It's Week 3 of the semester. I've been advised that my class will start to lose momentum/interest at this point. Oh hell. The first time acquiring materials and practicing with the class are both arduous and empowering.
Part of me feels like I'm responsible for keeping them entertained--like some cross between a trained monkey and a comedienne. Perhaps I'm not responsible, but I keep on telling them that what I want to see is not perfect writing proficiency. What I want to see is improvement. I want them practicing what they've just learned.
I spend probably too much of my time thinking about all of this-- how to coax them to a breakthrough in their understanding of grammar and writing. If nothing else, I want them to know it's okay. Yes, there's a syllabus, homework, quizzes, writings -- but mostly, there should be progress. This is what I tell them. Often. I don't want any of them to feel alone or discouraged. I tell them to just show up, whether they know what they're doing, whether they've done the homework, whether they really absorb the material. It's about showing up. Isn't that what most of life is about?
There was a quiz today. It's hard not to be hypercritical of my teaching/lecturing skills after seeing some of their scores. Of course, the ones who show up late to class most days have the best grades. WTF? None of it makes any sense to me. Then, I remind myself that teaching is an organic process. This is my first time -- and I'll adjust everything the next time to a (hopefully) better result.
No comments:
Post a Comment