Spring semester rolls by

This has been an interesting year so far. I have been lucky to continue gaining some teaching experience at the local community college where I work. Last year, in the fall, I got my first shot at teaching English 111 (basically English 101). This was my first true teaching experience at the college level, although I had done some assistant teaching before. At any rate, my fall teaching debut was a success, and I was asked to teach some more in the spring, which I happily accepted.

For the first 8 weeks of this spring, I was teaching a developmental reading/writing class. Now, in the last 8 weeks, I am teaching English 111, again. The first 8 weeks went well, but only about half the students who entered my class passed. This is not so much a reflection of my teaching, as much as it is the unfortunate batting average of developmental classes. Students in developmental classes are typically starting college for the first time and many are simply not ready for the rigors of college coursework. As such, a handful drop off the map over the course of the short, 8 week semester.

I will be teaching developmental reading/writing in the summer (two courses of DRE 097) and I hope to improve on my average. One thing I am trying to do in my teaching as of late is try to pinpoint the moment when students begin having trouble, and try to pull them aside for a heart-to-heart. One such case this semester was a student that had a rocky start to the semester. She had been in and out of court (reasons unknown), missed some classes/assignments, and found herself with a grade of 45 to start the semester.

I pulled her aside and gave her a chance to tell me what was going on. Then, we came up with a plan to get her back on track. Normally, I don't accept late work, and most sob stories (I've heard my share) have little to no effect on me. But, in her case, she seemed genuine in wanting to get back on track. I put the ball in her court. She had a will, and came up with the way. She turned in a few missed assignments (with points counted off for lateness) and now she is passing with a 70. Not exactly a grade to put on the fridge, but it is hopeful for her.

Without stepping in and asking what the problem was, I believe she would have sat in the back of the class, slowing giving up, and waiting to fail. Students don't always want to step up to ask for help, or understanding. At least in this case, I felt that she deserved some understanding. That was up to my discretion as a teacher. Now, only time will tell if she will pass my course, but she knows that it's in her hands. It's up to her.

For the most part, this semester has rolled by pretty smoothly. Just a few short weeks until the semester is over, and I'll get a couple of weeks' reprieve before summer session starts. I'm looking forward to getting that break. I enjoy the new challenges that teaching brings everyday, but these short breaks are a great time to recharge my mental energies. As of right now, I have nothing special planned, but I am working on it.