2015 Outstanding University Graduate Student Teaching Award Winner- Masters I
David Ian Lee, M.F.A.
- M.F.A. in Theater, Illinois State University (2015)
- Graduate Assistant, School of Theater and Dance
Teaching philosophy
I believe in a functional approach, meeting my students where they are in their development as artists and young adults before encouraging them to step from themselves and into what lies beyond, into what they may not have thought possible.
My motivation to become a college professor
I have studied with wonderful teachers. Some of my instructors have buildings and studios that share their names, others published impressive books, but most were just people who loved the theatre and whose legacies can be found in the lives of their students. I want to earn the honor of being an educator and artist whose words are remembered.
The best moment in my teaching career
Every so often I hear from a former student seeking guidance as they approach a project. I find this outreach so exciting, and not because my expertise has been called on for a little theatre making (though that is flattering and fun) but because sometimes the student who calls is someone who previously thought they’d never act, never write, never direct -- and certainly not successfully and with joy. When students edge from being students into becoming artists, I’m elatedThe point in the semester when everyone in the classroom is familiar and friendly with one another and a positive/funny classroom culture has been created. I find this to be the most rewarding, because not only does the positive classroom synergy benefit the students socially, but, I believe also academically.
Best moment in my teaching career
I admit that I have occasionally flat-out face planted. Whenever this has happened, it has been because I mistook being unprepared with being flexible. It is foolish to enter the classroom thinking that one can merely improvise; worse, it is a dereliction of responsibility.
