why I don't like teaching a class that was built for me

Today I realized that my students have another paper to do. Now, I have known this for a long time, but I assumed that the creators of this class would know the type of work load that my students and I would have. Soon after giving them a busy work paper, we are expecting them to write another busy work paper AND have a final exam. I feel like this is completely unnecessary and a waste of my time and the students. While the students had nothing to do for over a month, now they have 5 or 6 assignments due back to back. I feel like the work load could have been spread out much more efficiently and that perhaps we could make them more useful. The topics of the class are obviously meant to make BGSU feel like this class is worthwhile to fund into the future. I think that this is crap and that we are not doing justice to the education system. I would rather the department fail than to lower our standards in order to appease the powers that be. I am tired of being told that my views are not worthy because people have put a lot of time into this class. If someone puts a lot of time into something, that doesn't mean that it is good. I think that people take education too personally and then are unwilling to learn from their mistakes. So, I get to teach a class that is built for the department to look good while my students scratch their heads as to why they have to do all of this worthless work. I suppose that I should tow the party line and simply do what I am told (which is mostly what I do) but I feel like there should be a safe forum for us to voice our opinions on this. As a TA (we don't even get to be called instructors even though we TEACH this class) we have no power and no say in the class. Some would argue that we do have lots of say and power, but they are delusional.

How do I come to terms with a class that I feel like isn't structured in the proper way? Subvert the class itself? Quit school? Protest in the streets?

I imagine that I will just continue it and try my best to implement some cultural aspects to my course.

That felt good to rant!

Teaching off the Cuff

So, the last class I had I decided to talk about Facebook. The topic of the day was interpersonal and relationship issues. I had a lecture prepared, but I abandoned it to talk about my thesis and their views of relationships on Facebook. We, as a class, talked for over an hour on this subject. I really enjoy being able to not follow the strict outline of a lecture and to get the input of the students. Importantly, I learned a lot more about their views on Facebook. Now, I can say this is simply about my own personal research, but I am genuinely interested in what my students have to say about these issues. I think this is an important part of teaching and makes the students feel like they value their opinions. Also, it helps me stay relevant. While I was a college student only a few years ago, there is a greater and greater divide between users of technology. Technology is changing at a very fast pace and the way that I understand something like Facebook might be much different than those who are in college now.

In this way, I can let the students move the discussion wherever they want (within reason). I am there to mediate, but not control. I help the discussion when it dies down, but I try not to lead it too much. I think this may be easier when you are talking about something that excites you. The kids realize how important the subject is to you and will follow along with it.

The conversation went really well. I still have issues with trying to get people who never talk to participate, but at this point you can't really expect that much. I just hope to make the class somewhat interesting and significant to their lives.

Why I like to teach

I often have a lot of negative things to say on this blog, but I actually really do like being a teacher. Perhaps I would like to have more control over the content of my class, but I really do like being in front of people and communicating with them. I especially like the point of the semester where you can talk to your students about their lives and joke around with them. I think it takes awhile for me to become comfortable with my students because I try and put up a wall so that they don't think that I am their friend. I enjoy being friendly and getting to know them, but I don't want them to think that I am going to give them good grades simply because I like them. Many of my peers seem to think that it is ok to hang out with undergrads. I find this to be a bit weird. These kids are not my friends, they are my students and that is an important distinction.

While I am all for breaking down hierarchies in education I still think in a college environment one has to be very careful. I do not want to hang out with my students. I don't need the reassurance that I am cool. Perhaps it is a bit different in grad school, but still there are some walls that need to remain.

However, you can still be a mentor to these kids without being best of friends and I really like being in that position.

Teaching While Being a Graduate Student

I know I have talked about this before, but I keep thinking about how hard it is to give my full attention to a class when I have so many other things going on. Especially when it is a pre-fabricated cookie cutter class. I feel like I am just working with the system, being part of the factory mill that is undergraduate education. If you speak up about the system, people take it personally and become offended and nothing gets changed. You can subversively add some interesting things here or there, but the reality is that you are teaching a class that really doesn't have much substance. Now, the powers that be would argue that you are given a lot of freedom to make the class whatever you want it to be, but they would be wrong. I feel like some live in this delusional world where everything is great and never needs to be changed. Critism is only allowed if it isn't about the system itself. I guess that I have become frustrated with the academic structure of BG.
Recently I read a book about FDR and how he managed to changed the structure of American government because he had the War and economy on his side; people were desperate for change (granted he did a lot of illegal/unethical things). Now we are in a similar situation with the colapse of higher education as we know it, but we are not willing to take chances, to change the way we look at education. We would rather go down with the ship with our hands in our pockets than actually try and push the system. I am frustrated because here is the perfect chance to really change the world, and we aren't doing it, myself included. I mean, the likelyhood of me getting a job in four years is pretty slim. My friends department is shutting down around him, cultural studies is being put on the back burner, and we (young CS academics) are mostly screwed, so why not buck up against the system? Perhaps it is because our assistantships are always held over our heads?

Perhaps I will teach this class differently next semester.

Group Work

I have never had a group assignment in a class I have instructed by myself before. I have TAed for classes where groups had to make videos and whatnot, but I never really had to facilitate the actual project. In comm 1020, I get to do this for the first time and I am somewhat pleased with the results. I have had 3 groups present and, for the most part, they have put a lot of work into it. However, I found out after the presentation that one person did not contribut to the group. I had to inform their members that they should have told me earlier in the game because there really wasn't much I could do about it now.

I really dislike assigning group projects. Perhaps this is something uniquely american, but I feel like they are just a waste of time. I was always put into groups where I would do the most work and everyone else would get the credit and yes this is how real life works, but school really isn't real life. I think low stakes group work is great, but big graded projects are just silly. It means more busy work for the instructor, more work for the students and not really a lot they take from it other than "boy I hate working in groups". I would much rather have more individual presentations. Also, trying to grade a group project is like hell on Earth. How does one fairly grade a group of 5 people? Also, with speech presentations, how do you even remember what people said?

It is a frustrating situation.

Review Guide

For the first time ever I gave my students a study guide for the test. In years past, I have never made one because I thought it was the students responsibility to study on their own. Perhaps the fact that somebody else made the study guide helped me into the decision, but I am still kind of wary of it. I figure that I could use this as a time to experiment to see if it actually helps kids do better on the midterm. Somehow, I still feel like it isn't going to do any good because these students don't read/know how to study for a college exam. I have only done Popular Culture exams in the past, but I don't really expect anything different from these. I would love to be proven wrong and I hope that this attitude doesn't somehow influence the way I teach. I do think that I have dumbed down my lessons over the years simply so that people could pass the test and the class. One has to keep in mind their audience while teaching and Bowling Green students are not the most inspired I have been around. Another side of it is that the majority of students that take these classes will never use any of the information again, no matter how hard we try and make it relevant to their everyday life. So, why is it important for them to do well in a class they don't care about? I grew up thinking the opposite of this and wanted to excel in all my classes, including the ones that I didn't like, but perhaps I have to be open to newer ways of thinking about education.

We will see what happens with the study guide. Perhaps I will use it from now on, but somehow I doubt it. I really don't feel comfortable being part of the reason why higher education is turning into elementary school. I really would like to work for a place that pushes student to do their best. Failing shouldn't be an option. Failure should mean dropping out unless their is some emergency.

teaching philosophy

After spending some time thinking about why I teach the way I do, I have concluded that my family is very central to the way I teach. In class I often refer to experiences I had with my family and relate them to communication. I think it is really important to give personal stories to students in order for them to better connect to some of the ideas we teach. Also, it helps them to realize that you are a human and that perhaps if you relate some of these issues to your life, then they can do the same thing. The more personable you are as a teacher, the more likely the students may be to realize that education is not just a one way flow of information. I think it is important to push education to a new level where everyone admits that everyone, including the teacher, can learn from these lessons.

I have had some trouble with this in my current class because not many people participate. However, recently I had them all bring in news articles and give impromptu speeches. It seemed like the kids really liked learning about what was going on in the world and that they were much more vocal in terms of responding to the presentations. I think that because the articles were mostly about events that mattered to the students, they really have some connection to it and enjoyed talking about it. There was one article about the girl who died after she was given the cervical cancer vaccine that really got a response. I think I need to think about how I can further connect this class to their lives.