"The Reset Button"

September 11, 2014

Walking to the first day of class as a TA was an odd feeling. I am in a liminal space in which I am not completely teacher, but not truly the student in a particular class. I need to get a parking pass. The more than a mile walk here was not horrible, but it was long and took a longer amount of time than anticipated. Once I am able to park on campus, my morning schedule should remain the same but be much less stressful, and I will be able to focus on preparing for the course and being early to class. I felt frazzled and behind today, which is not how I want to feel again. I figured I would be much more tired this morning. I went to bed around 11:00 pm, but my dog just moved in with me yesterday and is still struggling to adjust, so he kept me up last night. Hopefully this gets better and I am able to sleep, however, I actually feel quite awake now. Monday and Tuesday are my busiest days, which is good. I like that the week is frontloaded. 

Today in ENG 103, I went to get chalk for the professor, which made me realize the prep for class goes well beyond lesson plans and even at a large university, professors still have supply difficult and such. I appreciated how the professor went over the vital parts of the syllabus, specifically calling to mind that assignments and readings are due on the dates listed. I will need to keep in mind that my audience is full of freshmen for the future to tailor and anticipate their experiences in college so far and the things they may not understand yet. It may be useful to do some more personal reflection on how I felt as a freshman. I would adjust the first day content slightly in my classroom to define more of the “what is a writer prompt” and I think having memoir based daily journal questions would be a great idea. I would also utilize the “Authors Chair” identity. All in all, it was a great first session. I look forward to learning more from my professor and students in Wednesday’s class on introductions. 

This is the reflection I wrote after my first day in the ENG 103 course I am shadowing. I learned a lot within that first week and have continued to be challenged and encouraged by the students and the methods of the professor I shadow. Something I definitely learned in my first week was that balancing my life as a commuter graduate student on a large campus is much different from living on campus on a small campus as a well known and respected student. I have hit a "reset button" of some kind, starting me back at the beginning to rebuild my credibility inside and outside the classroom.