Over Spring Break, I've been thinking a lot about how this semester is going. So far, I'm happy with it.
I'm teaching two classes, instead of only one like last semester. They are both new classes for me, so all new textbooks, assignments, tests, and lesson preparation. There's also more than double the grading, because the one class is higher level than I've taught before and the students are required to do a lot more writing.
And yet, I can definitely tell that my stress level is significantly lower than it was last semester. All throughout the Fall, I always felt like I was behind. I never felt ready for class, I was uncertain about all of my decisions, and constantly worried that class would be unhelpful or boring, or both!
It's amazing what a difference it makes to have one semester under my belt. I'm much more willing to go with the flow. I don't feel like I need to have every lesson planned out to the minute, weeks in advance. I have more confidence in my teaching, grading, and general subject knowledge.
Last semester, I really wasn't convinced that I was a Professor. But now, it's starting to grow on me.
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