Today I taught my second section of the week. It happened to be one in which I talked a LOT. Usually I listen. I facilitate. I keep us on task. I ask questions that push. But today I talked. We covered lots of stuff about NCLB. About the Supreme Court decision about race-based desegregation policies. I know that many myths were dismantled.
Towards the end of class, my throat started to hurt from talking so much. My voice was tired, by body was tired. Yet I realized soon after leaving that I was exhilarated. I love teaching in all shapes and forms, and it's wicked exciting to share information that then builds the knowledge base of others.
And right around the moment I realized I was exhausted and exhilarated all at once, the dear Mere called me. She was off to teach a workshop and was nervous. She asked if she'll ever not be nervous for such events. And luckily there I was in the perfect place to tell her that, yes, someday those nerves will gently shift into excitement. Because I see my teaching now as something exciting, a part of my week that I look forward to.
It's an important insight, really, as I look towards what kind of balance I'd like in my first post-grad job between research and teaching. That teaching gets my groove on. And I know Mere will get there too. Really, as much as she doesn't believe it. Wink.
Be well.
PS -- the two times I mention Mere are both linked to different things -- her biz and her blog. Check 'em both out! (Shameless plug).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Aw, shucks. That's an awful lot of Mere in one post. The workshop, incidentally, was fabulous, and I had to remind myself to slow down a couple of times when I got too excited about what I was talking about. And the two hours I was afraid I couldn't fill was over before I got anywhere close to running out of good stuff for us to do. Though it was, as always, worth generating and kept us on track. It's so great to be able to teach the kind of class/lead the kind of discussion that you would want led for you. It's not exactly in my nature to trust that things will get better, but on this one I'm going to take your word for it.
Hey, funny, I've just been having a similar inquiry with myself about giving massages. Will I ever feel excited instead of nervous everytime I'm off to give a massage. My co-workers say YES, and I haven't been experiencing that until yesterday. I had four great sessions and had so much fun, and can actually see being excited for each one of those people to come back and see me. Like getting to hang out with my buddies while I make them feel good at the same time. CooL! oh, I can't wait to look at the knitting parts.
Post a Comment