Back to School, Spring 2011

Happy 2011!

A new semester is beginning next week, and the first TA meeting is tomorrow afternoon. I don't know what I'm teaching, but hopefully it will be something I enjoy. I hate that I'm not finding out my assignment until so last minute, but I'll have a full week to prep for whatever it is. Thanks to the holiday on Monday, they are waiting until the second week to start the labs so that everyone is on the same track.

As far as how this semester goes, last semester was a real eye opener. These aren't the same students that I had in my Penn State geology classes. I did have some really great students, and lots of "ok" students, but there were more problems than I was prepared for. I'm going to have to crack down this semester, for my own sanity.

In a way, I'm hoping I don't get the same class I taught in the fall. I had to fail several students, which means they will likely be back to take it again, and I don't want to have to deal with that. Thankfully, my own class schedule may make it impossible for me to teach that particular course.

The shooting that happened in Arizona this weekend also reminds me of what can potentially materialize within college settings. I worry about the set up of the class I was teaching in last semester: there is no cell reception down there, there are no phones connected to landlines, there is no way to get a gurney into that area of the building. I'm going to press this issue tomorrow at the meeting, or at least bring it up. There should, at the very least, be a phone in that room. I got an email a week ago indicating that there was a person with a gun on the UNM campus and that there was a lock down. If I am teaching I won't be checking email. I wouldn't have cell reception, and I personally don't get text messages nor would I read a text message during class. How exactly am I to be contacted in the event of an emergency? The set up in the basement of the building I teach in is grossly under-prepared for ANY kind of emergency or accident.

Not all is negative. With the new semester, Matt and I are planning on getting in shape and doing a better job of watching our money. I'm going to start this month paying off the few debts I have and building up emergency savings. There are a lot of things to look forward to this semester, which I'll keep up on in my blog.