Michael Rizzo
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is largely indistinguishable from my personal belief system and character. This connection is driven by my conviction that the student-teacher relationship, both inside and outside the classroom, is the fundamental instrument by which students develop during their college years. The opportunity to receive a quality higher education coupled with honesty, hard work and strong determination, have helped me achieve my “American Dream.” Though I come from a modest New York City upbringing, for me the dream goes far beyond economic opportunity, but rather the ability to think critically and to be humble enough to know what it is that I have yet to learn. It is also having the ability to contribute to and understand economic research that will be used for the benefit of many. Robert Frost once said of education that it is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing one’s temper or self-confidence; my college education has certainly converted me. Though the transformation my economics education has inspired in me does not approach “Horatio Algeresque” magnitude, I believe that we as teachers can incubate a new version of the American Dream for all of our students.
A teacher must have an innate love for teaching as a vocation to be truly effective. Today's students are very observant and critical and will be turned off if they detect that their professor is elusive and impassive. As such, my classes are highly energetic and have a personal quality to them. This intimacy naturally promotes lively class discussion. Classroom intimacy also makes students more comfortable with me - thereby encouraging them to speak up when they are not following and to take advantage of my availability outside of scheduled class and office hours.
Approximately 15% of student waking hours are spent in class. In our position as role models and mentors however, we undoubtedly have an influence on the remaining 85% of our students’ time. These influences are part of a complete academic experience and include outcomes that are not easily quantified by publications like U.S. News & World Report. Intellectual and moral growth, a broadening of perspectives and development of an identity are three examples. These objectives are easier to achieve if I demonstrate an awareness of the many activities and issues that are happening on campus and make it clear to students that I am personally invested in the institution as well. I have found that many students do not have a close relationship with a faculty or staff member and this can be crucial in times when they need advice or someone to listen to them. Many of my former students have come to me seeking advice on courses of study, job searches, applying to graduate school and other topics.
Though developing a rapport with students is important, it is crucial to avoid turning the classroom into a popularity contest. I try to create a relaxing but energetic collegial environment without sacrificing seriousness of purpose. I have found the best way to do this is through vigilant management of expectations. My syllabi are detailed, my homework and exam questions are carefully worded and I constantly remind students exactly what is required of them. I also provide an area on my course website for students to post anonymous comments that they can choose for me to see alone, or for the entire class to see.
Students come to college, in part, to find themselves and to make the transition to being independent. In their post-college endeavors there will be little hand holding; hence I liken my teaching of economics to a parent teaching a child to ride a bike. They teach their children to ride not necessarily wanting them to grow up to be like Lance Armstrong, but rather because they regard the skill as useful in and of itself. First, the parent holds the bike as the child slowly gets a feel for riding. Then, the parent attaches training wheels and watches carefully as the child rides on her own. Finally, when the training wheels come off a whole new world of excitement is open to the child. They may subsequently bicycle for exercise, fun, transportation, or even for competition; and while bicycles come in many different models and colors, at their core they are all essentially wheels, pedals and a frame. As a teacher of economics it is my goal to give my students the ability to distinguish between different models and to ingrain the basic skills necessary to ride the bike throughout their lives.
I place an enormous emphasis on fundamentals and process in my economics teachings at all levels. The simple concepts I relate to each topic include: the definition of economics; what are all of the opportunity costs in a given situation; which assumptions are being made and which are critical; short-run versus long-run outcomes and behavior; individual versus group outcomes and behavior; what equilibrium means; positive and normative considerations; whether something is observable; and what the unintended consequences of an action are. Stressing fundamentals gives students a common way to think about many economic problems and demystifies many of the difficult concepts they are exposed to. I am careful to clarify abstruse syntax (such as the word abstruse) in my lectures because I realize I have been speaking the language of economics much longer than my students have.
The manner in which students learn the material deeply concerns me. I stress the importance of understanding process over rote memorization whenever possible. For example, I don’t want students to memorize that an increase in the minimum wage may actually expand employment in a monopsonistic labor market, but rather I think it is important to understand what is unique about employer market power that drives this type of result. Process based learning over facts based learning also mitigates the problems inherent in the “will this be on the test” mentality, whereby students ignore any material that would not count toward the final grade. Focusing on process encourages students to actually think and to convince them that there’s a stark difference between passing a course and educating oneself. To further this education, I like to use a term coined by Bob Frank and encourage my students to be “economic naturalists.” I ask them to employ basic economic principles to understand and explain what they observe in the world around them. An “economic naturalist” understands that walk-up and drive-up ATM machines each have Braille on them because the costs of producing two separate machines does not exceed the incremental benefits from having a drive-up ATM without Braille. My students have come up with many interesting examples and each teaches them to see the economic world around them as a reflection of an implicit or explicit cost-benefit calculation.
Economics teachers have special obligations as curators of the economics profession. Many laypeople have convinced themselves that economists are a “coven of technical esoteric scientists.” Some observers believe that economists are so blindly adherent to the assumptions of the perfectly competitive and rational self-interest behavior paradigms that we ignore many of the anomalies present in observed behavior. These beliefs have likely evolved from people’s desires for a silver bullet cure for economic ills and from common misperceptions about what economists try to do. I have often been asked the question, “you’re an economist, what’s the stock market going to do next year?” This straw man can only be burned if we are much more diligent in making clear what the crucial assumptions are in our models and what purpose they serve. The implication of perfectly competitive labor markets suggests that if a firm reduces its wages by just one cent it would lose every one of its employees to its competitors. If I were to teach this theory in a preachy, dogmatic style, bright students might simply dismiss the entire profession as irrelevant.
There is certainly a place for the rigid teachings of the basic axioms but we need to demonstrate the flexibility and excitement of economics as well. While students need to understand the principle of comparative advantage (specializing and trade lead to benefits for all), they should also be shown how risk is reduced through diversification, not specialization. Students should have an understanding of expected utility theory but it would also serve them well to introduce portions of prospect theory as well. Students should be made aware that there are economists studying a variety of interesting topics including estimating the value of a statistical life, the economics of religion, the economics of procrastination, sports economics and much more.
Since undergraduates typically receive no formal training in ethics, I feel an obligation to the students, the institution and society to weave ethics into my discussions. Amartya Sen has written about the lack of a true dichotomy between positive and normative economics. Whether we realize it or not, value judgments pervade positivist analyses. This notion is especially pronounced in labor economics and I do my best to draw attention to these often overlooked complications. I am vigilant against creating a subconscious bias in my students, political or otherwise.
I have come to understand that teaching, research and public service are not mutually exclusive. Students are eager to learn about my professional activities and involving them in research and public service not only brings to life the material we cover in class but also demonstrates that their teacher is active at the vanguard of his profession. In the past I have had students write to our state legislators to discuss their research on the impacts of manufacturing and other job destruction in central and western New York and have involved students in the Ithaca Common Council debate on paying contracted workers a “living wage.” I hope to expand the focus of these efforts in the future.
In conclusion, I am often asked why I love teaching and why I’ve chosen to pursue a career in the post-secondary sector instead of continuing in my former life as an investment banker. One might guess that I am searching for the cherished “I got it” moments from my students. While gratifying nonetheless, I feel strongly that this is a requirement of our jobs. I choose to teach for three reasons. First, I receive great satisfaction when a student calls or visits months or years after class with me just to say hello - and I can see with my own eyes that they have indeed learned something from me. Second, whether my research will ultimately have an important impact on society at large, I know that I am educating tomorrow’s policy-makers, parents, trustees, politicians, athletes, etc. that collectively can make a huge positive contribution. Finally, I believe that faculty members are the quintessential trustees of any higher education institution. We are in a unique position to both shape public perception and policy toward higher education and help our institutions refocus on fulfilling their intended missions during these difficult times. I feel privileged and honored to have this opportunity.