Leo Yaffe Award for Excellence in Teaching (Faculty of Science)

Eddie Chan

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

The Leo Yaffe teaching award given to me in the Faculty of Science this year means a lot to me in a very personal way. Aside from bringing prestige and reward, the award also marks the end of a lifetime career in teaching since I am officially retiring as a full-time member of the teaching staff at McGill this year. It is extremely gratifying to be recognized in the end with such "pomp and glory."

I have always wanted to be a good teacher. This was prompted by model teachers throughout my formative years, all the way from primary school right through university. I was fortunate to have had them because they were precious and were few and far between. Unhappily, there were also teachers who were really bad, but they too prompted me to teach well.

There is nothing so difficult that it cannot be taught in a logical and clear way to young receptive minds. My textbooks in microbiology that span more than 30 years bear testimony to this belief.

When my students leave me from the course, I hope they go away with the feeling that some human cared and helped them along. And I want them to be equipped to be able to learn independently and to think things out for themselves once they go.