The Joy of Teaching

My class went really well today, seeing as how I didn't do much planning beforehand. I had the students do presentations about each chapter we read, point out examples in a sample essay, and then practice some writing themselves.

I love it! It feels so natural to be teaching. It's funny being on the other side though. I realized that last week I shouldn't have been addressing the students in the informal when we talked after class in German, but today I apologized and told them that's just how it was. Some students are being stubborn about not being able to figure out the online system. (I never had a password, so I can't click on "Forget your password?") Also, I got an email from one of them and she called me Mrs. Glauser. Now, that's weird.

However, to top it all, a student came up to me after class today and said, "Is there any way we could decrease the amount we have to read?"

"Heh? Are you serious?" I thought. "Who asks that of their professor? And I already gave you guys an extra thirty minutes to sleep in in the morning." I finally said, "After next week it will be mostly writing anyway and our reader is shorter and simpler than the other class's." I should have also added that reading is an important part of writing! Seriously, people, isn't that what college students do, read? Good thing that student doesn't have the classes that I do!