I walked into a classroom yesterday for the first time since last June. I felt awful that I had to get back to the work that brings in the tuition dollars. (In my field, tuition dollars usually outpace indirect costs by several orders of magnitude.)
After a break, the return to teaching is excruciating. In the days leading up to the first class of the quarter, I imagine other jobs for which I might be better suited (barrista? paint mixer at Home Depot?) and entertain crazy schemes by which I might reduce my teaching load to zero. I put off my course prep until the last minute. I'm late to that first class, having dragged my feet all the way down the hallway -- dead professor walking! Sometimes I imagine that my pain is so unbearable that taking the break from teaching was not worth the agony of returning to the classroom and I swear I will never not teach again.
So I gave my first lecture. It was fine; the agony is over. They seem like a good class, so far.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
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8 comments:
It's hard, that first class!
Congrats on getting it over with, and here's wishing you a good term.
In years to come, your name will be extolled by some of those selfsame students, recounting "their favorite college professor" to the youth of a new generation. I know this, I am a visionary.
But the good classes yield fewer funny stories.
Even if you don't take a break, the first class of any semester is a ball breaker.
You're not alone in that long, dreaded walk.
You have just described my pre-term recurring nightmare, mine also has these bonus features: I don't know where my classes are, I have no computer access and can't check, and I'm living with students. I don't know why that last part gets in there -- the rest is horrifying enough.
I'm glad it was less painful than you anticipated. But...I would LOVE to take one of your classes - especially ESP and Aliens!
Hang in there.
I always puke before the first day. Always. I then drink too much coffee and talk really fast. Generally, at least 10 students drop. Good riddance, I say.
On Tuesday, i will walk into a classroom for the first time since last May. I love teaching, I love being in the classroom, I love that first day. It's about midterm time that my temper starts to get a little short. A couple months of student whining will do that to you.
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