Sometimes life gets too busy to go as planned...
For example, I found out 2 weeks ago that I would be teaching Biology 100. I KNOW Biology but I haven't TAUGHT beginning biology for a loooong time-- so this would take some organization to re-create it "Sherri-style".
I wasn't really worried about it two weeks ago-- I was still working on my future sewing room (in progress), I decided to take ALL of our music CDs out of their plastic cases and put them into media binders (another Sherri great idea!), I was creating cool salads for my chickens and spending time with the new Rodgers who moved back into town (J & A & BABY E).
But then I woke up in the middle of the night last week and thought to myself, "CRAP!! I better put some things together for Biology 100!!!" So I wrote 1/2 my syllabus then shifted gears to finish our income taxes. [My justification: April is coming and I wasn't sure if we were paying or receiving a refund.] I wrote the other 1/2 of my syllabus on Sunday and planned my second lecture. I xeroxed some things on Monday. I tried to write my first lecture at home last night BUT Bill was entertaining a bunch of his friends with a new board game called "Diplomacy". He bought some really good chips and dips...they were all drinking Fat Tire beer... And I found myself talking and laughing with his friends... and (big surprise?) I didn't get much done. Oh well, I had one more day!
Tonight the pressure was ON for me to finish that lecture. But first, I stopped by the college on my way home from work to check out my new classroom and test the new media technology in SVC's brand new science building. From past experience, this is ALWAYS a good thing to do when you are a part-time instructor and you are walking into the classroom 5 minutes before it begins. You need to know WHERE the dry erase markers are (=old school lecture notes on the boards) and HOW the high tech computer and projectors work for your cool PowerPoint presentations. You also need to check your security codes (only instructors get to use the cool media toys) and find out where the nearest bathrooms are (just in case). GOOD THING that I did that!! Because they made a last minute schedule change and my lecture room changed! (OMG!) I went to sign onto the fancy media system and my passwords didn't work! And I caught wind from another biology instructor that during her first day in class, the computer didn't work and she had to wing her first lecture without a presentation! Oh Nooooooooooooooo!
A few years ago, I would have been sobbing over this. Instead, I ate dinner. I tucked in chickens. I worked on some of my faculty online stuff, like Blackboard and my faculty email account. Then I got to work on the first lecture. It is pretty good. I hope my PowerPoint presentation will be grab their attention tomorrow......but in my head I have been working on my back-up plan. Just in case EVERYTHING goes WRONG in the classroom tomorrow. I packed my teaching bag with a fresh dry erase marker in case I have to put some notes on the board. I have some fun science books to read some excerpts out of. And I can tell these fresh faces how much I love science.
My secret goal is to make them fall in love with biology. If that doesn't happen, maybe they will learn to like it. I'll let you know how it goes... (insert crossed fingers here)
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