I've been thinking about (translation: putting off) writing my course description for about a month now, and when this week started I realized it was July already and officially time to do something about it. I gave myself a deadline of, well, today to complete the stupid thing. I know, I know, it's not stupid. I've just been so intimidated by the very idea of writing a course description for a college class that I honestly didn't know where to begin. Then I made the mistake of reading everyone else's. Not a good plan. I took a break, but eventually it just had to be written.
So, I'm done with it now, and I'm just not sure what I think about it. Compared to the others I read it's terribly simplistic--no academic jargon in sight--and I'm worried that if that's the norm mine is going to look childish. On the other hand, I need to be true to my identity as an educator, and I wholeheartedly believe simple is the way to go. My dad has always said that the mark of genius is not taking the simple and making it complex, but taking the complex and making it simple. I know this is the first thing my students will see, so I want to make sure they have an accurate understanding of what the course will be like. Yikes! Now I'm getting a little bit neurotic about it. So, here's what I will do. I'm going to post it below. If it sucks, please tell me now. It can still be changed. If it doesn't suck, I'd really like to know that too! The first paragraph is what I'm required to say. Everything else is all me.
This writing course focuses on the creation of complex, analytic, well-supported arguments that matter in academic contexts. Students work closely with their peers and the instructor to develop their written prose. Readings cover a variety of different genres and academic disciplines.
Simply put, the goal for this class is to help you become a better writer. We will accomplish this goal by exploring how "good" writers operate and how we develop arguments in an academic setting as we explore the theme "The Power of Words and Thought." You can expect to complete various small writing assignments and four formal essays during the course of the semester. You will need to prepare some out-of-class reading, and we will workshop our essays together as we focus on revision and the writing process. The culmination of the course will be your writing portfolio, where you will have the opportunity to showcase your best work.
So. There it is. I have something, even if only a rough draft (or, as many of my students in Texas called them, a "ruft draft"). I always tell my students that beginning is the hardest part, and I guess it's true today in more ways than one. This is really my first task as a Ph.D. student and I'm still not totally convinced that I have the skills to do this. Maybe once I build up some momentum I'll feel more like I can do this.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
It's all over
My grandfather calls me a schoolteacher. I think it's a generational (or maybe regional?) thing, and it used to annoy me a little. I can't really explain why. Maybe because when I hear the word "schoolteacher" I flash to images of Laura Ingalls Wilder teaching on the prairie after finishing 8th grade. Which is, in no way, an insult to the late Mrs. Wilder. She happens to be one of my heros, but I digress. I guess the title bothered me because I felt it was a cutesy designation for what I feel should be a professional occupation. That's part of the problem with the profession--we get no respect!
Today, I'm rather glad that people have called me a schoolteacher, because it gives me a clear delineation for my life. I'll always be a teacher, whether I'm teaching university students or the children I have yet to birth (or incubate, come to think of it). But it's not looking like I'll ever be a schoolteacher again. We finished summer school today, and it was my last day of employment with the district. It's a sweetly sad feeling, saying goodbye to these four years as a public schoolteacher. The best way I can describe it is like if you had a distinct moment in time when you knew you were saying goodbye to your childhood--to clover chains and dress-up trunks and long summer afternoons running through the sprinkler. We don't often get to mourn the end of an era as it happens--most often we don't even realize it's over until much later. Today, I was blessed to have the opportunity to take a moment and say goodbye to four crazy-but-good years and a facet of myself. It's a good thing.
I'm getting incredibly excited. I received a letter last week from the university informing me that I've been awarded a fellowship I didn't even apply for, so that's good news. The summers that I was told were not funded now are! Hurray! Also, this upcoming year will be my only year as an instructor. After this, I'll be assigned duties as a research assistant. The letter mentioned that this would possibly bring opportunities to co-author papers with professors. As much as I love to teach, it's time to accept that I'm entering the world of academia and it's publish or perish from now on. There will still be some teaching each semester, but I think I'm good with this. I was very surprised to receive the letter, as I was unaware such a fellowship even existed, but it was a very, very happy surprise. I'm still a bit curious about what this will mean in regards to nitty gritty of day-to-day life.
Details are beginning to come together, and suddenly the vague wisp of an idea I had back in October is actually becoming reality. I have a pile of reading stacked on my desk, which is probably a preview of coming attractions for the next five years. I also need to somehow compose a course description for a composition class, which is more intimidating than it sounds, especially when I made the mistake of checking all the other instructors' descriptions. I'm actually leaning toward the slightly ironic, very modern description as follows: "In this course, you will become a better writer." Thoughts, anyone? Am I showing everyone that I'm an academic fraud and I don't belong if I go with that one? Or am I being an individual whose students can expect a simple, concise teaching style?
Today, I'm rather glad that people have called me a schoolteacher, because it gives me a clear delineation for my life. I'll always be a teacher, whether I'm teaching university students or the children I have yet to birth (or incubate, come to think of it). But it's not looking like I'll ever be a schoolteacher again. We finished summer school today, and it was my last day of employment with the district. It's a sweetly sad feeling, saying goodbye to these four years as a public schoolteacher. The best way I can describe it is like if you had a distinct moment in time when you knew you were saying goodbye to your childhood--to clover chains and dress-up trunks and long summer afternoons running through the sprinkler. We don't often get to mourn the end of an era as it happens--most often we don't even realize it's over until much later. Today, I was blessed to have the opportunity to take a moment and say goodbye to four crazy-but-good years and a facet of myself. It's a good thing.
I'm getting incredibly excited. I received a letter last week from the university informing me that I've been awarded a fellowship I didn't even apply for, so that's good news. The summers that I was told were not funded now are! Hurray! Also, this upcoming year will be my only year as an instructor. After this, I'll be assigned duties as a research assistant. The letter mentioned that this would possibly bring opportunities to co-author papers with professors. As much as I love to teach, it's time to accept that I'm entering the world of academia and it's publish or perish from now on. There will still be some teaching each semester, but I think I'm good with this. I was very surprised to receive the letter, as I was unaware such a fellowship even existed, but it was a very, very happy surprise. I'm still a bit curious about what this will mean in regards to nitty gritty of day-to-day life.
Details are beginning to come together, and suddenly the vague wisp of an idea I had back in October is actually becoming reality. I have a pile of reading stacked on my desk, which is probably a preview of coming attractions for the next five years. I also need to somehow compose a course description for a composition class, which is more intimidating than it sounds, especially when I made the mistake of checking all the other instructors' descriptions. I'm actually leaning toward the slightly ironic, very modern description as follows: "In this course, you will become a better writer." Thoughts, anyone? Am I showing everyone that I'm an academic fraud and I don't belong if I go with that one? Or am I being an individual whose students can expect a simple, concise teaching style?
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