07 Eylül 2016, Çarşamba
saat: 06:01
I survived my first week of teaching. It was pretty exciting and the students are really well behaved (we’ll see how long that lasts haha) so I think it's gonna be great.
After being told that I was too nice last year, I'm trying desperately to establish a strict, fair teaching style. For instance, I have no makeup exams policy and it is written on the syllabus, so students have complained that they made plans to leave early and now they're gonna miss the exam. But of course, going on a vacation is not really a good excuse, plus, if I am gonna be here teaching, they might as well be here and try to engage in the material. They're college students, after all, not kids in kindergarten. Also I didn't wanna set an example where they think they can manipulate me (as Red aptly pointed out in OITNB, "the second you're perceived as weak, you already are"), so I said "fall break doesn't start until that afternoon, so if you want to leave early you will have to deal with the consequences." To some extent, I felt like I needed to be in charge, and I didn't want to change anything just because a few people gave priority to their long weekend rather than the exam that constitutes 25% of their overall grade.
On the other hand, I actually apologized to a student for declining her offer to interview me for another class she's in -and, yeah, so much for being a tough nut.
TL; DR:
Me, before the first day of every semester: oh, man, I don’t want the semester to start! I’m not ready! Do I even like teaching? I need to focus on my research! What am I doing with my life?
Cue existential crisis.
Me, minutes after my first class: That was amazing! Let me tell you all the smart things my students said! I love teaching! I can’t wait until the next time I see them! I have the best job!
