Trust me, college students, you’re not the only ones
dreading the beginning of next semester.
I’ve been teaching online English classes at Brigham Young
University-Idaho in Rexburg now for, what, a year and a half? Two years?
Something like that. For the most part, I’ve enjoyed it. I have to confess that
I’m an unremarkable instructor, one who’ll get you through the course (most
likely) but also (very likely) be an instructor you’ll quickly forget. While I
am taking measures to become better at what I do, part of me accepts that I
won’t ever be a star instructor. So know that as you come in.
Last semester was pretty rough. Rough in that I had students
who weren’t particularly motivated combined with stress at my full-time job
where I became the sole technical writer on a pretty busy project, meaning I
had less time at work to moonlight. That’s a good thing, because I shouldn’t be
doing that anyway. Nevertheless. I’ll chalk last semester up as practice on
being a rotten teacher. Things will be better now.
Or will they? Sometimes, like Balki here, I have to remind
the Cousin Larry part of me that the students in my class are probably just
waiting for the bus.
I also have to remind myself that as an instructor I can’t
come into the semester with a bad attitude. If the instructor comes in looking
gloomy, that’s going to rub off on the students very quickly. I’ve got to be a
beacon of enthusiasm and jollity, which could in of itself be pretty annoying
as well.
Yeah. Gunplay in a cartoon about school. And a bombing. Not
too funny these days.
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