We are all students and learners and teachers.<\/p>\n
I write this in\u00a0tribute to my greatest teacher from a student\u2019s perspective. Maybe you will stop to think of a favorite teacher, mentor or role model, and perhaps even reach out and say hello to them.<\/p>\n
Dr. Elbert V. Bowden taught at Appalachian State University, and from a piercing gaze behind large, wired glasses, the wild-haired eccentric professor enthusiastically discussed his economics course assignments, office hours, grading policy and the course\u2019s planned 84 essays in a totally unusual way. \u00a0<\/p>\n
And he issued this challenge: \u201cIf past performance indicates future performance, no student will earn a Bowden \u2018A.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
With no clue of what macroeconomics was, these declarations already waged war within me. Over time, the war became a voyage to take all of his courses and to earn a Bowden \u2018A\u2019.<\/p>\n
He continued energetically: \u201cI never answer a phone but return answers to machine messages daily starting at 2 a.m., a dull time for me for which I perform routine tasks. Turn on your answering machine if you don\u2019t wish to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n
By this point in his life he had authored dozens of publications and his book,\u00a0Economics, The Science of Common Sense<\/em>, traveled the globe as a merchant marine during World War II, recorded country songs, earned a Ph.D. from Duke University, and changed the lives of thousands, challenging them to reach their potential. Appalachian State\u2019s student-managed investment fund was named in his honor in 2001.<\/p>\n He said the lack of an \u2018A\u2019 in his class resulted from a heavy work\u00a0load and his grading policy.<\/p>\n We had to study hard, write continuously and prepare for examinations.\u00a0<\/p>\n To prepare, I read, wrote, outlined, timed, and answered. I wrote essays on broad subjects in 10-minute segments creating unexpected physical and aesthetic challenges.<\/p>\n Tight pencil gripping brought perspiration that dropped onto the quiz sheets like dew drops on the morning grass. The water made the typical left-handed graphite smudges into puffy, irregularly bordered cloud-like rings of graphite. A soft knot formed on one of my fingers that started to bleed small droplets of blood onto the paper.<\/p>\n The graphite smudges, sweat, and blood mixture cast a watercolor effect upon the handwritten essay, making it an overall mess.<\/p>\n One week as Bowden handed out quizzes, he blasted: \u201cGood news, there was a Bowden A on quiz 7. Is it the student with clutter behind his desk, with dreadful handwriting, who wrote a note apologizing for the blood and sweat on the quiz?\u201d<\/p>\n I was purple-faced as he handed me the paper and said: \u201cKeep it up\u201d and \u201cKeep the clutter to a minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n I will never forget that triumphant moment.<\/p>\n Six courses, several Bowden ‘A’s, and a few years after graduation, I requested a letter of recommendation. He wrote: \u201cDenver may not know his true potential,\u201d \u201cis too worried about success to see his potential,\u201d \u2018\u2019is a hard worker,\u201d \u201cearned Bowden \u2018A\u2019s, never missed class.\u201d<\/p>\n We learned fiscal policy, the multiplier effect, and so much more in these long-lasting lessons he left us with:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n During my time with Bowden, I was challenged as never before\u00a0\u2013 and learned that I also had a desire to teach and inspire others.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s to the spirit of lifelong teaching of Dr. Elbert V. Bowden, teaching to infinity and beyond.<\/p>\n 麻豆原创 Forum columnist <\/em>Denver Severt is an associate professor with the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the 麻豆原创. He can be reached at Denver.Severt@ucf.edu. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are all students and learners and teachers. I write this in\u00a0tribute to my greatest teacher from a student\u2019s perspective. Maybe you will stop to think of a favorite teacher, mentor or role model, and perhaps even reach out and say hello to them. Dr. Elbert V. Bowden taught at Appalachian State University, and from a piercing gaze behind large,…","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":45890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[7899,1488,7882],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-47470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","tag-denver-severt","tag-economics","tag-ucf-forum"],"yoast_head":"\n