The other side of the desk

Four weeks into my community college teaching gig, I felt like a professor today. It wasn't so much the standing before the class and lecturing with authority, (though I'm getting better at that part; I only forgot what I was talking about twice today,) and it wasn't imparting my wisdom and experience to the students one-on-one.

No, what made me feel like a member of this most honorable profession was looking out over the sea (small pond, in fact) of blank stares when I asked my students about the assignment they were supposed to have completed for today. Of the half who actually showed up for class, only half of those had actually done the work, and one girl tried to make me feel guilty after class for not having at the ready an extra credit option for her to make up the points she had lost by neglecting to do the assignment two weeks in a row.

After reminding myself not to take any of this too personally, I was more amused than anything by their failure to do the least of what I ask of them. What kills me, though, is that the ones with the most talent are the ones with the most excuses, and those who are actually making an effort - the ones I'd like to reward - don't seem to grasp the basic concepts.

I can just see all my old teachers laughing and nodding at the thought that I'm seeing this whole dance from their perspective. I guess I'm finally finishing my education.