I really love teaching undergraduates hard stuff. I love it. I love that I can make really difficult things make sense for them. Today, in spite of the Sickness Hangover that persists, was a great teaching day. Students rule. But really, today, I feel like I rule more than they do, because I made them think about stuff they didn't want to think about, and I explained things in ways that were clear, and I really think that they got it. Like totally.
(Of course, we'll see whether they did when it comes time for them to take tests and write papers. But seriously: I think they got what I was on about.)
12 years ago
4 comments:
It has seemed as if you're having a pretty good year in the classroom. Gives me reason to keep hoping.
You know, it's funny you say that - some things last semester did not go well at all from my perspective (a class had gotten a little stale, as I knew it was getting, but I didn't change the syllabus and then was a lame teacher to show for it; teaching online for the first time)- but I do think you're right that I've really been enjoying teaching this year. I seriously think a lot of it is that I'm finally teaching a schedule that's pretty much all stuff I want to teach, and that I've gotten more control as time has gone on over when I teach. The what and when are a huge part of things going well for me, I've learned. I also think (although this is sort of dumb) that the book being finished has given me a new sense of confidence in the classroom - like, "hey, I'm totally the expert and I know a great many things! I shall teach them to you! And you shall learn them!"
I'll say this: it did help yesterday that I was teaching one of my favorite theorists and one of my favorite novels. And that I've taught the novel 3x now. And that the theorist we were covering is something I've been thinking about for 10 years.
What a great and inspirational post. Yeah!
I really love teaching undergraduates hard stuff.
I'm making that my motto. It really does capture what makes some days in the classroom so memorable, and teaching such an enriching career. Every day like that makes up for weeks of administrative annoyances.
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