Teacher Person

A couple of days ago, I taught my first class as a legitimate part time, college professor person.

The thing is I have taught before, both as a sub for K-12 (yeah that was a special Job, let me tell you) and as a Graduate Teaching Associate (or graduate student teaching with training wheels) But this it the firs time I am a professional teaching and undergraduate class of my own.

Yes I am seriously green and have a lot to learn. Yes I tend to have little freak-outs before my lectures (and from what I hear, those don’t go away for a long time). But the truth of the matter is that I enjoy it. I like teaching at the college level, and I would like to do more of it in my life.

I enjoy when the students are engaged and I enjoy talking to them and answering their questions. I like that when I teach about writing, I become a better writer myself.

Now I know that with all things, there comes a time of burn out and tired. I understand that grading can be a pill (I have already done lots of it). I know that I am going to make mistakes (and hopefully learn from them) and that I will be thrown curve balls in this process that will make me loose my balance, that stuff happens.

But I figure I have two choices I can boggle myself down with the stress and misery of all the bad that could and very well might happen. Or I can enjoy the fact that I am enjoying in now, and deal with the crap when it gets here.

All I know is that I want to be the best teacher I can be. I want the students in this class to know more than when they came in. That would make me very happy.