Three Weeks In: Real Reflections on a Semester

I am three weeks in to the new semester and it's a Friday. I teach Monday - Wednesday, so I typically allow myself Thursday and Friday "off" academic work except for virtual office hours. Then I hit the books during the weekend to prepare for the upcoming week. That schedule looks much different when I only teach one class but so far, it's working.

What's on my mind right now: have I paced the syllabus appropriately? Are they learning yet? Have I confirmed all the guest speakers? How far ahead can I get on my lecture notes so I won't be prepping them in a hotel room during business travel?

The interesting thing about teaching is that it's a very self-driven activity. Unlike many of of my work experiences over which I only have partial (and sometimes no) influence, when I teach, I am in charge. This is humbling, and here's why.

In the classroom, I am the expert. I set the pace. I influence the flow of the classroom dialog and am responsible for setting the tone. I can control when the assignments happen and how much prep time they receive. I create the rubrics and explain them. (Side note: confused about what a rubric is and how to create one? Stay tuned for my upcoming online information session.) I am responsible for ensuring that they get something out of the experience. While their receptivity to learning is ultimately what will decide how much they learn, they look to me for a lot of it. I can't think of a single instance in my professional career where I was solely responsible for something from beginning to end.

Also, and most importantly someone is paying for it. Whether it is a family member, the student him/herself, or an organization that has provided a scholarship, someone is backing this experience and they expect value from me in return.

As an adjunct there's only a little oversight of us: the usual HR training, Title IX info-sessions, and then potentially a visit mid-semester from another instructor at a slightly higher level. That lack of someone waiting in the wings to review everything can be somewhat unsettling for us professionals who are used to many cooks in the kitchen. When people say to me, "Oh wow, you teach? That's a great resume builder." Yes, well I suppose it is. But for me, it is so. Much. More.