Fifty-Five Year Journey as an Orthodontic Educator: Some Reflections!

Start Annual Session early with your fellow educators on Friday, May 3. The afternoon will be designed to provide ample networking time as well as an enlightening keynote from Dr. Ravindra Nanda. The program will also include short presentations and panel discussions specifically for educators. Additionally, attendees will receive quick updates from AAOF, ADEA, and ABO. A light buffet lunch and networking reception will be part of the program.

Sponsored in part by AAO Insurance Company

Cost: Complimentary with Society of Educators (SOE) member registration. Please let us know you’ll be attending by reserving a spot during the registration process.

Keynote Description:
I read this quote recently but gist of it has inspired me all my life. It is very difficult to summarize 50 plus years of experience in orthodontics in 50 minutes, but I have always loved a challenge. My orthodontic journey went through many phases; three continents and four educational institutions. Along the way I sought education from orthodontic stalwarts, climbing on their shoulders I could see where orthodontics, as a profession, was going and places I wanted to be.

An Orthodontic educators’ life, like other dental and medical professions, is composed of five pillars namely, teaching, research, scholarship, clinical care, and administration. All these come in stages and not all at once. Education/teaching is the biggest part as it includes teaching traditional and innovative methods, curriculum development, mentoring, and developing future leaders in our profession. Research and scholarship go had in hand. Research has played in major role in advancing our profession. I will discuss how different phases as a teacher has played a role in my life.

“The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the great teacher inspires.”
-William Arthur Ward