tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post9152423475283046224..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: The Big Thirsty: Does It Go Uphill or Downhill After Week #1?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-63347726863823070722015-01-30T09:13:43.731-05:002015-01-30T09:13:43.731-05:00Also, I've never walked into class without kno...Also, I've never walked into class without knowing exactly what I was going to do that day, from start to finish. I don't necessarily prepare it in detail, just plan out the structure in my head. Then I just walk in and do it, and they...have do deal with it.Peter Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00754472537710161295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-80636335785756323892015-01-30T09:10:06.361-05:002015-01-30T09:10:06.361-05:00I don't remember any feelings of anxiety when ...I don't remember any feelings of anxiety when teaching undergraduates, whether in the beginning (27 years ago) or yesterday. It may be what Ben said, I'm so convinced I know what I'm teaching backwards and forwards, and several levels higher, it's not even an issue. Or it may be I don't remember feelings, since I'm too busy explaining the stuff to monitor them. When I Peter Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00754472537710161295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48419285989790245522015-01-30T05:06:51.425-05:002015-01-30T05:06:51.425-05:00Welcome, our young Paduan.
If you're still re...Welcome, our young Paduan.<br /><br />If you're still reading this, you must be very discouraged that we didn't all feel more confident by midterms. Sorry, the first couple of years of teaching usually are wretchedly anxious, exhausting and really tough on relationships. <br /><br />For me it wasn't about stage fright; like others here, I have a Past in performing. But the Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02906546940408742913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-29530161852330366762015-01-29T22:08:22.604-05:002015-01-29T22:08:22.604-05:00My first two semesters were by far the hardest, co...My first two semesters were by far the hardest, constantly grappling with the unrelenting clock. The next 2-3 years weren’t easy, either. For any class I haven't taught before, it typically takes 5-8 hours to prepare for each hour in class. This isn't unusual: Winston Churchill took an eight-hour work day to prepare a 40-minute speech for the House of Commons, and he had a secretary and Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86171040260285744762015-01-29T21:36:42.173-05:002015-01-29T21:36:42.173-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86228931240370442442015-01-29T20:54:01.592-05:002015-01-29T20:54:01.592-05:00It does get easier. A line from "Mr. Chips&qu...It does get easier. A line from "Mr. Chips" was "You wouldn't be the first teacher to get up in front of a classroom and feel a little bit afraid." Froderick Frankenstien from Fresnohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11653942918068535424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-4464398234114994812015-01-29T20:20:38.819-05:002015-01-29T20:20:38.819-05:00It gets easier. Don't worry. You are light yea...It gets easier. Don't worry. You are light years ahead of your students. You'll realize this when you grade their papers. I still get tired and a bit nervous before class, especially at the beginning of the semester. Teaching is mostly a performance and performing wears you out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-87418016366985030932015-01-29T20:04:10.993-05:002015-01-29T20:04:10.993-05:00The first class I ever taught, I lectured the whol...The first class I ever taught, I lectured the whole time, all semester. it was boring for the students, tried to cover way too much material, and made me feel like I had to write a paper to prepare for each class. The students didn't like the class, I didn't like the class, and the class was not successful in terms of meeting it's stated goals. Since then, I've never prepared a Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09589271048069229838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-15116988370403774352015-01-29T19:33:57.316-05:002015-01-29T19:33:57.316-05:00I can't remember how long it took me to really...I can't remember how long it took me to really get comfortable teaching (God, I'm old), but you should never feel as though the students know more than you do. That's unequivocally true.<br /><br />When I taught Calculus II for the first time, it was seven years in my teaching career. I had become extremely comfortable in the classroom over that time, but I did have a fear of teachingAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13860860003340219602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89174132558352017612015-01-29T19:24:18.357-05:002015-01-29T19:24:18.357-05:00It took me four years to feel like I knew what I w...It took me four years to feel like I knew what I was doing, and 7 years before I started being comfortable with winging it. I still feel butterflies in my stomach on the first day of classes ten years in.<br /><br />Whenever possible, I recommend putting the onus on students to produce content. Student presentations, group work, discussions, exam questions, etc will show you that you really do Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81017983288597157772015-01-29T18:58:30.080-05:002015-01-29T18:58:30.080-05:00People warn you how long it will take to prepare y...People warn you how long it will take to prepare your lectures, but never about the hour you need afterward to huddle in the closet, shaking off the dread and self-loathing.Three Sigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10822893039310439770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-29655229301117980972015-01-29T17:59:29.376-05:002015-01-29T17:59:29.376-05:00I though it got a lot easier after the first two o...I though it got a lot easier after the first two or three classes, once I memorized their names (which was difficult and I had only 20 students, 2/3 girls, but every girl had the exact same hair style and hair color with very few distinguishing characteristics). For me it was more about lecturing to total strangers vs. lecturing to students I kinda knew, a little. I had a decent class, though, Programming Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838328277067778125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17323014585636227412015-01-29T17:58:29.510-05:002015-01-29T17:58:29.510-05:00By teach it three times, I mean all the way throug...By teach it three times, I mean all the way through, not three class periods. The first time I do my thing, the second time, I tweak to see how a new activity or new lecture goes, and the third I feel like I've figured out generally what works.The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-77889088173460155722015-01-29T17:55:20.665-05:002015-01-29T17:55:20.665-05:00Welcome to the misery!
I suffered from horrible ...Welcome to the misery! <br /><br />I suffered from horrible anxiety about being up front, until I realized that the students were more afraid of me than I was of them. They were afraid to be called on, afraid to look stupid in front of their peers, afraid of me thinking poorly of them, afraid of failing, afraid of everything. <br /><br />I was afraid of their thinking I was an idiot and afraid The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11074376314419548862015-01-29T17:27:59.138-05:002015-01-29T17:27:59.138-05:00I also don't suffer from stage fright. Freigh...I also don't suffer from stage fright. Freight, fright. What's the difference?Professor Chiltepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10087270705989845484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24975175916326585942015-01-29T17:26:52.639-05:002015-01-29T17:26:52.639-05:00It gets easier fairly quickly (perhaps not a week,...It gets easier fairly quickly (perhaps not a week, but throw a few weeks of meeting the same class under your belt, and yeah, it gets easier). <br />How long did it take to get my feet under me as a teacher? You won't like the answer. It took me five years before I actually began to really teach, because I had no idea what I was doing and no one would explain it to me. I had to figure it Professor Chiltepinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10087270705989845484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-56159837037817326852015-01-29T17:17:16.264-05:002015-01-29T17:17:16.264-05:00Yes.
Some things get easier, but not quickly. Som...Yes.<br /><br />Some things get easier, but not quickly. Some things get harder as you realize just what you're doing wrong and how much you don't know. (These things eventually get easier, then harder again, then levels off somewhere around tolerable)<br /><br />It took me about two weeks to realize that the pain in my shoulders was from the death-grip I had on the lectern, and another Jonathan Dresnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356112719229675996noreply@blogger.com