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<<back to
publications<< ...The World is Designed by People Who
Dare to Imagine!.. ...>> to Teach0logy.xyz>> This
page provides the minimum
information everyone should know about me. One
of the first things I tell my students is that the most important ability for
succeeding in a physics course (and in life) is not mathematics, or even
logic, it is imagination (and persistence). |
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Dr.
Valentin Voroshilov: |
Imagine that you are on a plain (or taking
a train, or a bus), and talking to your neighbor. Turns out, he is in education;
for years has been teaching math, logic, problem solving,
but lately mostly physics; developed and taught courses
to middle school students, to high
school students, to college and
university students, to students with
learning disabilities; has a M.S.
in Theoretical Physics and a PhD
in Education with focus on teacher
professional development; taught courses to teachers;
consulted school and district
officials on managing innovations in education; was a consultant to a state
department of education to help with writing a
program for strategic development of the state system of education; was an
assistant to a director of a regional institute for
teacher professional development, ran an institution
responsible for development of analytical documents and policy
recommendation for the department of education of a city of the size of
Boston (and often did all this at the same time). No doubt, you would think that this guy was an expert in the
field of education: an expert in teaching, an expert in advancing teaching
practices. This guy is me, Dr. Valentin Voroshilov. I
was wearing all those “hats” in Russia before I moved in Boston. My career
was very promising, but I gave it up for a chance to move my family away from
a new “Tsar”. At the time, I had no publications in
English. I didn't even speak English.
I had to start from a square one. First as a janitor. Learning English using
books, radio, and TV shows. Today I have recovered the most of my previous career (very proud of it!):
I work full time at Boston University, I teach
(mostly physics) and I
am good at teaching; I
publish (in English!). I’m productive. I am also reentering
the field of consulting
and teacher
professional development. |
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In
the end, I have a very broad teaching and research experience. In one word, I
have become a TeachSmith, so to speak.
The journey from a teacher to a TeachSmith
was long and wavy, but not unique, has many shareable elements common to
every professionally growing educator (and summarized in book “Becoming a STEM Teacher”). To
get to know me better, I would recommend to check the following three
web-links (would not take more than 20 minutes of total time): “Backpack Full of Cash”: pointing at a problem without
offering a solution The
Essentials of Teaching Science I have five LONG-term projects (Might take decades to complete! But
keeps blood running) My
connections: linkedin: http://lnkd.in/YCKbb2 facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VVTeachOlogy twitter:
https://twitter.com/VV_TeachOlogy The
link to the full bio http://www.teachology.xyz/vvli.html The
link to YouTubeCast “videos” YouTubeCasts P.S. Please, be
advised that I am NOT the only Valentin Voroshilov on the Web, but I am the
only one who teaches math and physics, does research in education, writes on
education, and consults educators (and anyone who asks J )! Also, I
don’t know if I am a relative to Kliment
Voroshilov. P.P.S. I think,
there are not many people who would call me “plain”, or “vanilla”. I may
polarize people (not always, but it happens)! Most people like me (I hope),
and find me smart, and witty, and open, and helpful. But some people do not
like me; they try to avoid interactions with me. After having reflecting on
many years of my professional life I came up with a conclusion that those
people may see me as threat to their “status quo”. I am not sure why do they
see me that way; I am not a “cuckoo in the nest” who tries to kick out others
and take their place. Maybe it is because I like saying what is on my mind (and
not always know how to say straight things and make them sound smoothly).
When I have a professional discussion, I often see different possible
interpretations of what others say, and want to
clarify things for me by asking multiple questions. Maybe because of that
people think that I am challenging them, or I do not trust their judgment. Among
several strong traits of mine I would list creativity and productivity (e.g. GoMars.xyz/lc.htm and www.Cognisty.How). My background
in theoretical physics coupled with experience in teacher professional
development and educational consulting helps me to solve non-trivial
problems. I also have a sense of humor (probably with a hint of Russian
flavor). Among
various deficiencies of mine, the top one is the language (as a self-taught),
and the absence of charisma. Charisma is the ability to say “simple” or
“trivial” things in such a way so people would feel like they hear an
eye-opening revelation; that makes people feel excited and touched. For me,
it is difficult to present modest things as a “revelation”. As the result,
often I may sound boring (or, maybe that is because the structure of my
thoughts is Russian, but dressed up in English
words). For
me, the most of the events fall into one of the two categories: I don’t have
an opinion on it; or I do have an opinion on it. In the latter case my
opinion is usually strong (which may be considered as both – a strength and a
weakness), but only because it is usually based on a specific reasoning,
which I always offer to share. I never force anyone to agree with me (at
least, outside of the classroom), but I always ask an opponent to present
clear logic behind his/her disagreement. I’m
a physicist by trade, but a teacher by genes. That means that judging people
is built-in in my genetic code (but I can manage this intention), and Albert
Einstein represents the etalon of men. P.P.P.S. These are
some of my favorite sayings (meaning, I love them, not I invented them): “If
you didn't succeed first time, try and try again.” “Repeating
again and again the same actions and expecting a different result is an
insanity.” These two are
mine: “Mistakes are inevitable and unavoidable. There is no shame in
making a mistake. There is shame, though, in insisting that you didn't, when
even you already know that you did.” “If
you look in a mirror, and do not like what you see, do not blame the mirror!” (BTW:
a mirror is an object or a person
interaction with which/whom activates the process of reflection on (a)
personal appearance; (b) external environment; or (c) internal psychological
state). |
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It
is a well-known fact from psychology that many people value differently
the same statement depending
on its source; namely, if the statement comes from a person they know and
value, they are less critical and more acceptable to the substance of
statement (the “halo effect”, for example: https://www.verywell.com/what-is-the-halo-effect-2795906). I
cannot count on the positive bias toward me because I have no recognizable
name. That is why I always want to offer some information about me, to
solidify my credentials in the field of education. Next
web-links may help to build a better image of me: This link leads
to a 1-minute read about my personal views. My
professional views available on two websites: www.GoMars.xyz and Congisity.How;
the total information provided there is an equivalent of a large textbook on
teacher professional development (in addition to my book and a booklet
showcased on the main page). <<back to
publications<< ….......
..........>>
to Teach0logy.xyz>> |