Every time I teach a new class, I have to try and win the students over again. This happens as many times as I have classes each term. I am in an endless loop of meeting students afresh and trying to win them over. I thoroughly enjoy teaching, so this repetition of "first dates" doesn't bother me at all. It just struck me as funny that we teachers do have to do this all the time. For some of us who teach, I think it's a great reminder that we don't get a second chance for the "first date" of meeting our students. The impression they get from that first day of class is hard, sometimes impossible, to move beyond. So teachers, be your best self when you meet those students. I will make sure that I am taking my own advice as I start a new term.
I have been teaching for a number of years now. I teach college courses, and so I have new students every term. It dawned on me (I'm a bit slow on some things) finally that teaching is a bit like the movie Fifty First Dates. If you haven't seen the movie, it's funny and touching and worth watching. Essentially, the main character falls in love with a woman that can't remember more than the day. She experienced trauma in an accident and has a specific form of amnesia. Each day, Henry (Adam Sandler) has to try and win Lucy (Drew Barrymore) again. Now on to how that relates to teaching.
Every time I teach a new class, I have to try and win the students over again. This happens as many times as I have classes each term. I am in an endless loop of meeting students afresh and trying to win them over. I thoroughly enjoy teaching, so this repetition of "first dates" doesn't bother me at all. It just struck me as funny that we teachers do have to do this all the time. For some of us who teach, I think it's a great reminder that we don't get a second chance for the "first date" of meeting our students. The impression they get from that first day of class is hard, sometimes impossible, to move beyond. So teachers, be your best self when you meet those students. I will make sure that I am taking my own advice as I start a new term.
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I think that endings are a chance for us to figure out what's important to us. Perhaps more importantly, endings are a chance for us to learn about ourselves. I recently had a long-term work position end. I knew that it was coming, so there was no shock factor involved. I don't doubt that helped me with the transition to whatever state I am in now. I know that there have been times that I have been blindsided by an ending, and it has thrown me for a loop. But even with those endings, I had the opportunity to learn about myself. When something ends, that means that something else, something new or different, begins. There are all sorts of great lines about that very idea, and there are many for a reason. We can't get to somewhere new without an ending. We don't suddenly transition from one thing to another and say that they are the same. The very definition of transition, or change, negates the same thing happening. So, one thing ends and another thing begins. Sometimes the change is dramatic. Sometimes the change is minimal. But with each change, there is an opportunity to rediscover, reaffirm, redesign, relive, or reignite ourselves and our passions in life. I think that endings are a good thing. I like status quo. I like stability. I like to be able to know what my routine is going to be. But I also know that getting too comfortable takes the edge off. Getting to used to things makes me lose sight of bigger hopes and goals. It's not until there is an ending that we tend to reassess and reevaluate. So yes, I am glad that I have been forced into an ending. It is a chance for me to reflect and think big. It is a chance for me to focus on the down the road as opposed to the here and now. It is a chance for me to start something new. |
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AuthorRyan Myers writes a variety of fiction. He plays the field from mystery to literary fiction to fantasy. He is also working on a memoir. Archives
April 2020
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