I survived my first semester of teaching......and other things going on around here

 

Yes, I made it. Finals have been given, group grading gotten through, and final grades will soon be posted. If I could put my learning curve on some kind of graph I think it would be a vertical line shooting up exponentially through the course of the semester. I had NO idea what I was doing when I walked into the classroom my first day. All I could do was call on the small amount of poker playing skills I had and bluff my way through. I'm definitely still a novice but I have so many ideas for teaching. grading systems, student assignments, etc. next semester that I am  really excited to try out. But first, I am excited to have the summer off and take a break. The past school year  has been crazy with me finishing my masters and graduating and going straight into teaching two classes; my poor brain just needs a break. I am very proud to say, however, that ALL of my students passed the final. Unfortunately not all of them passed the class. :( And I had an incidence of plagiarism in each class which was not fun to deal with. It is disappointing that these students would cheat, but even more disappointing that they don't have enough faith in themselves that they have good ideas and the ability to express those ideas on a piece of paper. I know other factors play into plagiarism such as laziness, pressure for grades, and the time crunch at the end of the semester, but I really think that the issue of plagiarism comes down to a person not thinking their ideas are good enough. If you truly believe that your ideas are valid and worth sharing then you will not stoop to using another person's work. ANYWAY, enough about that. My main feelings after the semester are freedom and relief. Which makes me question how much I actually enjoyed my experience, but I need to do it a second time at least to really know. Also, today at the grading session for the finals, the dept. chair told me that she wants me to be on a committee to restructure Engl. 1302. I haven't even taught that class so  I don't know what I could possibly bring to the table. Plus being on committees and going to meetings in on my list with such things as scrubbing toilets, picking up dog poop, and cleaning gum off the bottom of my shoes. Nevertheless, I'll probably say yes. After all it will look good on the resume, although I'm not exactly sure what I'm building this resume up for.....
Meanwhile, Maddy is getting funnier and more creative all the time. The first video shows her using her imagination. She is starting to introduce ideas into conversation and play without us giving the idea to her. It is really neat to see. The second video is her going through the animal sounds. She often initiates this little game as well. I am looking forward to having the summer free to spend more time with Maddy when I'm not feeling stressed from the pile of grading I know is sitting on the computer.