Semester Overview

I don't think I need to tell anyone that this has been the worst semester for me since I started teaching. Revamping the entire course AND teaching online for the first time was not a good idea. The on campus section has gone relatively smoothly if not exactly how I would have liked, but the online class has been nothing short of a disaster. With the technical problems I faced at the beginning of the semester, realizing that the course was organized in a way that was confusing to most of my students, and finding that I needed to revise all of my course materials for online presentation, there is little wonder as to why I am in the predicament I am now with over 100 essays to grade in a few days. I made it through 60 in the last two days and hope I can get through another 40 tomorrow, which will leave me with only the research papers to get through.

I know that most of my online students are frustrated if not pissed. I don't blame them at all. I wish I would have been in a position to better serve them as their instructor. If I were grading myself on my performance this semester, I'd be the first to give myself an F.

With all of the online courses I've taken, I really thought teaching one would be easy. I can't believe how wrong I was. If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that I have learned more about teaching online from my complete and utter failure this semester than I ever could have otherwise. I will be using the winter break between semesters to revamp some of my lecture materials, so that next semester I can focus solely on responding to students writing in a more timely and efficient manner.

Plato's Jeopardy

I had so much fun in class today! I hope my students did too. I am definitely expanding this game for future classes.

Grading Fiasco

Overwhelmed as I have been with my online class, I have fallen severely behind on grading. As a student, I always hated when it was midterm before I had any clue what kinds of grades I was getting in a class. Those instructors pissed me off and frustrated me to no end. While my students have not quite experienced delayed grades to that extreme, I still feel like one of those instructors that I hated (I can think of one in particular). If I could just get caught up, the remainder of the semester would be much more enjoyable. But this task seems impossible. As soon as I get one assignment graded, another has been submitted. I wish I could hold off on a couple due dates, but since we began the semester at a slow pace, I can't afford to slow things down now. In fact, we need to pick it up just slightly. Corey Taylor says, "I can't be afraid of my patience." I'm generally good at having patience with my students, but I have no patience with myself. If I can just keep working steadily, I'll get through it and so will my students. It may not be an ideal semester for any of us, but things will be better next time.

Fall Semester Underway

Well today marks the end of the second week of the fall semester. It's a little odd being both a student and an instructor this semester, but I'm enjoying it. I figure that taking classes will help me connect better with my students and better understand their academic needs and concerns. My TR a.m. section of 112 is going smoothly. My only concern is the diffidence I've witnessed so far in almost everyone but the front row. It is, however, only the second week, so my hope is that everyone will become comfortable enough with me and their peers to engage in discussion.

My online section is what has been causing me the most frustration. My literacy with computer technology is above average but I've basically just learned what I needed whenever it became necessary. Teaching this course has already presented me with deficiencies in this area of my own personal education. I want to serve my students in ways that most effective and which create an environment conducive to collaborative learning. In addition to my own technological challenges, some of my students are experiencing mini meltdowns, I fear. I've been trying to assuage their anxiety, but I'm not sure how effective I'm been in that endeavor. I can only hope that as the semester progresses, I'll get better at leading a group of 60 students through the course material in this virtual environment.

LIT 111 Frustrations

I think that antipathy might be too strong a word for what I feel toward my literature class this summer, but it's damn close. My students are phenomenal (although I wish some would contribute more to discussions). I've just had too many stressful events in both my personal and professional life this summer that have prevented me from devoting myself to this class as I would like to. What should have been a relaxing and pleasurable experience for me has turned into a chore. I feel that I am failing my students in some regards. To top it all off, I'm not really sure what's appropriate for an introductory literature course. Most of these students are simply fulfilling a gen ed requirement. They don't need to literary analysis skills. If I teach this course again, I think I might turn in into a cultural affairs course where we study novels in relation to current events, looking to literature - to art - as a means of understanding our world in more complex ways. Yes, I think that's exactly what I'll do.

The only comfort I get from this disaster of a semester is that I am payng attention to my own deficiencies and using them to revise my syllabus in beneficial ways for future semesters and future students.

Literacy Narratives

I just recently finished reading and commenting on my COM students' first essays (I know what you're thinking: There are only two weeks left of the semester; how are you just now finishing with the first essay?! I apologize, really. This semester has been a nightmare for me. I've never been so disorganized.) I always love reading these papers. The students have such diverse experiences and the ways in which language has impacted them is often so profound. This summer brought me a group of hard-working students. It shows in their drafts. Only a few were below a 'C' average, but that mostly had to do with confusion regarding the goals of the assignment. Having had such a great experience reading their first essays, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they all have to say about higher education in the U.S. as I read through their second essays this weekend.

Elations & Frustrations

My COM 111 students are pretty amazing (if not as enthusiastic as last semester's students). I have a few very strong writers whose writing I look forward to reading. I doubt any of my students this semester will fail unless they decide to make some stupid choices like not turning assignments in. Last week, we discussed revising, and I tried a new activity that worked well for me as a way to better understand effective organization. I had them literally cut their drafts apart with scissors and peice them back toegther again. Most of the students who offered feedback thought the activity was helpful in one way or another, so I look forward to trying it again the next time I teach this class. Plus, it was just way more fun than staring at a computer screen, randomly (and probably arbitrarily) cutting & pasting. I'll be reading their first essays this weekend, and I can't wait to hear teh stories they have to tell.

My LIT class, on the other hand, is not going as well as I'd like. The students are great (at least half of them are on the fast-track to getting A's in the course. But I feel a little out of my element. I love literature, but comp/rhet is my specialty. I picked all new novels this summer, and the work load is so overwhelming that I am having a hard time keeping up with my own schedule. I have no idea how the students feel about the course so far, but I hope that they enjoy the informal class structure. Hopefully, I can get caught up on grading in that class. I know this is one of their primary frustrations.

1st Day of Summer Classes

The first day of classes went well. I think it is going to be a good semester. I'll be glad when we get through some of the preliminary work and can start having some more fun in class.

End of the Semester

Well, the semester has been officially over for a few days now.  I find myself relieved that the work is done and I can now take a break, some time to myself to catch up on some reading, watch the movies I missed while I was engrossed in my responsibilities to my students, and quite simply to watch some TV & just veg. 

Inundated by this relief as I am, I also find myself saddened beyond belief.  Each semester brings into by life a new wave of students who, once the semester is over, are pulled back into the world like a receding tide.  This transition is always difficult for me, to meet so many fascinating people, most of whom I will never see or hear from again.  Whatever grades they received in this class, whatever effort they put forth, for a moment in time, they were a part of my life; in fact, they were my life as I do little else besides “work.”  So many people who have touched my life and changed me in some way, whether it be minute or profound.  I will never be the same. 

Every moment, I’m thinking how I could have served them better, inspired them more, infused them with my own passion for language and for learning.  More than anything I want them to know that education does not have to be passionless, that writing does not have to be passionless.  In fact, writing has, since its existence, been the primary medium for expressing the deepest passions of human experience: love, sex, war, survival, freedom. 

It breaks my heart to see the lack of interest so many students exhibit in the conditions of their existence.  I want them to question everything, but instead they simply accept things the way they are.  I overhear their frustrations with course requirements, but most never demand to know why they have to take gen ed courses.  I listen to their mumbled grumbles about assignments, but most never approach the instructor to inquire about the purpose of the homework.  Granted, many instructors, administrators, and other people in positions of power get pissed when confronted with such questions, but—damn it—it’s my students’ right to know.  The truth of the matter is that those who respond to such questioning with anger or indignation very likely don’t have an answer other than “because I said so,” which is nothing less than unacceptable and offensive.

I’m not suggesting that everything is worth rebelling against, but don’t be pushed around by unknown forces.    Find the truth.  And if that truth is objectionable, do something about it.  It’s true—you might fail.  But at least you can say you didn’t sit back and do nothing.  How many times can I say it?  You have one of the greatest powers on earth at your disposal, but like any weapon, you must learn to use it.

Language is not an arbitrary college requirement.  It’s a weapon, a powerful weapon., one you can use to protect or destroy.  I hope you will protect your rights; I hope you will protect yourself; I hope you will protect your loved ones.  And I hope you will destroy unjust rules and regulations that stand in the way of your success; I hope you will destroy the forces intent on keeping you from achieving your goals and living your dreams.   

Transitions

Last week we worked on transition strategies.  It's really the first time I've done more than show students a list of transitions words - the most basic form of transition.  After doing some research on rhetorical strategies for coherence, I think I put together a decent PowerPoint.  I'm still not sure about the activity.  My morning class was phenomenal, identifying and implementing each transition strategy except transitional paragraphs (which wouldn't have made sense in the example essay anyway).  They even picked up on a few ordering problems I hadn't paid any attention to in the past.  Needless to say, I left that class elated.  I love it when my students awe me like that.  My afternoon class, however, had trouble engaging with the activity.  It's not as if I planned the most exciting activity, but I don't know that I could have made it any more interesting.  I enjoy making lesson plans that are fun and interesting, but not everything can be.  Sometimes you just have to buckle down and set yourself to the task at hand because it is important foundational information.  Half the class treated the activity as gossip hour.  I should have just thrown them out of class.  Next time.

Anyway, I hope to develop this activity more before I use it again.  Since I'm teaching this class over the summer, I'll use it as an opportunity to do that.  Perhaps I'll get some suggestions from my students.  They usually have good ideas.

Frustrated

Now that we are nearing the end of the semester, I find students slacking off on assignments.  I think after midterm conferences they feel secure enough in their grades to ease off a bit on homework.  I don't think they understand the interconnectivity of grades in the course.  If they didn't complete the invention activities or draft work for an essay project, they can't get above a D for some categories on the evaluation rubric such as "Engaging the Writing Process," "Collaborating with Peers," or "Seeking Feedback & Assistance Responsibly."  Most of them are hovering around a 'C,' but blowing off even a few homework assignments could very easily push their grades down into the 'D' range by finals...especially those students who aren't revising.  For the next two writing projects, I'm refusing to read or respond to unrevised drafts.  Perhaps that will give them the motivation they need to put some real effort into their writing.  I know most of them don't care about this course - it's just another dreaded requirement. I do my best to make the class engaging.  I hate seeing them throw away the greatest power they will ever have at their disposal.  They don't get it.  And I don't know how to make it real for them.  Perhaps I can't.   

Essay 1

I finally finished reading and commenting on the first essays for my 9:30 class and have begun reviewing the essays for my 12:30 class. While scores are somewhat low (as is expected at this point in the semester), almost everyone is at least very close to a 'C.' It's very interesting to see where everyone's strengths are. Some students are great at illustrating their points while others have incorporated some quite fabulously original figurative langauge. Two students have shined in the area of analysis (very impressive at this point in the semester), and a few have phenomenal titles. Most impressive, however, are the extraordinary ideas my students have developed. Almost everyone's essays are unique in some way. I attribute this to the invention activities. I will be interested to see how my students feel about the invention work when they complete course surveys at the end of the semester. I imagine that most of them currently find it pointless, but I bet those who take the invention process seriously will change their minds.

Today's Classes

Today's classes were very exciting, especially my afternoon class. They usually need some prodding to say anything, but today conversation took off like a lightning bolt.  I actually had to make sure that everyone who wanted to say something had a chance to talk.  It was very refreshing to hear everyone's views and have some friendly, academic argument.  

The conversation did present some concerns though - not about the class itself but about how elitist some students responses were.  I don't understand "better-than-you" arguments.  The most ironic part about any of us buying into elitist ideology is that none of us will likely ever be in a position where no one is "above" us.  Buying into the class system is a mistake that only helps perpetuate the system and secure the position of others who can exert power over us.  People are just people, amalgamations of choices and their consequences, nothing more, nothing less. 

Despite those concerns, however, I think most of my students have some good ideas as they approach the next essay assignment.  I can't wait to see the invention work they turn in on Tuesday!

Two Weeks In

Well, we are now two weeks in the Spring semester, and everything seems to be calming down. I had squished too much in to the first two weeks, so we slowed things down just a bit. I didn't expect to spend so much time on the technological components of the course. Something to remember in the future.

We started on Project 1, the literacy narrative. Students always find the content a bit challenging, though I don't really understand why. Maybe one of students will enlighten me some day. Students struggled with the invention exercises a little. I know that the way I am asking them to approach writing this semester may be radically different from what they have experienced in the past. I don't mind taking extra class time to work through some of these activities. My ultimate goal is to help them become more effective writers. The system I have set up this semester - modeled after courses I have taught elsewhere and read about in my research studies - has proven results. It will take some time for them to acclimate to a new way of approaching writing, and some might outright rebel against the process I am teaching, but I can't wait to see the writing they are producing at the end of the course. The last time I taught this system, the improvement was so drastic, I could hardly believe it. Students weren't just improving either, they were actually getting excited about incorporating what they had learned in the writing they were producing. I hope I can recreate that excitement this semester.

One week down...15 to go

So far, so good. My students are great! Some seem a little freaked by the technology, but they also seem committed to learning it. I'm glad because it will make such a difference for them in the future.

I haven't had a chance yet to read their introductory writings. I'm very excited to read their letters. Probably much more excited than they were to write them. I'm very impressed with the way some of the students approached this assignment. I had one student ask if it was okay to use quotes from previous writing she had done. This is above and beyond my expectations of them. On the flip side, it seems that some students were determined not to complete the assignment. I'll have to implement some change in the requirement to ensure everyone completes it in the future. It is so important to the rest of the semester; they just don't know it yet. It sets the tone for everything else we will do. Besides, it helps them prepare for their formal writing assignments by giving them an idea of how I am evaluating their writing. That's the whole point. I want them to understand how they will be evaluated before I actually grade something worth a lot.

First Day of Classes

The first day of classes has come and gone. I am so excited to have met my students this semester. My morning class (9:30 a.m.) started off slow, but seemed to pick up energy as the period progressed. How excited can students get about the course syllabus anyway? I hope my energy is infectious. I have already identified a few talkers and a few students who may need to be coaxed out of their shells. That is always a challenge - getting students to see that what they have to say has value...to me, their peers, and the world around them. On the other hand, my afternoon class was quite vociferous, a pleasant alternative to some of my past experiences where everyone refuses to speak. They have a good sense of humor, but one that will need to be closely monitored.

Although today's classes went well, still I wonder how many students I will lose this first week. Some may be scared off by the technology. I know it is scary for some, who have little experience working on a computer or using the internet, but it will pay off in the end. They will become comfortable using technology for their courses and in their day to day lives. That's the goal. The world is becoming more and more a digital society. The last thing I want for my students is to be disadvantaged because they don't have experience with technology.