Teaching

I'm back in the classroom and loving it. I teach English 112 on Tuesday evenings. I think I was pretty burned out the last semester I taught - grading 60 essays a week was nearly impossible and I think my take-home pay turned out to be something ridiculous like $3/hour. But it's a new semester, and I'm fresh from my maternity leave.

Here's what I love about teaching college:
1. Basically, I'm my own boss. I have a list of text books and a class curriculum outline. But I write my own syllabus and can use supplementary readings. There is no one looking over my shoulder telling me exactly what to do. And because of this, I can really create a dynamic, engaging classroom atmosphere.

2. The students (for the most part) want to be there. They are, after all, paying to take my class. This cuts down classroom management issues. And the issues that I still face (like cell phones going off during class), I try to handle with positive peer pressure (the student whose cell phone goes off gets to bring cookies for the whole class the next time).

3. I really love literature and writing. And I think the subject matter lends itself well to teach life-lessons and universal truths which college-age students are hungry for. It is such a soul-searching, life-sculpting time, so it is amazing to ask and discuss questions like "Why are you here?" "What is the meaning of happiness?" "How do decisions shape your life?"

4. Field Trips! I always schedule at least one field trip per semester. My purpose is to introduce the students to something in the humanities they might not do on their own. In the past, we've gone downtown to see a Shakespeare play, we've gone to see an "artsy" movie, and we've attended book-signings/lectures by authors.

So next week we're tackling "Shiloh" a short story about a crumbling marriage. But it's about so much more than that. We get to discuss why love can seem like a battlefield (yes, I think I'll have to play the song in class)...why it's important to set life goals...and how past mistakes shouldn't determine future decisions. GREAT fun!