
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 6, 1990                   TAG: 9004250109
SECTION: FOUNDERS DAY '90                    PAGE: VT12   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ALUMNI TEACHING AWARD WINNER LOVES HER PROFESSION

Ask Lucinda Roy what she enjoys teaching most. Her eyes will light up and she'll tell you about one class and the reasons it's her favorite. Then she'll say, "But I also love to teach . . . " and give you reasons why she likes that class, too. Then immediately she'll add, "And I also love . . . " And you smile as you begin to understand.

You understand why her students rate her 3.97 (out of a 4.0) on their evaluations and write that she is "wonderful" and "fantastic."

You understand why her colleagues, in nominating her for the Certificate of Teaching Excellence that she won last year, say her teaching combines "intellectual rigor and personal warmth" or that "she inspires in her students the self confidence necessary for learning." You realize that one of the major reasons Lucinda Roy is an excellent teacher and winner of this year's Alumni Teaching award is that she loves teaching.

Roy, an award-winning poet, novelist and assistant professor, teaches creative writing, poetry writing, African literature, poetry, freshman English, introduction to drama and British literature, as well as a course called "Women and Creativity." And she has a "consistent record of outstanding teaching in every kind of course," according to a nomination letter.

Roy says she loves teaching poetry writing because the students and teacher get to know each other through "the sharing of the kinds of intimacies that do not happen in other classes." She enjoys teaching African literature because the students know very little about the subject, but come out of the class talking about "the West African point of view" or "the dramatic experimentation in Soyinka's plays." Similarly, she can tell you a reason to enjoy each class.

Roy's major approach to teaching, she said, is to try to keep her focus on the students in several ways: by learning, if possible, all their names during the first class period so the students feel significant; by trying to see the course from the students' perspective ("the students may hate Shakespeare," she said); and by varying the pace of the classes with lectures, dynamic interaction with the students, class discussion, group work, performances and visual programs.

"One thing I think makes the class effective when it works is humor," she said. By laughing together, by seeing the absurdity of some things, the students learn to take with them "that attitude, that essential irony that they need to survive," she said.

Roy's own writing background also contributes to her effectiveness as a teacher. She has published a book of poetry, "Wailing the Dead to Sleep," and has had poetry published in numerous literary and poetry journals.

by CNB