Boice’s advice about “saying no” to requests that will eat up time for essential tasks is totally relevant, but also difficult to follow. It’s hard for me to turn people down when they ask me for things. I like to oblige people because I like to make them happy in GENERAL, and also happy with ME. It’s easier to just immediately agree to requests without thinking them through, especially if the person is standing right in front of me, waiting for an answer. Several times I’ve said “yes” to student requests that I later realized were a bit unreasonable. These little tasks seem to waste my time while not doing the students any favors, ultimately—since they should learn how to keep track of their own schedules and assignments.
A former professor of mine gave me some very helpful advice: “Don’t answer them right away.” He meant I should feel entitled to tell students, “let me get back to you,” if they asked me something I wasn’t sure about. So instead of making guesses about the specifics of course info or university policies or the week’s schedule, I can take the time to look up the info accurately. I hate feeling rushed to answer people—and my rushed answers are usually wrong.
One thing that inhibits me from following Boice’s advice to end class a little ahead of time is a feeling of guilt at the thought of not “using” all the allotted class time, since I want my students to learn as much as possible, right? I want to do my job as an instructor. But obviously nobody’s learning anything if I’m rushed! So now I can think of Boice if I feel that I’m “cheating” if I end class a little early, rather than rush through a few more points. I can save them for the next class. My notes aren’t going anywhere.
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