I love to teach
It's the strangest thing - I simply love teaching. It makes me happy and healthy. A couple years ago my blood pressure was taken during vacation and it was actually higher than when retaken the second week of school. 8th graders are good for my health. But not just 8th graders - I dig the students I have now for the GRE prep course.
Yeah, yeah, I know it's a GRE prep course. But it's more than that - I'm teaching them about being a graduate student, and I use phrases such as "meritocracy myth" and "social capital."
It's really strange though, in a way, to teach these students - they're mostly all pretty damn focused. I tell them to do homework AND THEY DO IT. Shocking. Not the case at Sierra. Also, I don't have to explain EVERY LITTLE THING. They know how to use dictionaries, will ask when they don't understand, etc. It's fantastic! Because it's a prep course I need to stay pretty simple, but I can imagine how much fun it would be to do this with an education course. They even are kind enough to laugh at my stupid jokes and to respond appropriately when called on. They come in and sit towards the front of the room, and are on-task and all that. They ask me things like, "Is it all right that I did the homework this way instead of this? It's more helpful to me this way." Um, yeah. It's more than ok. Do whatever works for you.
I'm going to have them teach more, too - going over the assignments and all that. They will protest - they are shy. I can count on a couple volunteers each time, but these are not 8th graders with their eagerness to perform. Though, already they're more participatory and willing to do such things. I just have to create the environment where that's the expectation. Since they all plan to be academicians, most will probably pursue a professorship with teaching responsibilities - and the more practice, the better.
Anyway, teaching is much fun. I forget how much when I'm not doing it. But I'm probably deluding myself when I think of a future career that does not involve teaching. Something about the synergy of active engaged learning - it's such a high. And to be the catalyst - what a rush. I like to be pushed and challenged, and there's nothing like a roomful of people to do that for me. The charisma is a fundamental part - letting each student feel that they have a relationship with me, even when I don't feel that way. So that when they need to ask or speak, they are doing so within a comfortable context rather than to a cold stranger.
But it also takes a lot of energy - it strains my voice, saps my energy reserves. When I first started teaching, everyday I felt like I'd been hit by a large truck - everything hurt. Now I get into the groove much easier, but still, the first few days are always exhausting. So, I should take a nap before calculus! What a great life this is.
Oh, I emailed the economics office about studying undergrad economics, and they said I needed to talk to the college. So I described my situation and made an appointment; when I went there today, they said I needed to go to undergraduate admissions. So I walked over, signed in, and they said, "Oh, go to immediate outreach" (undergraduate admissions). So I did, and waited while reading an interesting article about portrayal of American history, and then spoke with Malcolm who said he couldn't help me and said I needed to talk to the department.
I'm glad I was able to keep my sense of humor intact - and everybody was nice along the way, so it wasn't difficult. I said, "That's fine Malcolm, but let's chat anyway." And he was very helpful, as was his officemate (a former UCR econ major). Malcolm says I'm insane, that I should finish my PhD and take a few econ courses along the way.
So, I still don't know what to do, but that's ok. Today I think, come back to UCR and work on PhD while simultaneously taking math and econ coursework. I'll talk to Doug (advisor) and see his ideas. I dunno. I did find in my running about today that there are gazillions of hoops to jump through. I most certainly will not take freshman English courses - I tested out of them 20 years ago, and 15 years ago, and I could easily teach them. I won't take any "breadth" requirements that seem silly to me. So, with this attitude, it does seem far better to just take the damn classes and not worry about a second BA. Shrug. I dunno.
Maria (supervisor with the teaching) wants me to come back to teach it again next year, so was happy when I told her the possibility I might. She also said there's the possibility to find me other work, so that's a good thing to hear. Being a permanent student is costly.
Yeah, yeah, I know it's a GRE prep course. But it's more than that - I'm teaching them about being a graduate student, and I use phrases such as "meritocracy myth" and "social capital."
It's really strange though, in a way, to teach these students - they're mostly all pretty damn focused. I tell them to do homework AND THEY DO IT. Shocking. Not the case at Sierra. Also, I don't have to explain EVERY LITTLE THING. They know how to use dictionaries, will ask when they don't understand, etc. It's fantastic! Because it's a prep course I need to stay pretty simple, but I can imagine how much fun it would be to do this with an education course. They even are kind enough to laugh at my stupid jokes and to respond appropriately when called on. They come in and sit towards the front of the room, and are on-task and all that. They ask me things like, "Is it all right that I did the homework this way instead of this? It's more helpful to me this way." Um, yeah. It's more than ok. Do whatever works for you.
I'm going to have them teach more, too - going over the assignments and all that. They will protest - they are shy. I can count on a couple volunteers each time, but these are not 8th graders with their eagerness to perform. Though, already they're more participatory and willing to do such things. I just have to create the environment where that's the expectation. Since they all plan to be academicians, most will probably pursue a professorship with teaching responsibilities - and the more practice, the better.
Anyway, teaching is much fun. I forget how much when I'm not doing it. But I'm probably deluding myself when I think of a future career that does not involve teaching. Something about the synergy of active engaged learning - it's such a high. And to be the catalyst - what a rush. I like to be pushed and challenged, and there's nothing like a roomful of people to do that for me. The charisma is a fundamental part - letting each student feel that they have a relationship with me, even when I don't feel that way. So that when they need to ask or speak, they are doing so within a comfortable context rather than to a cold stranger.
But it also takes a lot of energy - it strains my voice, saps my energy reserves. When I first started teaching, everyday I felt like I'd been hit by a large truck - everything hurt. Now I get into the groove much easier, but still, the first few days are always exhausting. So, I should take a nap before calculus! What a great life this is.
Oh, I emailed the economics office about studying undergrad economics, and they said I needed to talk to the college. So I described my situation and made an appointment; when I went there today, they said I needed to go to undergraduate admissions. So I walked over, signed in, and they said, "Oh, go to immediate outreach" (undergraduate admissions). So I did, and waited while reading an interesting article about portrayal of American history, and then spoke with Malcolm who said he couldn't help me and said I needed to talk to the department.
I'm glad I was able to keep my sense of humor intact - and everybody was nice along the way, so it wasn't difficult. I said, "That's fine Malcolm, but let's chat anyway." And he was very helpful, as was his officemate (a former UCR econ major). Malcolm says I'm insane, that I should finish my PhD and take a few econ courses along the way.
So, I still don't know what to do, but that's ok. Today I think, come back to UCR and work on PhD while simultaneously taking math and econ coursework. I'll talk to Doug (advisor) and see his ideas. I dunno. I did find in my running about today that there are gazillions of hoops to jump through. I most certainly will not take freshman English courses - I tested out of them 20 years ago, and 15 years ago, and I could easily teach them. I won't take any "breadth" requirements that seem silly to me. So, with this attitude, it does seem far better to just take the damn classes and not worry about a second BA. Shrug. I dunno.
Maria (supervisor with the teaching) wants me to come back to teach it again next year, so was happy when I told her the possibility I might. She also said there's the possibility to find me other work, so that's a good thing to hear. Being a permanent student is costly.
posted by NOLA at 12:37 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home