Why All Professional Scientists Should Teach

Should researchers teach or not? George Bernard Shaw once wrote “He who can does; he who cannot, teaches [1].” I was first introduced to that quip in the formulative years of my early Teens. Later, in personal experiences as a professional scientist, I observed that many science faculty members at great universities were hired with minimal, if any, teaching experience or interest. Research prowess, alone, trumped all other qualifications. At most top universities, the teaching of undergraduates was an assigned duty that came with the territory, an unrewarded obligation and not a vocation. A young research scientist who preferred teaching would risk tenure and employment. In contrast, Robert Menzies, in the Australian House of Representatives, stated “It appears, therefore, that of all secular professions, teaching is the most profoundly important [2].” Menzies later enjoyed an extraordinarily long and successful career as Prime Minister of Australia (1939-1941; 1949- 1966). As professional scientists and researchers, what are we to do with these opposing aspirations and realities? The thesis expressed here is that teaching science is not only compatible with conducting scientific research, it is an imperative for the profession of science to thrive.