One Down, Forty One to Go
I've been more than a little be preoccupied recently, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Classes started yesterday. I was a little bit terrified around a half hour before my class. I was ready, but terrified. I couldn't help but think of the sheer multitude of things that could go wrong. My mental list included, but was not limited to: technology snafus, falling down, saying something stupid/wrong, falling down, clothing mishaps, boring my students to sleep, and oh yes, falling down. Don't know why I was so worried about tripping over my own feet, but I managed to convince myself that I would inevitably do a face plant during lecture.
But I managed to remain vertical and all went well. My favorite faculty member (Dr. FacultyMember?) came by my office about 20 minutes before class to check on me. He asked if it would make me nervous if he came to my class, I said yes, so he just walked down to the classroom with me to make sure everything was set up, wished me luck, and left. Turns out he's my "mentor" in this whole graduate student teaching experience. Who knew I even had a mentor! But class did, indeed, go fine. Granted, it was just the first lecture, but I finished everything I had planned (in roughly the right amount of time) and even managed to get a few laughs out of the class in the process. So, go me!
Of course, I already have had a student ask to take the final exam at a non-designated-final-exam time. So it goes. *sigh* The student addressed me as Professor LastName, though, and that was pretty cool. I kind of like the sound of that.
But I managed to remain vertical and all went well. My favorite faculty member (Dr. FacultyMember?) came by my office about 20 minutes before class to check on me. He asked if it would make me nervous if he came to my class, I said yes, so he just walked down to the classroom with me to make sure everything was set up, wished me luck, and left. Turns out he's my "mentor" in this whole graduate student teaching experience. Who knew I even had a mentor! But class did, indeed, go fine. Granted, it was just the first lecture, but I finished everything I had planned (in roughly the right amount of time) and even managed to get a few laughs out of the class in the process. So, go me!
Of course, I already have had a student ask to take the final exam at a non-designated-final-exam time. So it goes. *sigh* The student addressed me as Professor LastName, though, and that was pretty cool. I kind of like the sound of that.
posted by Meredith | 5:40 PM
5 Comments:
Ooh! All official with your Professor LastName. I just wish someone would call me something other than their last year's teacher's name or "Mom". Really getting old.
Maybe you were worried about the falling down since the "shoe in the grate" incident?
Yay! I actually did fall down once while teaching. I tripped over an overhead cord. I felt shame.
Dr. Faculty mentioned to me quietly that I didn't have to correct a student if they called me Professor, even though I am not technically a professor. So I didn't. But I feel a little bit badly about it.
And my fear probably was directly related to the shoe-in-grate episode of a few months back. You're right about that. :)
yay for the first completed class!!! hope the rest go as well as the first one--i am betting your stress level will fall a little with each one. my recommendation? if someone fails, no matter how annoying they are or how little effort they put forth, do NOT tell that person, "shut up and take your F like a man!"
Yes, I think that particular response might be frowned upon. :)
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