kismetism

So this summer really took me by surprise. It hasn’t become particularly warm yet, and there are still some weeks punctuated by random showers, so there weren’t a whole lot of worldly indicators of the time. But at some point it occurred to me that ATDP is going to start like, this month and I haven’t done a single thing to prepare.

Because, you know, I’m not teaching. For the first time in seven years.

It’s a source of much melancholy for me, honestly, but also some relief. I think I was an okay instructor and generally was proud of what I was doing. Seeing students go from knowing nothing to producing surprisingly polished final projects was really satisfying. But for the most part, I don’t feel like I really had any hand in “producing” amazing web designers: all the students who I’m most proud of generally took their learning into their own hands, which is why they turned out great work.

And working with struggling students to hit a baseline could be frustrating, but also rewarding in its own way: helping them figure out that if they just keep at it, and not be afraid to experiment, they could come up with some neat stuff, too. In this way, I was pleased to be teaching a more creative course where student effort literally equates better final products.

There are some things I won’t miss, of course. Dealing with problem students. Having to underline and enforce the cheating or the plagiarism policies. Listening to student whining, whether or not it’s actually heartfelt. Sitting through faculty meetings where I’m not really learning anything new, or possibly being passive-aggressively scolded for running my class the way I was.

Berating my TAs for not turning their weekly student evaluations in on time. And yeah, I probably won’t miss writing student evaluations, myself.

I will miss, however, the general interaction of students and TAs and instructors. I’ll miss collaborating with my TAs and our inability to decide on where to have lunch. I’ll miss meeting the clever students that floor me with their quickness, their adventurousness… something I feel like I don’t have enough of myself these days.

I’ll miss being a part of a force of teachers who are genuinely passionate about inspiring and pushing their students to be better than what the regular school system makes of them, to try and help them understand that there’s more to life than grades and test scores and even college.

But… I guess, as they say, I’ve had my time. And it was a phenomenal one. So thank you to all who were involved in this particular period of growth for me, both as a student and an instructor. You know who you are.