By Roger A. Bowles, MS, EdD, CBET
As I write this, we are closing out the fall semester and the year at Texas State Technical College-Waco. The semester wasn’t nearly as bad in attendance as I had previously mentioned in this column. In fact, we are up in students with a starting class of 67 (normal fall starts are around 65 students) and a total number of about 150. Spring 2022 looks good also.
Our program is soon to benefit from a large influx of cash from the state of Texas that will mean more equipment and modifying facilities to better suit us in the future. I am positive that we will continue to grow. Everyone is aware of the need for future HTM professionals, and we hope to keep providing a steady supply.
In addition to the need for graduates, there is a need for teachers. Our program is looking for an imaging instructor as of this writing. Many of you reading this are more than aware that no one becomes a teacher for the money. That is certainly the case here also. The pay for instructors has not kept up with the pay in the HTM career field. In fact, most of our graduates make more than our instructors in just a couple of years. There are times when I wonder why I have stayed with this so long.
So, why teach? In my opinion, there are a couple of reasons. First, for me anyway, it is a way to give back. My associate degree in biomedical equipment technology had the greatest return of investment for me of any degree I have earned. It literally turned my life around. We see this time after time with graduates also. It means a lot to me to be able to give back to this career field. Second, it is a growing experience. You can’t help but to learn more and more about your subject when you teach it. You learn it on a deeper level when you have to explain it to someone else. And another reason? It is fun.
A lot of people have asked me, “Don’t I need to know how to teach before I become an instructor?” No. Every one of our instructors came to us as technicians. We train you how to become instructors. This is one reason I feel our program has been so successful. Technicians training technicians. Most importantly, you must have a “teacher’s heart.” You must want to teach and want what is best for the student. Sometimes, especially these days, this may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and learning different methods of delivery and accommodating different learning styles.
This year is my 25th year at Texas State Technical College as an instructor. I would never have believed I would stay here this long. I hated speaking in front of people and even to this day, I get a little jittery on the first day of class. I showed up at TSTC with dress pants, a short-sleeved white button-down shirt with a pocket protector, short hair and a briefcase. I could have sold ice cream if the teaching thing didn’t work out. Things have changed a bit. My hair is longer, the briefcase is long gone and long-sleeved dark shirts have been my go to for a while because they cover up tattoos. I teach people how to ride motorcycles or dirt bikes on the weekends. And one day, I hope to get paid to write about it.
I didn’t know how to teach when I came here as an instructor. However, every new instructor goes through training in their first couple of semesters as they are teaching. And fellow instructors are always helping each other out when questions arise. Those jitters from standing in front of students becomes excitement as you see their “light bulbs” come on. And most of our courses are lab based anyway so you will be doing a lot more “showing” than telling.
So, are you ready? I hope sometime in your career that you will consider becoming an instructor should the opportunity arise. Whether it is at a college, a company, or a hospital, teaching is a rewarding experience. Please consider it!
Roger A. Bowles, MS, EdD, CBET, is a biomedical equipment technology/medical imaging technology instructor at Texas State Technical College-Waco.