Appreciation
Posted on December 7, 2007
Filed Under Teaching |
After each of my two final class sessions yesterday a student came up to me, shook my hand & said “Thanks.” Others waved & said “See you around” as they exited. Much appreciated. Half-way through the semester I thought all my classes were going badly, but I made a few changes & two out of the three turned around & ended well. I won’t finish grading until next week, but I’m already organizing my classes for next semester. In twenty-five years as a teacher I have never taught the same class in exactly the same way — I always change a text, or shift emphasis, or come up with new writing assignments. Next semester is going to be a challenge: for the first time in many years I will be doing three separate courses. Our normal teaching load in three sections (9 hours) but usually that is two sections of a lower-division course plus something else, but because of changing curriculum & staffing issues, I volunteered to do a big survey course & two upper-division literature courses, one of which will be small enough to run as a seminar. Shouldn’t be too bad as long as I stay organized (organization not being my strong suit). Final thoughts on this semester: I had several really talented students — the kind who always keep me on my toes — but the ones I appreciated most are those who — with more or less ability — made a steady effort to engage the material. Those are the students who will see me through another decade of teaching.
Comments
2 Responses to “Appreciation”
Stumble it!
kudos to you man of feeling and ideas. here’s a poem for you w/out value in itself but how it refers. ed
RADIAL SYMMETRY
Devil or animal, demon or dog
the baskervilles’ hound
motive, purpose, intention
aim, mark, target
why this ‘motive’?
the bullet mates with its mark
don’t forget! history isn’t memory.
just taste those tomatoes.
ceremony processional bells
vows and proclamation, then recession
clues and cues, the displayed ring
cut-sleeve boy story
revisionism, re-visioning
Soviet-style erasures
rescue catch-phrases
nick-of-time to the rescue
understanding, not judging
observer, phenomenological morality
beautiful terrors floating
worth, value, cost
can it cost you your life?
swing & push; lift the screw.
Edward Mycue 7 December 2007
for Joseph Duemer, tabletop teacher honest poet
Thanks, Ed. Much appreciated!