A look back.

Spring semester has been going for two weeks now, and this go-round promises to be much saner than the fall. In December I washed my hands of the college success course which I had so eagerly anticipated in August. Of the horrible evening section, all I can say is I gritted my teeth and made it through.

Looking at two or three posts ago, I'm not sure how apparent it was that my anxiety and helplessness was exacerbated by that section of students. It was the most volatile and resistant group dynamic I've ever encountered, just the most improbable mix of attention deficit disorders, class clowns, stubbornness, and laziness. Around mid-October, I was counting down the remaining meetings after every class meeting, and I cancelled a couple of meetings, simply because I either didn't have enough to make it through 50 blinkin' minutes or I didn't want to face them.

I had another section which was much quieter and (mostly) more respectful, but no more interested or interesting, and that was a whole different set of problems. But the evening section contained many individuals who were unmotivated and had no problems letting everyone know how unmotivated they were. The word that comes to mind is "shameless."

So I fretted over that course, and it doubtless colored my attitude toward my other courses. But they turned out okay. And just between you and me, I hope to never teach the college success course again. It's a valid course to teach, and so many of our students really do need tips on studying and taking tests and managing time, but I'm just not the man to do it.