Ted Spiker: 'Teacher of the
Year' has unorthodox style
by Ashley Krauser - SJI
Writing Class
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 Speaker, Ted Spiker, tells his favorite story about a fish to start off his lecture at the Summer Journalism Institute in the Gannett Auditorium. (Photo by Charlie Manfre) |
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Standing with his feet precariously placed on two stools, Ted Spiker bellows a rambling story about his great fish catching experience out at sea. The sleepy-eyed expressions on the students’ faces in the audience are immediately flushed away by the voice echoing throughout Gannett Auditorium.
“He’s not like this all the time, but he definitely brings the same type of energy to his classroom,” said Luke Woodling, a University of Florida journalism graduate and one of professor Spiker’s former students. “I think that’s why he’s so successful.”
It’s this type of energy and unorthodox teaching style that have made Spiker shine in his short tenure as a UF professor. Earlier this year, Spiker was awarded the 2003 College of Journalism and Communications Teacher of the Year Award.
“I want to teach students the information they need to know in as entertaining a way as possible, and give them the inspiration and encouragement to succeed in reaching their goals,” Spiker said.
Spiker, who joined the journalism college staff just two years ago, teaches magazine management, magazine and feature writing and is the sole advisor of the Orange & Blue, a magazine produced by student journalists. Before joining the UF staff, Spiker was the articles editor at Men’s Health magazine. He is still a contributing editor at Men’s Health.
Another reason for Spiker’s success is his unique hands-off approach to teaching. Rather than force-feed students facts and statistics, Spiker allows his students to try to work through the issues they run into.
“He provides real world lessons,” Woodling said. “Because he’s worked and succeeded in magazines, he is able to recreate a real world atmosphere inside his classroom.”
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 (Rex Grossman photo by Glenn Danforth) |
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Spiker believes that when students are always expecting the unexpected, they can learn a great deal more than being lectured to.
“He’s entertaining, it’s a fun, not your run-of-the-mill college class,” Woodling said.
Although Spiker has been acknowledge for his success in teaching, he works hard to improve himself as a teacher each semester.
“They’ve taught me a ton,” Spiker said of his students. “They teach me what works and what doesn’t in the classroom, and they also make me a better writer. Having to articulate what works and what doesn’t in their writing makes me more critical of my own.”
Spiker’s teaching is not limited to the classroom either. Each spring, he takes a group of students to New York. There, the students experience what it’s like to work in the real world. He introduces students to magazine editors, giving them a glimpse of the magazine industry and future contacts.
“Teaching is my dream job,” Spiker said. “Being at Men’s Health was great, because I could reach 1.6 million people in every issue with what I wrote or edited. But sometimes, it’s a lot more fulfilling to reach 20 students in your class.”