One such work explores his consternation with the limits of memory. Given his prolific output and the longevity of his teaching career, one does not wonder at a few memory lapses, but when the relative of a student commented on how much he had influenced the student’s life – inspiring her to improve her grades and to finish her degree – and he could not recall the student, he was fascinated by the difference between the student’s recall and his own. “I could not remember the student or what I had said that caused her to change direction,” he marvels. “How can you have that kind of impact on another life and not notice? But it can happen with teachers, and most often they never know it.” His interest in these student epiphanies became the focus of “Critical
Moments in Learning: A Teacher’s Ultimate Reward and Glory” (in Journal of Management Inquiry, December 2007) in which Bedeian takes on the literature related to those rare moments when teachers make an indelible impression upon their students that may not take on significance until well after the event. He found that his experience is one shared by career educators at all levels. Because, as he says, “The more I teach, the more I enjoy it – especially the undergraduates,” new generations of his students are likely to experience these “critical moments.” Meanwhile, LSU is very fortunate to have Art Bedeian around to challenge their thinking. Brenda Macon is a writer/editor living in Baton Rouge and the former editor of Kaleidoscope, the magazine of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.
LSU Alumni Magazine | Spring 2013
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