New Again

In just a few minutes, I will head to campus to start another new class. On the plus side, this is a (mostly) clean slate. Several of my students from a class that ended last week have signed up for this one, most of whom I can count on to bring in some of that enthusiasm we worked up last semester. No matter how many times I do it, starting a new class is a bit nerve-wracking. And it isn't helped by the fact that the class starts at 5:30 p.m. I much prefer morning classes, but this won't be so bad. I found out today that the class I had been asked to teach in the spring -- the developmental writing course that starts at 9:00 a.m. and goes until 2:00 in the afternoon (or later, I really don't remember) on Fridays only -- was given to a full-time instructor to "make load". (If you don't speak teacher lingo, it just means that full-time people have to teach a certain number of credit hours, and if they fall short, adjuncts lose classes so full-timers can fill their hours.) While the Queen of the Adjuncts (I don't know her actual title) was quite apologetic, I was actually thrilled. I took that class before I realized I had a few others assigned to me, and who wants to teach a five-plus hour class on Fridays? Not me. Now my spring schedule includes two Tuesday night and one Thursday night class. I feel a vacation coming on.

As you probably know, getting to class way too early -- especially on the first day -- is critical to my mental health. So off I go, to launch another round of . . . well, I don't really know how or what it will be quite yet. I'll get back to you on that.