right and credited me with inspiring him to enter that career field after separating from the military. 

Interviewer:

How would you describe your teaching style or philosophy? What experiences or person(s) have influenced your style or philosophy?

Fritz Logan

"Philosophy" is maybe too grand a term. Here is what I tell myself. Often the point is the point. That is, as I have learned, the most important aspect of any piece of writing is the main idea which informs it. Attempting to elaborate on a non-existent or effectively dead idea (e.g., The True Meaning of Christmas) is worse than wasted effort. On the other hand, the person who, through practice and hard work, is able to find an arguable point and articulate it, structure it, elaborate on it, and defend it, well, that person has a valuable skill. Reasoned discourse is the one thing liberally educated persons should be able to do and the one thing most of them can’t.

As an undergraduate I studied philosophy with E.J. Halfter, a Harvard emeritus. He was brusque, candid in the extreme, and maddeningly demanding. As a graduate I studied with Joyce Carol Oates, who had no interest in the almost-right word. Later, I studied with M.L. Ross, at Alberta. After three years I had compiled a gigantic 600-page dissertation. I knew he would be impressed. He looked at it and shook his head. "Cut it in half," he said. A year later I handed him a 300-page dissertation.  "Cut a hundred pages out of that, and figure out what your point is." These three and many others have influenced me. 

Interviewer:

Please explain if you do something special or unique in your teaching and what made you develop this.

Fritz Logan

I’m willing to put in a seemingly disproportionate amount of class time, at the outset, in order to find out what a given student really wants to say, what he or she believes to be important and true. The rest of the process is difficult enough but relatively easy.

Interviewer:

What do you think it is about your teaching style that appeals to students?

Fritz Logan

I think that it is honesty. I try to be diplomatic but at the same time truthful. Let me explain. At UMUC Asia a key requirement has been and no doubt is the ability to "follow" oneself. That is, in the student evaluation form there’s always a question like, "Would you take another course from this teacher?" The answers should be mostly yes. If the answers are mostly no, then that means everyone concerned has a big problem. Teachers that can’t follow themselves tend to find themselves elsewhere. One way for them to follow themselves is to award a too-high proportion of A’s.  (This ploy is or was called "chumming"; it fools nobody and can degenerate into a dismal little charade of pretending-to-teach-and-learn.) Teachers who consistently follow themselves without knuckling under to grade inflation, i.e., the ones who consistently come up with reasonable grade-distributions and high-end evaluations, well, these teachers simply have to work harder. They have to concentrate on the pedagogy and the meta-pedagogy of building the relationships, gaining the trust, and connecting.

Interviewer:

Do you teach face-to-face, online, or both? Do you have a preference between teaching face-to-face and online? If so, please explain.

Fritz Logan

In the past, I taught both face-to-face and online. Since 2004, I have taught online only. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. I enjoy teaching both and often wish that I could do another face-to-face course.

Interviewer:

Please tell us about your chosen discipline-i.e., what made you interested in the area initially? What do you do to stay current in your discipline? What do you like best about teaching in your discipline?

Fritz Logan

I wound up at my alma mater, Elmhurst College, more or less by accident, and then found my way into the literature and composition classes of several excellent teachers and one superb one. Then at the University of Windsor I encountered J.C. Oates, and that encouraged me to stay. I never looked back.    

I read and write to say current. I go online to the excellent UMUC library and check out the journals. I read and review what seem to be significant books. I contribute articles, stories, and poems to a variety of periodicals--from Peter Bollington’s Black Horse Quarterly to the Dexter Dispatch. The writers’ circle to which I belong comprises some of the better-known writers in this part of New Zealand.

There’s a lot to like about writing. I think the best is helping another person dig deep enough to find those core truths that each of us has,and then work them into words.

Interviewer:

What is the most challenging to you in teaching in this area? What teaching strategy do you use when you encounter the challenge? Are there any special challenges in teaching this subject matter online?  If yes, please explain what could be done to meet the challenges.

Fritz Logan

The big challenge is getting beginning writers to believe in themselves, believe that they have these core truths that are well worth expressing, believe that they can and should express them. The strategy to use is tenacity.

The big online challenge is making that all-important contact. A short welcoming comment to their student biographies can help do this. Often, something in their background or current circumstances coincides with something in mine. I use this connection. Another online challenge is the sheer planetary mass of words that must be typed, a couple hundred thousand, for some classes, and there’s no way around this necessity. Strong coffee helps.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to students who are interested in majoring or working in your discipline?

Fritz Logan

I’d say do it. Try some classes. Select different teachers. Get into the literature. See if it moves you.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the college of choice for students?

Fritz Logan

UMUC is big, well-known, and well-respected. A degree from UMUC is credible and valuable. UMUC teachers are well-qualified in the extreme. As UMUC Asia’s communications director I used to look through my people’s resumes and marvel. UMUC is famous for responsiveness to students’ needs. After World War II, of all the universities who were asked to send teachers to the troops still in Europe and Asia, UMUC said yes.

Interviewer:

In your opinion, what makes UMUC the employer of choice for future faculty members?

Fritz Logan

UMUC is big, well-known. Colleagues can and do become life-long friends. Students are appreciative. You can join UMUC and see the world. In Asia and no doubt Europe and stateside, teachers who consistently do well find that their efforts have been noted and that their positions are secure.

Interviewer:

What suggestion would you give to new faculty who are interested in teaching in your discipline at UMUC?

Fritz Logan

I’d say do it. Apply. Try to shed your preconceptions, and tone down the post-graduate self-esteem afterglow, especially if you’re headed to Europe or Asia. Read the discipline newsletter to get a feel for the job. Do your best. Don’t take critiques personally. After each class and course, try to figure out what, if anything, went wrong and what to do about it. Stay flexible.  Read the student evaluations with due diligence. Observe. Listen. Ponder. Learn.