Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Back to the Classroom

School starts tomorrow, which in and of itself is no big deal. My kids will be back in the classroom, and it's a big year for our oldest because he's a senior. I'm trying not to think about how fast the year will go and how much my heart is going to break when he goes to college.

Speaking of college...I'll be stepping into the classroom as an instructor for the first time tomorrow. And let me tell you, I am totally freaked out. I'll be teaching freshman composition, so it's not rocket science, but I've never taught so this will be a learning experience for me, as well. I will spend this semester finding my teaching style and learning how to teach. These poor kids will be my guinea pigs. I'm also going to be teaching second semester composition at the air force base. That will be an entirely different teaching experience.

But....I've written a thoughtful and workable syllabus, so at least I'm prepared (I hope). And I think it works in my favor that as freshmen, these kids have no idea what to expect from university instructors, so I probably won't suffer too much by comparison.

Here's hoping I get through tomorrow without barfing or babbling or, even worse, drawing a complete blank and having nothing to say!

If nothing else, this whole experience will replace the golf course for me as a source of writing fodder.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck! I have taught for 20 years and the first day is ALWAYS scary. You'll do great!

William Friskey said...

I almost puked the first morning, almost turned the car around and quit the job before I got there, and felt like a total idiot for at least a semester. My best advice, be you and brag. They can tell if you're a phony ass, so don't try being anyone or anything you're not. Remember, they're people, too. Also, you're in a writing program working with published writers and all that. In your introduction, brag a little bit. Even if they don't know the names you drop, they'll think they're just ignorant. The more you sound like you know what you're talking about, it won't matter to them if you know how to teach, they'll think it's cool that they're learning to write from a real writer. It helps the ego, too. You kind of convince yourself that you're a real writer and know what you're talking about while convincing them.

www.williamfriskey.com
www.williamfriskey.blogspot.com

Angie Ledbetter said...

Relax...you'll be great! And they will appreciate your fresh approach.

Hermana Maw said...

Best of luck and wishing you a barf free day. :)