Well, it's official, I start teaching today. I haven't taught in two years, having had various research assistantships, so I'm a little nervous. We're starting with King Lear, which is a play I know, so at least I'm familiar with the material, even if I am unfamiliar with the ways of 20 year-olds. 75 of them have descended on the hotel like hungry, jean-wearing locusts, and the hotel does not know what to do with them.
Since breakfast is inclusive here, I've been going down every morning and eating cereal and toast since it's relatively quiet. The host, an unassuming Spanish guy about my age, has been friendly and helpful (and I enjoy hearing his Madrid accent quite a lot). Today I went down to breakfast and around half of our charges were circling the buffet like buzzards. The host looked much more harried today, "I'm sorry Ms. Walker," he said. "It's so busy." I told him that I was one of the teachers and his eyes widened in shock at the thought of trying to keep them in line. I caught snippets of conversation: "We were out clubbing." "Oh, I feel asleep at 3am." "I'm trying to practice my accent." "Beer!" All of which did nothing to help the feeling of impending doom that washed over me.
I'm really looking forward to teaching, despite what it may sound like. Once they see the plays, everyone in the class will know the material, something that can't be said for any other class I've taught. Usually only about a third of the class has done their reading, and even they usually skimmed the boring bits or texted on their phones whilst scanning the lines. After everyone sees Lear tomorrow, the entire class will know the play (that is, if we can keep them awake during the performance!).
2 comments:
Last week, only 3 of my 13 students in ENG 102 had done the reading. It's those days that make me want to become a editor in an art museum or some non-profit artists'/writers' space....
Viola Swamp! Chuckle.
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