When It's Raining In December

[celtic_songster]

I get a little lost, as if March decided to vacation in my holiday, as if the snow hasn't really found my address yet. I love rain, but I saw "A Christmas Carol" staged yesterday (wonderful adaptation of one of my favorite stories, I applaud the actors and the theatre) and I went to a concert of "Winter, Fire and Snow" by an early music (read:

Comments

[celtic_songster]

The tried and true things are, indeed, tried and true--love what you're teaching enough that the students can see that someone in the world does actually care about it. If you aren't excited, they sure won't be.

Also, the biggest thing for me has been to remember every day that my students are people; this is a bit easier because I, also, am a student, but it really has made a difference for me to always think of myself on the other side of the desk when they fall asleep, or ask stupid questions, or get embarrassed because their phone goes off, or whatever. Doesn't necessarily make me a good disciplinarian, but I think that my students respect that I respect that they have lives outside of my classroom. They aren't afraid to admit to me that they didn't read, which is frustrating, but they're admitting it in an apology, in an "I wish I had more time, but I'm here because I value learning this anyway" type way. I appreciate that.

Hope that helps. Good luck with teaching; will you be doing so soon?

[celtic_songster]

Ooh, I doubt you fail! If it's awkwardness you fear, think of all the terribly awkward professors you've had along the way. Awkwardness is part of the profession, to a certain extent. Stay focused on why you love it--forget about what they think of you until you learn to embrace standing up there and yakking for an hour. I look forward to hearing of your adventures!

I had a student today get up and leave halfway through class, and it's tough not to think that she just got bored and decided it wasn't worth her time to be there. Even if that's true, my dwelling on it for my teaching doesn't help me any; I need to be aware of the things I'm not lecturing well on, but I also need to remember that "they're tired or there are just other things going on" like you said.