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Associate editor Alissa Wilkinson recently asked several friends for their best tips on teaching at the college level, and received many useful replies. Below are some of the most succinct and unique tips offered:

“For those of us who teach in academia, our view of what it means to be a student is very different than 95% of our students. For faculty, learning is a way of life, but for most of my students being in my class is just about passing a requirement.”

“Start tough, end kind.”

“Be flexible; going off topic can bring great clarity.”

“Challenge all of your students, even the smartest or most advanced ones; let them know there is always further that they can go.”

“Communicate a love for the subject. If you’re obviously passionate about what you teach, it will rub off on the students. If you’re bored with it, that will rub off, too.”

. . . Matthew Crawford‘s book Shop Class as Soulcraft has received enormous attention. Hear Matt’s interview on NPR’s All Things Considered, read reviews of his book in the New York Times and Financial Times, and watch for our own coming soon in Comment.

. . . Finally, Comment congratulates artist Miriam Cabello on receiving the 2009 Design Award from Faith & Form‘s Annual International Religious Art and Architecture Design Awards program, for her work “Stations of the Cross.”