The Teaching Life - Review

​​“Seldom have I seen an instructor give such total attention to the remarks of her students. Professor Balgley listens very closely to what her students say and responds with a grace, honesty, and intellectual acumen that is positively stunning. She is careful to phrase her responses correctly—never forgetting to praise her students for their insights, to challenge them, and to correct them as the situation requires. The class I visited (English 346—Ethnic American Literature) featured a panel discussion on Chicano Literature that was perhaps one of the best student panel presentations I have ever seen. Personally, I have never had much success with student panels per se. Although the students seem to enjoy them, I have always wondered, judging from the content of their presentations, how much they really learned. The panel in Professor Balgley’s class, however, taught me their value. The students were not only prepared, but passionate, moved, and eager to share their discoveries. One of the students read a passage from the Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz that demonstrated by its mere selection that this student had an essential grasp of the essence of the text, that he had experienced, first hand, the power of the literature, that he knew what language could be, and that this section of Paz’s work had become for him a kind of touchstone for eloquence. Professor Balgley, for her part, listened to these presentations with great care and attention. The students directed their remarks primarily toward her, and her questions helped to lift them to a high standard.  She did not just sit back and let them talk; she participated as an interested and critical audience, as a barometer of accuracy, as a deft and challenging intelligence registering the weight of their ideas. It was clear she respected the members of the panel and expected great things from them. For their part, the members of the panel were eager to meet her expectations. And it was not just the panel who felt this way; the entire class shared a sense that they were embarked on an important venture. This sense of shared inquiry was no doubt a product of Professor Balgley’s ongoing attention to detail and her skills as a dialectician and organizer. All in all it was an inspiring and exemplary two hours.”

- University Faculty Review