- They totally laughed and were not ticked off at me for not having finished the last few essays I had intended to grade before class because of the whole noisy neighbors problem.
- I felt comfortable telling them about my noisy neighbors problem. (Perhaps that should have been #1, but it only just occurred to me now how awesome that is since we're only 1/3 way through the semester.)
- We had a ROCKIN' discussion about acts 1-3 of Hamlet. A.) They made really good points. B.) They asked really insightful questions. C.) A full 1/2 of them (and there are 25 in the class) actually spoke. THIS IS A MIRACLE AT THIS POINT IN THE SEMESTER IN ANY CLASS THAT I TEACH AT THIS UNIVERSITY.
- Their papers weren't bad. Yes, I assigned some required revisions, but those were more about not following directions than not having good ideas, which to my mind is a good sign.
Oh, and did I mention that I love my writing students this semester, too? That the writing class that caused me pain for two years running because it's so horrible a course is now completely interesting and fun, for me and for them?
Ok, what are the odds that all of this good will and cheer is directly related to the fact that I'm only teaching three courses this semester? And what are the odds that I'll ever get reassigned time again?
Ok, I need to go work out (lost nothing last week and I haven't worked out since Saturday - somehow not losing weight serves to make me LESS rather than MORE motivated) and to go to the grocery store for a random list of items that includes cat litter and milk, among other things.
2 comments:
I'm teaching three classes this term as well, for the first time in a couple of years, and I'm also finding that I'm just loving my students and my classes. I'm a better teacher and a happier person when I'm teaching three rather than four classes, there's just no question about it. Plus I'm getting writing and scholarship done and have time for some fun on weekends. So much more civilized a life.
Today the department chair sent an email asking all of us what classes we wanted to teach next year, and it made me sad to write up my four classes for next fall. Sigh.
I am teaching three classes this semester too. I am more relaxed and on top of things like grading papers and keeping my grade book in order. When I do teach four classes, I am always stressed and rushed.
Cheers to you for working out. When you have not worked out for a couple of days, it's easy (and tempting) to just give up on it. I also think that this time of year makes anyone less motivated to work out.
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