Perplexed and Confused About Chapter 8

I was very surprised by the inclusion of chapter 8 in Boice’s book. This surprise, however, is not to suggest that I doubted Boice. In fact, I think I have, in a sense, been holding my breathe a little, waiting for him to tackle some of these issues. To some extent, I feel as thought I have been playing the believing and doubting game throughout the entire book, just knowing that he will eventually be compelled to take on what he calls the “classroom incivilities”, or CIs (which I cannot help but comment on the pleasant nature of this name). And, now that we are finally at this point, I am a little curious to know why he places this chapter at the end of section one, particularly as he touches on several legitimate issues that new instructors face. Would it not be useful to bring some of these practical issues to the book’s forefront, so that, after he works his magic and diffuses the tension surrounding these CIs, the reader can be at a greater level of ease and more open to what Boice presents in the rest of his chapters.

Speaking from the reader’s perspective, I am not entirely sure I understand why Boice has chosen to end his section on teaching with such a complex and problematic topic. As I read through, I even find much of what he has to say extremely useful, but these tips seems to lose their effect by their placement in the book. Therefore, while I have enjoyed this journey that we have taken with Boice, I, reflecting back, think I would have appreciated this discussion of CIs much earlier, in that—whether we like to admit it or not—these issues are what new instructors often struggle with as they begin to teach. So wouldn’t it make sense to begin with issues? I only bring this point up because it seems to me that this way we would be able to overcome whatever small or immediate issues were interrupting our focus and be more open to thinking about how we perceive the bigger picture of how we teach.