Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Lucien X. Lombardo, Professor

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice

For me teaching is a process of engagement. My engagement with the subjects and material I teach, my engagement with the students and where they are, the students' engagement with the material and their world are central to the learning process I attempt to construct.  The process of engagement produces for the students a personal ownership of what they are learning. This process becomes emotionally challenging. Courses such as "Understanding Violence"and "Violence in the World of Children", and "Crime Society and the Media"  force students to confront some of their most basic beliefs, feelings and experiences. Even my "Correctional Institutions" course has students explore and confront their beliefs about the alternatives and the realities of punishment in America. I believe learning to understand and interpret the personal meaning of the material in courses is a primary component of undergraduate education.

I believe in teaching courses which lead students through a confrontation with their views of the world.  Through interactions with the insights provided by the authors whose work we study and my attempt as teacher to understanding the subject I teach, I hope to model and  develop in my students a "self-critical awareness" which allows them to carry what they have learned into their future lives.

I believe in providing students the tools which they can learn for the rest of their lives. It is the concepts which shape our understanding and perspectives which are the tools. Concepts allow us to analyze, think about and make better sense out of our world. "An unexamined life is not worth living, at least for humans" says Socrates. In providing students with concepts I believe I am providing them with tools with which they can examine their world and add value to the lives they will live long after they have left my classroom.

Indeed, the classroom is simply the laboratory, the place to explore, think about and learn that our personal experience is shared by many (this is what research and scholarly writing bring to us). The proving ground for my teaching is in the lives the students' live and personal decisions they make well beyond the classroom walls. The most important quality I can give my students is their independence from their teacher and the ability to become learners and teachers in their own lives and in the lives of others. However, the classroom is not the only place to educate. Through many Op-Ed pieces, radio and television panels I also attempt to share my knowledge and perspectives with the community at large.

One way to engage students in this laboratory is through the sharing of experience. This I often do as an attempt to model the process of engagement and "thinking about" and analyzing my world. If what I read and think about and research helps me understand the world around me and my relationship to it, is it not my responsibility as teacher to share that learning?

Besides developing and teaching courses which keep our program's curriculum current and engaged with the real world, I believe broader curriculum development is another component of good teaching. In this regard my contributions to shaping the University's General Education program have had a significant impact on the education of every student graduating from Old Dominion University since 1986 when we first instituted the program and again in the mid-1990's when the program was reviewed. The structure of our lower level general education program is based on a model I presented to the General education committee in 1984. Our current upper level focus areas and clusters developed from a model I proposed to our most recent General Education Reform Committee in 1994. I am also our program's only faculty member teaching writing intensive courses.

I also believe that it is important as a teacher to sharpen ones skills and develop new perspectives. For this reason during the past twenty years I have been involved in every major curriculum development project at the University: Writing Across the Disciplines, Third World Studies, African-American Studies, and Women's Studies in an attempt to learn new ways of helping students learn.

During my tenure at Old Dominion University I have constantly involved myself in the nexus between teaching and curricular innovation and research.