I’ve really appreciated the emphasis within this program on our own coursework over our teaching work. Sam’s story of spending too much time helping students when he should have been working on his dissertation put into perspective for me what could be a crushing problem this semester but, as a result, hasn’t been.
My MFA was less intense than the PhD, and I can only imagine the intensity will pick up as we get further into our studies. If I were putting the same time into grading, lesson plans and helping students outside of class here as I did teaching during my masters, I’d be a sad shell of a human being by Thanksgiving. I know Boice is writing to full-time faculty, but his chapter on timely stopping reiterates for me how important it is to teach, grade and plan in moderation.
I also appreciate his point about not cramming important material into the last few minutes of class and not keeping students past time. I have a problem anyway with students trying to discreetly pack up five minutes before class time is up, and if I try to teach right to the last minute they’d miss most of what I’d say in the minutes after their bags were zipped and notebooks closed. So I’m trying to spend the last ten minutes of class doing a quick overview of what we’ve discussed, reminding them of upcoming deadlines, and answering any last questions they have on the subject covered. So far moderating the amount of time I put into teaching and putting less pressure on myself to maximize every last second of class time is keeping me (mostly) sane.
Beth, I completely agree with and relate to what you said in your second paragraph. My MA was about half the work of my PhD here (quite literally, actually, since we only taught 1 class and only took 2). Since it was my first year teaching, I ended up putting a lot of time into reading, preparing, and researching for lesson plans. I probably spent 2-3 hours before each class period getting ready, with grading on top of that. To be honest, that wouldn't be possible here. So, I too am very glad that there's an emphasis on us being students.
ReplyDeleteI continue to wonder, though, if I'd feel that Boice's suggestions were a good idea if this was my first semester teaching. I think part of the reason I'm comfortable spending less time on prep and taking a more hands-off approach is that I have 3 years of teaching under my belt. Perhaps you feel the same. But, for first time teachers, does Boice's advice suffice? I don't know...
Agreed. I needed the extra lesson planning time my first year teaching b/c if I ever ran out of material in class I would have hyperventilated. My first semester's lesson plans read like speeches. I won't come out and say here that there were jokes included, but I can't deny it either.
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ReplyDeleteI like your point here about not saying extra stuff at the end of class. At the end of my powerpoint I go over what is due for the next class, but maybe I should put that at the beginning? Maybe then students would get it for sure, and not miss it while packing up.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused as to why all our students are packing up five minutes before class ends. Certainly there is something to be said for how we spend/what we teach in the last minutes of class time, but seriously, in a fifty minute class are we asking to much of them to have some manners and wait until their dismissed to pack up? I don't think so. I'm a pretty laid back teacher--but the early pack of thing drives me nuts. Just saying...
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of ridiculous. Makes me wish there were no clocks in the classroom. Have yet to find a non-bitchy way to tell everyone to quit zipping. If you've found a solution, let me know!
ReplyDeleteI just go with bitchy. If people start to pack their things away before I'm finished, I walk over to them and have them read my watch aloud. Then I stand there until they've taken all of their things back out of their bags. Too harsh? It hasn't happened in a while...
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