Meeting with a new class for the first time is always a little awkward. To break the stress of all the first day expectation discussions it is always interesting to know if the students are willing to share any rumors that they have heard about a class.
This year they shared two rumors: (1) "this is the hardest class we will ever take" and (2) "everyone fails the first exam." One of the more gregarious students then added "and, you give lots of extra credit and curve all of the exams."
The first two may be true on some level (although those types of rumors are often started by students that do not study adequately), but the third one, well, not true... but good for a laugh...
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Day 1... Exciting or Depressing?
The end of summer and the beginning of the fall semester always happens so suddenly.
With every semester the schedule of classes, meetings and other "professor" responsibilities changes. That means that the "routine" also needs to change. Simple things - what time to get up, what time to arrive on campus, when to exercise, etc. - all need to be adjusted to meet the demands of the new work schedule. The days can be different throughout the week. A Monday could begin with an early morning class, while a Tuesday might begin with an evening class.
Some professors find the new semester to be a renewal... a source of excitement and energy. Lately it has seemed to be closer to the movie "Groundhog Day," where everything is simply a slightly modified repeat of a previous semester.
The first class meeting is always the same - the syllabus, the expectations, the "motivational" speech about success in the class. The class is always disappointed if anything substantial is covered. (All that money spent for education, but students perceive a short class with little to no content to be a good thing.)
With every semester the schedule of classes, meetings and other "professor" responsibilities changes. That means that the "routine" also needs to change. Simple things - what time to get up, what time to arrive on campus, when to exercise, etc. - all need to be adjusted to meet the demands of the new work schedule. The days can be different throughout the week. A Monday could begin with an early morning class, while a Tuesday might begin with an evening class.
Some professors find the new semester to be a renewal... a source of excitement and energy. Lately it has seemed to be closer to the movie "Groundhog Day," where everything is simply a slightly modified repeat of a previous semester.
The first class meeting is always the same - the syllabus, the expectations, the "motivational" speech about success in the class. The class is always disappointed if anything substantial is covered. (All that money spent for education, but students perceive a short class with little to no content to be a good thing.)
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