TVO’s post-secondary liaison, Jeff Dunk speaks with Ontario’s Best Lecturer 2005 Arne Kislenko of Ryerson University about his personal teaching style, goals, and philosophy of education.

Jeff Dunk:What does it mean to you to be the winner of TVO’s Ontario’s Best Lecturer Competition?

Arne Kislenko:Well, to be blunt, it’s the nicest honour I’ve ever had. I can’t remember the last time that I was so excited. And I would say to any colleagues that didn’t want to participate because they didn’t think it was scholarly enough… First I would say, “Have a sense of fun” because that is really important for everybody—especially your students. And second of all, you are fooling yourself if you think that something like this isn’t an honour, or that it’s not important. It’s a tremendous honour!

JD: Why the study of history? Is it something that should be on every student’s course list?

AK: Yes, I think that (the study of) history should be mandatory for everybody. I think we should study history for personal reasons—to understand our own family, to understand where we are now in relation to past generations in your own society. But, on a more collective level, it amazes me that the world is so a-historical sometimes—that we function like we are the only generation of people that have ever lived. You see it just in the way we talk about the world in which we live as if there is very little in the past that has been relevant to this point. And this troubles me. As a historian, I don’t think history repeats itself. I don’t buy into that. But, I do think there are patterns in history and things are often ignored to our great peril. And I think this is even more important today, in a time when, globally, the world is changing so quickly.

JD: Why do you think your students feel the way they do about you?

AK: I really don’t know. I am very honoured and flattered by it all, and I wish I had an answer. All my colleagues in teaching are saying that I must have a format. I really don’t. You know, the stuff I teach is just overwhelming. I mean how could you ever make 20th century history boring? And, then, the only thing that I would say is that I’m not afraid to look the way I feel. It’s not an act. I’m not purposely being dramatic but it’s overwhelming. I mean, when you teach anything about the Holocaust…if you don’t get worked up about it, you really shouldn’t be there. Yes, you should be as objective and scholarly as you can. Make sure that you are not just giving one side of the story, but you also have to feel.

JD: Do you think that some of the professors that decided not to submit a tape the first time, now having seen this played out would be interested in throwing their hats into the ring the next time?

AK: Yes, sure I do. And the reason I say this is because it was handled, from start to finish so well. It was done with fun. And I really value fun. I teach death and destruction, so any bit of fun you can get is great. A lot of my colleagues who weren’t in this came up to me and said how great this is for the profession – “Finally we are getting recognition”. I mean being a teacher is probably one of the most important jobs you could have when you think about it, and this is what it is really about. That it’s me, or anybody else, is really unimportant when you think about it.

JD: What are your favourite TVO programs?

AK: Diplomatic Immunity. Without a question. Even though I don’t always agree with everything that’s on. And Studio 2 — I like it.

JD: Would you recommend shows like these to your students?

AK: Yes, absolutely. And I do, on a regular basis, because you see academics talking about academic issues. But, also it makes things relevant. And, it is presented in a format that students can accept. Television is particularly important in that respect. It makes things more immediate in terms of consumption and if you get the right people taking about the right things it can ignite interest, and I’m usually quite surprised at how many students are purposefully watching shows like this. The post cold-war world is wide open. So I think this is the time when people should be the most interested in what lies ahead. For me, this is the most important thing—both personally and professional.