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First-day reflection
23Aug2005 Filed under: teaching Author: Marcia HansenTeaching is so cool and I think it will only get better. I wasn’t really nervous about talking in front of people, but I was a little nervous about whether I explained things well enough. I hope they’ll ask me questions when they’re not sure of something.
They looked interested and responded to the activities I had prepared. My voice got hoarse after talking so much for 3 hours straight (I have 2 classes back-to-back). I’m not sure what the policy is on having water or other beverages in the computer lab, but I took furtive drinks of water when I could.
I think the hardest part will be trying to learn everyone’s name. I did the index card routine. Unlike Donna, who asked for phone numbers on Monday night, I asked for IM id’s if they anticipated wanting to ask me a question that way. I think Donna might actually have an office phone; whereas, I do not–and, I just explained that to the students when I talked about the syllabi.
One of my other professors asked for addresses and birthdates!! I didn’t know what to make of that. That’s the second time someone has asked for my birthdate on a standard survey. I’m much more comfortable with the question: are you over 18? I can handle that one without squirming.
I can tell already that I am going to have to be one super-focused instructor (and student) in order to keep all these balls in the air this semester. Already, I wish I could clone myself. 
Technorati tag: teaching-carnival
5 Responses to “First-day reflection”
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About m2h blogsMarcia Hansen works by day as a marketing manager in social media. At other times you'll find her traveling about speaking, writing, and learning. And, if she's lucky, it's on her Honda Shadow 1100.
Please note -- the postings on this site are my own and don鈥檛 necessarily represent my employer's positions, strategies, or opinions. If you want to know more about me, you can visit my About Marcia Hansen page above, or my home page at MarciaHansen.com.
Sacha Chua
August 24th, 2005 at 7:56 am
Teaching is lots of fun! There’s nothing quite like teaching to make you feel really small and unprepared, nothing quite like fumbling for better words after your carefully-prepared explanations fall flat… but there’s also nothing quite like seeing that aha! moment on people’s faces or hearing them thank you long after your class. =)
gzombie
August 25th, 2005 at 9:50 am
Hey, thanks for leaping into the Technorati teaching-carnival. I think, however, that only the text “teaching-carnival” should be linked in order for Technorati to pick up on your post.
So far, your post isn’t showing up at Technorati, while one from The Salt Box (posted more recently than yours) is. Click on your technorati post to see what I mean.
Keri
August 25th, 2005 at 2:28 pm
Hi, Marcia,
Thanks for the encouragement. Back to you. I’ve been struggling through the reading for the class we have. It’s going to be okay. I think you will find so much satisfaction from your teaching. My class is going really well. I think I love them already. They are so excited about teaching, and I already don’t think we have enough time. Ã…ndy talked about school in his blog today. Did you use any writing project ideas on the first day?
Keri
Marcia
August 25th, 2005 at 9:15 pm
G, I think it’s my darn greymatter blog. Technorati still doesn’t show my post in the list under teaching-carnival. Technorati also thinks I haven’t updated my blog in over 50 days even though I ping every time I make a post. I think I’ll have to go the del.icio.us route to participate.
Keri,
The very first thing I asked them to do was write and later, I asked for volunteers to share. I really want to create a safe space for them to share their writing, for I really believe that there is much to be gained by sharing our writing with each other. And, it’s one of the things about the writing project that I found really impressive.
Marcia
August 25th, 2005 at 9:22 pm
Sacha, let’s hope both they and I learn something in the process. I know I’m learning lots already and I’m really impressed by how engaged they are in class.