The semester progresses well. I’m at least as busy as I have ever been teaching, and sometimes feel much more.
I’m teaching two classes this semester, one of which is new and one of which I have taught before. The new class is 105 – a non-calculus introductory physics course. It’s a little trickier to teach than the calculus version because – for me at least – calculus is far more intuitive than the approximates associated with not having access to such things as derivatives.
Torque for instance. It’s much easier to simply say it is a vector cross product than the product of a force and this silly invention called the ‘lever arm‘.
I have 53 students in that class, and it is my desire for them all to do well. At this point, 6 or 7 of them aren’t, and perhaps won’t since they’ve ignored my emails. There is only so much I can do for those. The others are working hard though, and making a good effort. This pleases me, more so because of the ‘average’ students working very hard than the gifted who would do well regardless of instructor (I was one of those). They clearly like me as a teacher though. One student sent me a “get well soon” email this week after I canceled classes Wednesday. Another apparently went to the physics office and requested I teach Physics 108 (next semesters the followup course) so he could have me as an instructor again!
The other course is 240, Modern Physics. This is the third time I have taught this one, and I’d say I get better every time. I know the material now like the back of my hand, and can predict what sorts of things will confuse the students. I still try to make the lectures new though, and in a sense always do since I lecture mostly from my head, only briefly perusing the notes. I have 23 students in this class, and like the ones in my other class they want me to teach 250 – next semester’s followup (a course in Waves).
Will I teach next semester? That’s the question. I’m not getting my thesis done this semester – as usual teaching is too mighty a distraction, and the thesis requires tremendous amounts of uninterrupted attention.
I am debating accepting only one class – assuming I am offered one – next semester so I can devote more time to writing. However if I do this tuition will not be reimbursed, so my pay will be trivial considering I’d have to pay my own tuition. Which makes it seem logical to teach zero classes and have even more time to work on the thesis.
But I love teaching, and besides it is great for a resume. I have students in each class begging me to teach their followup next semester, and here I want to finish my thesis and graduate so I can… do what?
At this point I really don’t know what I’m going to do.
You are a teacher – something that I have known for a long time. Life is too short not to do what makes you happy if at all possible.