I had planned a lesson and it involved clear plastic
magnetic balls with electricity in them. I came to class and passed them out.
Student behavior got out of hand. I started trying to explain it on the board
but nobody was listening. Realized my shirt was unbuttoned and buttoned it up a
bit. Students were disrespectful and I had no control at all. One student had
derived the physics behind the balls' behavior and I looked at it, and it was
so complicated with concepts and symbols like momentum. I could not tell if it
was correct. Finally, I got so pissed off, I yelled at the class saying,
"you have paid me to teach you this stuff! And I spent an entire DAY
planning for it, and this is how you behave?!"
I started to leave the room then remembered a teacher
should never leave her classroom. So I went in the storage closet. There I
realized I had lost my shirt. I was not wearing anything from the waist up.
Someone had used the storage closet and made a big mess in it with lamps on and
trash on the floor. I rummaged around and found a sweater to put on. I put it
on and came out. Most of the students had left but there were a dozen
remaining, quietly sitting in their desks. I just looked at them. They were
sorry. They had not noticed I was naked and had not told me.
That's when my former colleague in Kentucky
came in with someone and asked what we were doing. I said nothing, just test
review or some other BS I made up to hide the real story. The former colleague started
drawing formulas on the board with lambda and nu symbols and it totally
intimidated me. I had now lost the classroom too.
Classic teaching nightmare with college students and a
nudity twist.
Today I found out I've been nominated by my department for the College of Eduction Outstanding Faculty Early Career Award. The website says it's to recognize faculty who have shown excellence in teaching, research, and outreach above and beyond what is typically expected and demonstrate great potential for an academic career in higher education. Wow. After a dream like last night, I'm so floored. Wow.
No comments:
Post a Comment