Professor Sharon

100 Days Project – Day 3 – 5:55 a.m.

When I was thinking about doing this project, I had grandiose ideas of reading important authors writing important thoughts about teaching and learning and reflecting on that material.  I have read quite a bit of it, and have more stacked up.   And, I still intend to do that.  Yet yesterday was a day of reminding me that teaching and learning is also about finding your way through the everyday matters of teaching:  the necessity of paperwork, such as attendance and planning sheets, working with team members who are sure they have the only way to do something, a copy machine that has its own idea of what to do with the odd size original you want 22 copies of, and the clock ticking away the time you thought you had to do that reading.

Time to reflect has always been a goal of mine, a treasure just out of reach on too many days.  This semester, I teach four classes on Tuesday and Thursdays, very long days.  I have managed for these short three days of the project to get up even earlier on these days to write – to give myself time to think and write.  How will I find it other days?  Especially weekends, and holidays and days where life and family seem full and exciting?  I just will.  Time to teach well is time to think well.

Teaching well takes time.  I often explore with my pre-service teachers that, I believe, in early childhood (and I know in community college teaching), the easy way out is the way that takes less time.  For young children, that means coloring books, worksheets and other busy work day after day. For adult learners, that means lectures class after class.  To create learning activities, rich learning activities, takes time.  After ten years of teaching at the college level, it takes me, still, about 1 hour of preparation time for every one and half hours of class time.  On this September second day of class meetings, I don’t teach the same thing I did last year on that date.  This day has new students, different students living in different times than those of last year.

But, then again, that’s my value, isn’t it?  I also talk with my students about how we bring ourselves to our teaching.  And, so I get back to the frustration of having to teach and take time to think about teaching and learning while I have to work with a system and people who are, on occasion, inefficient and self-righteous, and determined to use my time.  Or at least, when I’m tired and wishing I was retired and at home gardening, that’s how it feels.  And, so today I think about the fact that I have grandiose ideas about what I’ll do in this 100-day project.  That’s okay, I can have them.  Some days I’ll pull it off – some days I won’t.  Some days the incessant rain will worry me and I’ll try not to think about my basement as I stand in front of my students.  Other days, I’ll be able to be the most incredible teacher.  Time is the key.  Time will tell.  Time will support.  Time will undermine.  Today I think about time.