Yesterday was my first day teaching at MCC. I have two communication courses, back to back. And I was so nervous! Although I have subsituted before, having two complete classes to teach for an entire semester scared me. But I survived. Here is a summary of the experience.
First, what did I wear? Of course, that was one of the most primary decisions I had to make. I made sure I had a good outfit to wear before I even put together my lectures! (Yes, I am certifiably crazy.) But back to the question at hand. I wore my favorite colors: navy blue and white--blue dress pants and heels with a white cardigan over a white top. I felt like I looked nice, which boosted my overall confidence.
I arrived 35 minuted early to pick up the photocopies of my syllabus in the faculty work/lounge. It was a good thing I arrived early because the syllabi were stapled incorrectly and it took me 20 minutes to get them reorganized and stapled properly. As a result I did not have time to photocopy a game I intended to play to illustrate a communications principle. I decided to try to get along without it last minute.
Afterward I headed off to my first class, Com 100. The smaller classroom was full once all 27 students were seated. It was also pretty warm in there. I started off by introducing myself and by going over the syllabus. At that point I was running early time wise and decided I had better come up with some other game as time filler or else I would be done way too early (not that the students would have minded). I opted to play a game my family played growing up that is similar to Scattergories--having the students do one round on their own and then a second round in small groups. It worked well and put me back on track time wise. At that point I went through a brief lecture based on the first bit of Chapter 1 of the textbook. In the end I still finished five minutes early, but felt fine about that.
Immediately after class ended I was off to Com 230--Small Group Communication, but stole a few minutes to photocopy the game I had not been able to utilize before. On the way to class two students asked me where the classroom was, so (feeling somewhat like the Pied Piper) I said to follow me as I was their instructor.
This second class was held in a room twice the size of the first class, but was still on the warm side. Before starting class I opened up the computer to use the PowerPoint file I had spent an hour preparing that morning. However, when trying to use the computer it asked for a password, which I had not idea of what it might be. So, at that point I knew this class would be somewhat more off the cuff. To help take up more of the time (would I be able to remember everything in the lecture without the visual notes?) I went through the class roster to try and get to know each student individually. After doing this, going through the syllabus, and then playing the game I brought, I only had eight minutes to fill with my "lecture" (and I use that term very loosely).
So I survived. By the time I got to the car and headed off my head started to pound with a stress headache. All the tension finally got to me. I popped some headache medicine and did some deep breathing exercises. Still, I was wiped out for the rest of the day.
The first day was done. And I survived.
I arrived 35 minuted early to pick up the photocopies of my syllabus in the faculty work/lounge. It was a good thing I arrived early because the syllabi were stapled incorrectly and it took me 20 minutes to get them reorganized and stapled properly. As a result I did not have time to photocopy a game I intended to play to illustrate a communications principle. I decided to try to get along without it last minute.
Afterward I headed off to my first class, Com 100. The smaller classroom was full once all 27 students were seated. It was also pretty warm in there. I started off by introducing myself and by going over the syllabus. At that point I was running early time wise and decided I had better come up with some other game as time filler or else I would be done way too early (not that the students would have minded). I opted to play a game my family played growing up that is similar to Scattergories--having the students do one round on their own and then a second round in small groups. It worked well and put me back on track time wise. At that point I went through a brief lecture based on the first bit of Chapter 1 of the textbook. In the end I still finished five minutes early, but felt fine about that.
Immediately after class ended I was off to Com 230--Small Group Communication, but stole a few minutes to photocopy the game I had not been able to utilize before. On the way to class two students asked me where the classroom was, so (feeling somewhat like the Pied Piper) I said to follow me as I was their instructor.
This second class was held in a room twice the size of the first class, but was still on the warm side. Before starting class I opened up the computer to use the PowerPoint file I had spent an hour preparing that morning. However, when trying to use the computer it asked for a password, which I had not idea of what it might be. So, at that point I knew this class would be somewhat more off the cuff. To help take up more of the time (would I be able to remember everything in the lecture without the visual notes?) I went through the class roster to try and get to know each student individually. After doing this, going through the syllabus, and then playing the game I brought, I only had eight minutes to fill with my "lecture" (and I use that term very loosely).
So I survived. By the time I got to the car and headed off my head started to pound with a stress headache. All the tension finally got to me. I popped some headache medicine and did some deep breathing exercises. Still, I was wiped out for the rest of the day.
The first day was done. And I survived.
Good for you! It sounds like things will get smoother over time.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! Congrats! Good luck through the rest of the semester.
ReplyDeleteWow Rebecca, I'm impressed! That does not sound easy, but it sounds like you were great. Good luck in your new endeavor!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a successful first day! Great Job!!!
ReplyDeleteYay! It sounds like you were AMAZING...which I knew you would be! I told DH that he should have signed up for your class. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool. I've taught college before, and it's stressful, but it's also fun. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to you!! It sounds like you are a very good thinker on your feet! Good job at being able to adjust to the unexpected. It sounds like things went well.
ReplyDelete