Although I have 21 days 'off' from the day that spring semester grades are due until the first day of summer classes - it takes several days a couple hours per day to get the semester set up. In fact, I have been keeping track of the number of hours it takes to set up just one class on Blackboard, MyITLab, and do the syllabus and scheduling. So far - 12.25 hours. I imagine that it will take at least 15 more hours over the next three days to be fully prepared for Monday's kick-off. Why, the class will practically teach itself when I get done! Now come on, if a car can park itself, why can't I teach on autopilot?
The best part is that I can work on this on my laptop wherever I go - even at the local pool (as long as there is a place to plug in). By the way, can you believe that there are many pools that don't have easy access to electricity close by? :-) I really need a better battery in my laptop - or a new laptop, but that's a subject for another day.
As for my students, they have some prep to do too, such as registering for the class, buying the textbook, arranging their schedules so that they don't have to miss my scintillating lectures and demonstrations, and the hours spent figuring out which excuses to try out on their new instructor.
Oh, by the way, I have taken myself out of the lie detector business - I offer some 'freebies' that the students can use when 'life happens' AND they don't even have to tell me the lies/reasons for using them, hence the name 'free'bies as in, free of BS. Everyone should be happy right? There are still some students that want even more 'special treatment.' I am sorry to say that I don't have time for them - if they need more considerations then they are not getting what they paid for - perhaps they should reconsider taking college classes at a more advantageous time in their lives.
Back to the grind - sipping a frozen drink by the pool and thinking up new ways to teach/torture my students!
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