Lessons Learning from Teaching My First College Course

   This past fall, I received a gradaute teaching assistantship and was given a class of 20 first-years. My goal was to help them become better writers in a Freshman Composition. Teaching was an experience unlike any other endeavor I have encountered. It was rewarding, exhausting and a bunch of other things rolled into one semester that was over before I knew it.

   I could write dozens of pages on what the experience was like and lessons learned. However, I'll spare you the details and instead, give you a few overall takeaways from the entire semester.

Here we go.

1. Be confident.
You were hired for the job because the folks making the hiring decision believed you could do the job and could do it well. I wasted so much time doubting my abilities. No matter how many degrees I get or how many years I teach, I will have room for improving as an instructor. Rather than focusing on how much you have to learn, ultize what you do know and belive in yourself.

2. Limit your prep time.
I can recall spending eight to 10 hours prepping for a hour-long class. Granted, when teaching a course for the first time, you are building your curriculum and that takes additional time. However, there is such a thing as over-preparing. Toward the end of the semester, I started limiting myself to 3 hours to prep for one class. I also noticed that I would arrive to class drained and tired from prep work. I was zapped out of energy before class even began.

3. Be consistent with policies.
I started out with what I considered clear policies, but soon realized I needed additonal standards for things like late homework. I was surprised by how many of these decisions I had to make. I learned that it's better to be consistent with how I handled them so that students would not think I was unfair. The next time around I'll have clearer policies on late homework and missed in-class writing assignments.

I could say more, but I'm not an advocate for long blog posts so I'll end my list there. If you're a teacher, hang in there and keep striving. Know that the work you are doing is not in vain, and you are making a difference.