Time keeps on slipping, slipping… into the future… I can’t remember who does this song, but it keeps echoing in my head. Fall term is looming in front of me, with five sections at two different community colleges. Six, if you count the Taekwondo class my husband and I teach nights. I feel excited and overwhelmed at the same time. What I fear most is those two block classes: three hours each, both on the same day. I hate block classes, but I keep getting them, possibly because none of the more experienced teachers want them.
This will be my second year of teaching at a community college. What a difference a year makes. Last September, I had no idea when my thesis would ever be finished or whether I’d ever have my master’s degree. I felt confident that my partner would never marry me, and my son hadn’t yet announced his decision to join the marines. This fall, I’ve been married all of a month, had my master’s degree only a little longer, and my son will ship out to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks. Last fall, I had two sections to teach; this fall, I have five. Last fall, I was terrified; this fall, I’m stressed, but I know I can do it. I’m settling in, becoming comfortable with my teaching– at least to the degree that I can focus on what I need to improve or what I’d like to know more about. I’ve become fascinated with other people’s syllabi and lesson plans, because I can actually picture putting them to use. I’m beginning to understand why one teacher might introduce a particular concept at a certain time in the term, and why another disagrees.
Right now, what I’d like most is to hear more ideas for essay assignments. I love to write and to read, and I get the feeling that there is so much more I could be doing with my students, all kinds of assignments that they and I would really enjoy. It’s just out of reach…
The key may be in my own understanding of what I’m trying to do. For instance, I’m looking forward to the expressions on my WR 90 students’ faces when I tell them that one assignment is to watch their favorite TV show. My purpose: get them thinking critically about the kinds of commercials airing during the time they choose. This idea came from one of my office mates at OSU. Thank you Mr. Fleming, for the idea of having students inventory the ads during a show and then analyze them. Every once in a while, I find myself paying more attention to what’s being pushed: like, why are there so many ads for scooters for the elderly during “Boston Legal”? My husband was actually the one who pointed this out, and we looked at each other with a sinking feeling.
It’s hard to be sure what students will enjoy when you’re an English major and a geek. And over the hill.
