The Final Countdown

I finished grading papers/exams/whatnot about 10:30 this morning. With the exception of getting together with one of my colleagues to finalize grades--we team taught a course this semester and simply need to total points from our respective halves--I'm essentially finished with the Fall 2006 semester. I always get a little reflexive about the last 15 weeks of a semester and I think that's probably a good thing. I evaluate myself in terms of teaching, course policies, textbooks, student interactions, etc. This semester has been kind of a mixed bag. I absolutely loved one of my courses, as did the attending students. I heard from no less than three students that it was the best. course. ever taught by the best. professor. ever. Nothing makes me feel better than hearing students refer to me as the best professor they've encountered. A second course produced the exact opposite reaction from both myself and, I suspect, my students. Can you say bored, bored, bored? My lectures were uninspired, the textbook about as dry as one can get; the entire experience felt exceedingly mediocre. So, total revamp for next year. Thankfully, I probably won't be teaching the course beyond next year. It's not in my traditional subject area and I'm not all that excited about it. You think that's part of the reason the class was so blah? You bet it was. My third course had great moments and down moments, but was a good experience overall. There are a few adjustments to be made, of course, but that's par for the course.

The biggest frustration this semester related directly to high maintenance students. I'm not sure if it was something in the air or water, but I've never had students who needed more guidance and encouragement. Students emailed me about proper citation formats (the style manual is a required text for the course), manuscript reviews (proofreading, essentially), topic choice, organization, and the list goes on, and on, and on. I've never spent more time dealing with goofy questions that, upon a few moments reflection, could be answered without emailing a professor. For whatever reason, students don't hesitate to send an email at 1 AM with a question regarding where to place a comma in a reference. I'm not kidding. AND, they expect an email by 7 AM or earlier. I won't even get into the trouble student who emerged at the end of the semester. Beyond ridiculous. But I kept my cool and stuck to my guns. There are many lessons to be learned in college and not all relate to lecture or a textbook.

I produced very little in the way of personal scholarship during the Fall 2006 semester; that has to change. Oh, I managed to look up an article here and there, but I generated a scant 4-5 pages in terms of actual writing. That's pathetic. I've already committed to having two pieces finished by the end of the Spring 2007 semester. That's approximately 50 pages of material for those keeping score. Discipline. As STK reminds me, it's all about the discipline. Who wants to write when one can blog, read blogs, and waste tons of time on the Internets?