James W. Vick

"At the heart of my teaching philosophy is a characteristic of my basic nature: I have a fundamental desire to connect with other people, to understand their ideas and concerns, and to use whatever knowledge and talent I have to help them discover new and fascinating things about the world around us. I am convinced that students can have an exceptional experience when they know that I care about them and that I will celebrate their success along with them. For this reason, I try to develop a personal relationship with every student in the class, even when the numbers are over a hundred. If students know that I care, that I know their names and something about them, and that I am aware of how they are doing in the class, then they have more at stake, and they are willing to put forth greater effort."