MARK REYNOLDS
Portrait of a Volunteer
In this feature, Mark Reynolds shares his introduction to volunteerism at NCTE (principally through TYCA and CCCC) and how it has enriched his professional career.
After editing Teaching English in the Two-Year College for seven years (1994-2001), Mark Reynolds happily returned to full-time teaching at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Alabama. In his spare time, he chairs the Humanities Division, reads and writes a little, and works out at the Y.
What motivated you to volunteer for NCTE service?
I was drafted or “encouraged” by several in the Southeast two-year college regional organization (then the Southeastern Conference on English in the Two-Year College—SCTEC, now TYCA-Southeast) to assume a leadership position with the group. Reluctantly, I agreed to run for the Regional Executive Committee in 1984. I was elected, and kept “advancing” in leadership roles and responsibilities within NCTE.
What has kept you interested in volunteering your time over the years?
Interesting and challenging work and dedication to a cause: helping to spread the word about English in two-year colleges. Many wonderful and supportive people to work with, across the country and at NCTE headquarters, has also kept me going.
What does your current role entail?
I am a former journal editor of Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC) and people still seek my advice and ask me to serve on committees. I have just completed multiple-year service on the ad hoc committee on The Ethical Conduct of Research in Composition Studies, a major CCCC committee, and continue to work on a major National TYCA committee to define the two-year college teacher-scholar.
What key roles have you played and what did you find most satisfying in carrying them out?
My major role was editing TETYC for seven years. I most enjoyed bringing the unpublished voices of two-year college teachers into the national conversation by encouraging those who had never published to submit manuscripts. Other satisfying parts of the job were publicizing the good work going on in two-year colleges and the opportunity to meet and work with so many colleagues across the country at all levels.
I served on the Executive Committee of CCCC, the Steering Committee of the College Section, and the TYCA Executive Committee for a number of years. It was most satisfying during my service to be a part of the restructuring of the two-year college group and present at the birth of TYCA, and to help represent TYCA and its journal to the other segments of higher education within NCTE.
What satisfactions do you derive from volunteering?
I am a teacher; I don’t know how not to help. That’s what I do. But I have always found the work I’ve done for NCTE interesting, challenging, and lively. Virtually everyone I have come into contact with has seemed genuinely appreciative of any help I’ve given, and that’s rewarding, too, but most importantly, I have learned from and been helped myself by those I have come in contact with. As a teacher, I am also always a learner. Work with NCTE has taught me a great deal—about the organization, about different academic settings, about different people with different points of view, about different ways of working and accomplishing goals, and especially about the value of teamwork and collaborative efforts to solve problems and reach mutual goals.
Why would you recommend volunteering to another NCTE member?
For all of the above reasons. And implied in those is the opportunity for growth as a professional and as a person. Volunteering will lead to satisfaction and pleasure, and even travel opportunities (I would never have chosen to travel to Urbana, Illinois—and experience Jumer’s Castle Hotel-- or Davenport, Iowa, much less Chicago 7 times in 10 years, but I loved every minute and mile, not to mention San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Park City, Utah, and many others).
How or has your affiliation with NCTE and all of the roles you’ve taken on within the organization improved your professional development and career?
I’ve certainly grown as a person and as a professional. I gained a great deal of confidence, the confidence to speak out and the pleasure of having my ideas listened to, even appreciated, the confidence to speak before large groups, the confidence to publish—and all the satisfaction that comes with such efforts. My work in NCTE has led to many opportunities to participate further in NCTE, to participate in other professional organizations, to travel, and to take on greater and greater responsibilities. And had I chosen to assume even greater leadership roles, those opportunities became available to me.
I also gained a great deal of respect from those in my local institution for my NCTE work. Administrators and colleagues, too, were proud of my work. They realized its value for the institution. They even nominated me for a state award based on my national work, which I won in 2002.
Do you have a favorite NCTE publication?
TETYC, of course!
What is the one book, article, or professional development experience you would recommend to other educators?
By all means, the most important professional development experience is to attend a national meeting in one’s teaching discipline. Hearing others speak, having the opportunity to participate in the conversations of the discipline, being able to travel to a new and interesting city can be invigorating and renewing, even life changing, and certainly addictive.
It is perhaps the best way to begin serious professional involvement. Having had the experience once, most professionals will not only want to attend another meeting, but they will realize that they, too, can become more deeply involved in the organization.
How has being part of an educational community like NCTE improved your abilities as a teacher and as a leader?
It has given me a voice beyond my classroom, beyond my institution. It has made me appreciate of both varied leadership styles and varied learning styles.
I also never returned from a professional meeting without being on a “high” that carried over into my classroom. It came from a sense of renewal and a heightened interest in teaching. I returned with a desire to try even harder to connect with my students and engage them in learning. Certainly, some of the renewal came from a change of scene, but much more came from interacting with colleagues, from discussions about the discipline, about students, and about teaching. I seldom returned from a meeting without new ideas and without something new I had learned about that I wanted to try with my students. There is no doubt that I have lasted in the classroom for over thirty years because of such involvement in NCTE and what it did for me as a classroom teacher.
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