Day 1, Fall 2017 semester: one down, 59 to go...

It's actually been a hell of an easy day, I must say--largely because of all the work I did in the preceding weeks getting myself ready. I did have to make a few more copies of the materials for the SF class, and I made more than I needed, in case a few more students register while it's still possible for them to do so. I'm pretty content to have 20 students plus 2 senior observers; that's a good size for a lit class, and I'd be happy to keep it at that. (I expect students to flee the 101s when they get the deluge of first-day handouts tomorrow--which wouldn't be altogether a bad thing, as long as enough of them remain for the class to be of a reasonable size.)

I think today went pretty well. I'm already getting a read on some of the students--much of which will no doubt turn out to be erroneous, as is always the case. One student is older and is not looking for a degree, apparently--he's taking nothing but lit classes--and something about his behavior and affect leads me to suspect he may have a traumatic brain injury. There is a specific constellation of behaviors that I've seen before in students who do--but he could also simply be a bit of an odd duck. He is very enthusiastic, which is lovely. I'll be interested to see the quality of his written work, but he is a writer, he says--of what I'm not sure, but apparently that's his passion.

He also blurted out that he already likes the class. I thanked him and said, "I'm sure there are other students in the room who are feeling the opposite: 'Oh, God! What have I gotten myself in for?'"--and the young woman who was a student of mine in the past piped up, "She's not that bad. I've had her twice before, and she's fine." Thank you again.

There are a couple of students who already seem bright eyed at least, if not actively bright--enough that I don't feel a sinking sense of hopelessness about the possibilities for good energy and chemistry. A few I already--perhaps unfairly--have pegged as unlikely to make it. (One in particular spent the whole class looking off to one side, perched on the edge of his chair as if he couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there. I'll be interested to see whether he's back on Thursday.) It's a grand parlor game: comparing the first impressions to what actually turns out to be the case.

I didn't get into my "college will change you" speech--but I did riff a bit on how education is not a spectator sport. "You are the athletes," I said, "I'm the coach," and continued the analogy by saying that--as with any sport--performance is improved with practice, and a certain set of muscles need to be developed (specifically the ones between one's ears). That stemmed from my statement that I love teaching (which I do, despite all the bitching I do about it), but that doesn't mean I'm an easy teacher. I'll pretzel myself to help, I explained, but at a certain point, the students have to come through on their end. Paul took my analogy even further: the coach isn't out there on the field; the players have to get out there and do the work.... Yeah. Like he said.

After class, Paul and I talked some. Amazingly enough, the union and administration are already ready with a memorandum of agreement on the contract, good through 2020. It hasn't been ratified yet, but none of the things we worried about have transpired. (The change to the shared governance process is another story, but also a still-unfolding one.) The MOA hasn't been ratified yet, either; we get to vote on it before it goes into effect, but I'd be surprised if the union members vote it down. It does not, however, offer a big early retirement bonus. (I guess the number of faculty has shrunk sufficiently through the retirements that have already happened--as well as a few deaths.) So, there's nothing to induce me to quickly grab the chance and retire, oh, say, now. Retirement is still very much on my mind, and will certainly be talked about in many future blog posts, but I'm back to the attitude of 1. I will take each year as it comes. If I get to the point where I truly cannot stand it, I'll make the move, whatever my finances, but more important 2. Unless and until my finances are in the kind of shape I'm hoping for, and unless and until I have a clear plan for what I want to do next, I'll keep on keeping on.

It is interesting to note that all my dread of the impending semester has vanished now that I'm back in the groove. I had a hunch that would be the case, and so it is turning out to be. I'm not as bright-eyed and optimistic as I used to be, but yep: this is just what I do. "Turning the crank," as my dad would have said.

As for today, I could stay here in the office and do this, that, or the other--the "to do" list is always nearly endless (as faithful readers of the blog hear all too often)--but I'm going to take advantage of the fact that we're not holding office hours or seminar hours yet and skedaddle. Normally my Tuesdays will run much later, but I will make my escape, if not hay, while the sun shines (and it is shining at the moment, so, yay).

It will be interesting to meet the students in both sections of 101 tomorrow. And you all will certainly hear all about it.