The Waiting Room

I made through my first day teaching without too much hassle or saying "fuck" in front of my students. Being off as long as I have, you tend to forget about language.

My first class, Critical Thinking, consists entirely of freshman. And they all had that deer caught in the headlights look. They were absolutely petrified. They wouldn't even laugh at my jokes! It was like pulling teeth to get them to interact. I hope they will loosen up soon before I start to loose it.

My second class is a Business Law course which is mostly sophomores and juniors. They were a little more engaging, but not much. The room that is assigned is kind of small for the class. I don't want to change rooms because it has AC which is kinda nice right now. But once it gets cold, it will not be so good because it is across campus. The thought of trudging in the snow does not make the joints happy. Also, a room that small will make testing difficult. I will have to either give different version of tests or make the tests take home.

I also found my target student for the Business Law class. This is the person who I know will be the most annoying, so I am going to pick on him incessantly. He seems to think he is Jack Black. Watch out, humor boy!

I honestly felt like I had entered the Merry 'Ol Land of Oz. I felt like I was teaching at a real college. It did not feel that way at the last place I taught. That place was a college pretending to be a college. The students are way different than the ones I taught before. No students showing up to class wearing ankle monitors or hearing about baby daddy drama.

But, like the movie, I am waiting for some dude to come out from behind the screen. I mean, it is only the first day. The freshman will loosen up and start doing things that annoy the hell out of me. Upper classmen will think they can get away with stuff. Administration will have me do stuff that has no purpose.

And I will bitch, moan and drink.