As head of Eastern Michigan University's Teacher Education Department from 1997-2004, Alane Starko had the task of observing the department's full-time lecturers in class on a regular basis. Every time Starko would get to Duane Castanier's "Schools in a Multicultural Society" course, she had the same problem.
She'd become so engaged in what was going on in class that she'd forget to take notes on Castanier's teaching.
She'd watch, deeply impressed, as students dove into discussion, drawing in points from specific authors and writings from earlier in the semester.
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ENGAGING STUDENTS: Duane Castanier, a lecturer in
Eastern Michigan University's Teacher Education
Department, converses with students (above, from
left) Julie Rutkowske, Jayonne Wynne and Diana
Dobbyn during his "Schools in a Multicultural
Society" class in 224 Porter. Castanier was the
recent recipient of EMU's Full-Time Lecturers
Outstanding Teaching Award. |
"It was clear the things they were reading were things they were really engaged with and not just assignments they blew off and forgot the day after they were due," Starko said. "His students were always talking more than he did."
It's always about the students with Castanier, a lecturer in the teacher education department since 2000 and the recipient of EMU's Full-Time Lecturers Outstanding Teaching Award for 2006-2007. Castanier will receive a plaque and a $1,000 honorarium at a yet-to-be scheduled ceremony in his honor at University House.
"Teaching is very interactive, to say the least, and I believe I am only as good as the students," Castanier said. "EMU students are great — bright, curious, wonderful to work with, cordial, respectful. We can get a lot done in a semester because of this. I am not so foolhardy to think that this honor is mine alone. I am gratified to be sure, but I easily recognize its implicit message."
Castanier has been perfecting his "Schools in a Multicultural Society" course for close to 15 years, about nine of them at EMU. He reflects the same love of teaching he first recognized in EMU professors Franklin Case (literature) and Maureen McCormack (teacher education) when he was a student.
"His classes fill very rapidly, basically within the first week," said Donald Bennion, current head of the teacher education department. "And it's not that he gives a light workload; it's not that he's a Vaudevillian entertainer. The students just really feel that they learn the subject matter and learn how to write. Word gets around."
Castainer teaches five sections of the writing-intensive course, a year-round workload that gives him about 35 hours worth of students' written work to read each week. His class not only teaches students to think critically about schools' role in society; it sharpens their writing skills and their ability to develop and articulate their position on issues.
Students write in response to every reading assignment and, after classroom discussion, they're encouraged to relate their personal experiences to concepts that come up in class, something Castanier calls "extending the conversation." By extending the conversation, students direct their own case studies.
He invites students to challenge their beliefs in an open, accepting atmosphere and many write or e-mail to tell him how much the class has helped them in ways that will make them better teachers. Castanier asks a lot of his students, but he has the utmost confidence that they'll rise to the challenge. And they do.
"I keep learning from them," Castanier said. "I may read something 30 times and a student will come into class with some perspective I never thought of."
Although his job as a lecturer only requires him to teach, Castanier's background is in literacy. He received his doctorate in curriculum, teaching and policy from Michigan State University; separate master's degrees in reading and English language and literature from Eastern Michigan University; and a bachelor's degree in English language and literature, also from EMU. He's made conference presentations on literature, literacy and running a democratic classroom. He published "Rosenblatt's Poem: A Literacy Excursion with an Adult Nonreader" and has become involved, alongside his tenure-track colleagues, in shaping the direction of his course.
"I'm very serious when I say the people I work with — the faculty and students — allow me to do it well," he said. "It's as much on them as it is on me. I don't think I could do the same thing at another university."
