Have you ever thought about teaching accounting at the college level? Would you like to help instill practical insights into the college curriculum? Do you have a desire to give back to the community by supporting education? Would you like to help equip today's college students with practical knowledge, taught from the perspective of your experience in the field, and potentially identify new hires for your firm? Have you thought about exploring a potential new career or second career in teaching, whether you are presently working, in transition between jobs, retired, or thinking about retirement?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, did you put the dream of teaching aside because you thought only those with PhD's could teach at the college level? If that's the case, you may not be aware that colleges today encourage a diverse faculty pool, including professors who hold PhDs and are deemed Academically Qualified (AQ) to teach, as well as a certain number of professors who do not hold a PhD but have substantial experience in accounting or finance, and are deemed Professionally Qualified (PQ) to teach.
Would you find it worthwhile to spend a weekend learning more about teaching from master teachers in a program sponsored by the American Accounting Association (AAA), the professional association of accounting professors? Then consider signing up for AAA’s 2nd Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA), set to take place Saturday August 1-Sunday August 2, 2009 in New York City. The program is held in conjunction with AAA's Annual Meeting Aug. 1-5 in New York City. Separate registration for CTLA is required and space is limited; early registration is encouraged.
Steven Zelin, The Singing CPA, has taught some continuing ed courses at Baruch College and for CPE Inc., and is thinking about signing up for the CTLA program. He says, "I feel that professionals who teach or are considering teaching should attend a program like AAA's CTLA program to get the inside scoop on the most effective techniques for teaching and also build a support network as they transition onto this new path. It sounds like a terrific way to focus on the art of teaching and learn new and different ways to engage your students."
Zelin notes (warning: shameless plug), "Of course the best way to prepare for class is to invest in Steven Zelin CDs." Zelin adds: "Here's a quote from a professor, Beau Baez: 'I am a tax and business professor and I loved Steven's album. I use humor in my classroom and have already played one of his songs for my class." Curious if the endorsement from 'Beau Baez' was for real, I tracked him down and learned that Beau Baez is indeed an Assistant Professor at the Charlotte School of Law. Given his interest in music, I asked if he is related to Joan Baez. His reply: "I am related to Joan Baez, though not the Joan you are thinking about—my brother married a girl named Joan." Albeit this was just a brief email exchange, I got the feeling Baez is an earnest professor; the tag line on his email was a quote by Herbert Spencer: "Education has for its object the formation of character."
Readers of this blog may recall I've talked about the CTLA (and predecessor PQ) program from time to time, including last April when I met some of my favorite former colleagues from an earlier stint at The Chase Manhattan Bank, at AAA's PQ program last year.
More recently, I attended my first Chase Alumni Association event in NYC, where I ran into some more of my favorite former colleagues. One of them (who shall remain nameless) is now teaching full-time, and I asked him how he likes teaching. His answer was: "I wish I had done this 20 years ago." If you have an interest in teaching, and you don't want to have to say - 20 years from now - "I wish I had done this 20 years ago," then check out AAA's CTLA program. Read more about the program, including some insights from FEI member and AAA immediate past-president Gary J. Previts, and FEI member Mark Moyer, a past participant in AAA's PQ program, in this FEI Summary. (Note: FEI summaries are usually accessible only to FEI members, but our summary on AAA CTLA is open access to everyone.)
0 comments:
Post a Comment