Again, No Teachee

It appears once again that I’m a teacher without students.

Registration at BYU-Idaho for next semester has been open for a month now, and the section of English 101 I’ve been assigned is still without students. That situation may change over the next few years as the university increases its enrollment cap by another 2,500 students, but that really doesn’t do much for me in the here and now, when the money and the experience would be most welcome.

So what’s a guy to do?

I’d offer a premium to join my section – Join now and I’ll spot you an automatic 50 extra credit points – but I’m not sure the university is open to that kind of competitive bidding for students among its online adjunct faculty members.

I’m sure they have legitimate reasons for setting up the sections the way they do. This is what I suspect: Teachers with the most experience at the university get top billing, with new teachers like me on the bottom of the barrel. Makes sense, right? Except that the new teachers like me never get the experience they need to first of all see if this kind of experience cuts their jib and spurs them on to further teaching and study. It’s the old I can’t get a job without experience but I can’t get experience until I get a job conundrum. Then again, my theory may be flawed. Maybe it’s a lottery system; whomsoevers number is called gets to teach that semester. That makes as much sense as anything else I can cook up.

I have applied to teach a business writing class, also on the bonehead level, but I’m sure there are many in my position (I got hired on with a fairly big block of other potential English 101 teachers) who are eying the job. So I guess it’s hurry up and wait.

I’d still like to teach, though. So I’ll remain patient and see what chance throws my way. Or, conversely, what chance throws up my way.