is here! Yes, in fact about 1/6-th of the year is already over. How time passes! The last semester was exceptionally hectic. Teaching a class of 90 was no joke. Also, teaching one hour classes as opposed to one and a half hour classes was very tricky. By the time the previous class ends you are 5-7 minutes into the lecture. By the time students come and you get started, you have lost about 10 minutes. And by the time it is 45 minutes into the lecture you have to start thinking about wrapping up. With the clock ticking so fast for you and the same clock ticking very slowly for your students (yes, when I attended classes, they always seemed slow!!), it is hard to find a balance between giving maximum you can in a class and giving just the right amount that can be assimilated by brains which have already processed a couple of lectures and are yet to digest a few more.
The work for the course did not stop with teaching. Coming up with good exercises, tutorials, correcting answer sheets etc took up a lot of effort too. Though very hectic, it was also a fun and rewarding experience for me. On the one hand, teaching a class of second year students was very good. Because they were very receptive, enthusiastic and still in the learning mode. I am sure I will always remember this batch. But on the other hand, it was very high risk. Unlike the students in their forth year, they still were in their school mode. They wanted their teachers to be perfect. And they did not know what to do with a teacher who is lenient! The stereotype of a teacher is assertive, and strict. And if you are none of the above (which I am not, and it is already too late to change this aspect of my personality), then tough luck! In my evaluations, most said that the tutorials and problem sets were interesting and that I was considerate towards slow learners. Also, many came to talk to me this semester and told me that they have got interested in theory and are crediting theory courses this semester. That surely made me happy.
What will I change the next time? I will move to electronic presentations as opposed to board presentations. One hour classes are like talks! I must use my time well and I must make sure the discussion remains focused. I will create tutorials but will not grade them. And will never, ever, ever evva make a typo in my quizzes!
I digressed into the description of my course, but I was initially intending to comment on the topic of "how time passes!". Oh well, it does! You want it or not, you keep track of it or not, you realise it or not, you hope that it doesn't or not... it passes. The paint on the wall becomes duller, the smell of the books gets sweeter, the old photos get paler, the wooden chair get weaker, the rusted cupboard gets crankier... all inevitable, all go unnoticed every single day, and all suddenly become extremely noticeable. Oh yes, time passes. We all agree it does. With time machines as our only hope for being able to travel back in time, and the possibility of one being built any time soon very remote, we are all headed forward. And by now, you may be wondering where exactly am I headed in this post. Frankly, nowhere! This pointless rambling, this random gibber jabber is my way of saying that I will be hitting the 30 mark this year. Unless something kills me before that, or machines kill humans, or someone invents a time machine and lets me use it, or zombies eat all humans, or the world comes to an end, I am headed right into it. Not bad that I reached so far without much damage!
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