Know Your Profs is an ongoing series of articles helping you get to know the instructors at Camosun College a bit better. Every issue we ask a different instructor the same 10 questions.
Do you have a favourite instructor that you want to see interviewed in the paper? A prof you need to know more about? A teacher you… okay, you get the idea. Email editor@nexusnewspaper.com today and we’ll get on it.
This time around we caught up with Camosun College sociology instructor Peter Ove and talked about teaching with passion, his wildly short commute to work, and turducken.
1: What do you teach and how long have you been a teacher at Camosun?
I teach courses in sociology (Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, and Minority Relations in Canada), but I have also taught Global Studies 100. I was hired at Camosun about two and a half years ago after teaching at UVic for three years.
2: What do you personally get out of teaching?
Every single day, I get to talk about topics that I feel are important. The real bonus is when I can tell that students also feel passionate about the same topics.
3: What’s one thing you wish that your students knew about you?
That I have two wonderful young boys who keep my life filled with excitement. So… if I make a mistake in class, let’s say it’s due to sleep deprivation.
4: What’s one thing you wish they didn’t know about you?
Doesn’t answering this question defeat its purpose? Oh, okay, I guess students shouldn’t know that I have an incredibly short commute to work (about two minutes), so if I am ever late for class, I can’t use being stuck in traffic as an excuse.
5: What’s the best thing that’s happened to you as a teacher here?
When all my students got an A+. Wait a minute, that didn’t happen, but I wish it would. Seriously, I think the best moment for me was when a student made me a homemade thank-you card for helping them. Now, that was pretty special.
6: What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you as a teacher here?
Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I suppose the worst thing that ever happened to me was when I was somewhere and someone did something and I said, “Oh, no, don’t do that.” But then they didn’t, so I said, “Cool.”
7: What do you see in the future of postsecondary education?
In my opinion, the future of education in BC looks a little like a combination of the Ministry of Truth from 1984, hypnopedia from Brave New World, and the Shiroiwa Junior High School “study trip” from Battle Royale.
8: What do you do to relax on the weekends?
Mostly, I spend time with my family. I like to cook. I like to hike. I can also be found behind a board game now and again.
9: What is your favourite meal?
What’s the opposite of turducken? Whatever it is, that’s it.
10: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Well, there is a long list to choose from. At the moment, though, the American predator drone program is at the top.