finals

the end of the semester is finally near, i think i have just survived the transition from secondary ed to college. i'm sure over the break i'll be able to process it.

overall its been pretty jarring. some my biggest mistakes were giving my students too much credit. i assumed that they would read the syllabus, and plan their work load accordingly. i wasn't the greatest undergrad student, but if i figured it out they could too? not always. as the semester progressed i realized that i needed to manage the classes like the high school students i just left. lots of deadlines, rewrites and constant reminders of what was in the syllabus. now that i know, it will be much easier to plan classes next semester, live and learn.

the biggest surprise is how these students react during finals. i gave the singing portion of the fundamentals test this morning and was intrigued by those who had been horribly failing (as well as skipping many classes and tests) thought that a good sightsinging grade would pass them. on the other hand i was also surprised how many "C" students didn't show up for the final and who will now fail.

with that all said, i think this is for me. now that i have a handle of what teaching college is really like its going to be much easier to adapt my goals to a stituation that i have now experienced.

don't get me wrong, i do have many bright/mature students who show up and do their work. i probably obsess to much over wanting to make my classes such that everybody can succeed. i guess its just surprising to see some students with potential not make much effort.