Monday, November 3, 2014

incompetency


Someone and I visited Erin in Louisville last weekend.  She has no car with her at college so we made the drive not only to visit with her, but also to take her to a grocery store and to take her to a Laundromat.  The laundry facilities at her dorm are woefully inadequate – one washer and one dryer for every 150 students.  Ridiculous!  After the chores were done, we took her and her boyfriend to Old Spaghetti Factory, one of our favorite restaurants in Louisville, and also the place where we celebrated after my graduation last year.  As we were waiting for the waiter to take our order, I remarked about how nice it was having dinner there that day with all the people who came to see me graduate.  Even my own parents came from far away.  My girls all came as did some friends and Someone’s parents.  It was really just a very nice day having everyone there sitting together at a table.  Dinner with Erin and her friend was also very nice. 

We got home late that evening after the Louisville trip and I slept like the dead, except I had a nightmare that night.  In my dream, I was rushing around trying to get things ready and organized before my first face-to-face class was to start.  I was in the classroom and students started walking in and taking their seats.  My agenda and notes were buried in my briefcase; I was pulling stacks of paper out and in a panic because I couldn’t find them.  Then, Someone’s parents walked in, sat down in the back and smiled at me.  As if that weren’t enough, the department head walked in and announced she was just going to stand in the back and observe for a bit.  I noticed everyone was getting restless and that we were now past the class starting time.  I was thinking about what a bad impression I was making.  Then, to top it all off, I realized I had forgot to change clothes and put shoes on.  I was standing there in front of everyone in shorts, a South Park tee-shirt, and socks.  That was like the last straw, so I just woke up. 
 
Silly dream, but it reminds me I need to start preparing myself for next semester.  I think the course will be better for students to have some face-to-face time with an instructor (me).  For my current online class, I put important things in announcements for my students such as due dates and hints that will help them perform better with our course work, but it’s obvious that most don’t read the announcements.  Some of them just don’t follow instructions well, and some can only barely function with the online platform.   There are just lots of learning opportunities for them. 

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