Day 2: Stand-ups aren't the only ones who master improv

I'd much prefer to be lighthearted and friendly, but if I'm pushed, I have to do my best to keep my cool. This weekend was rather disastrous, which led to a less-than-stellar first day of class. First off, the students were letting me know that they couldn't get the book by Monday. Being the thinker I am, I decided that I would find a PDF version of Dillard (which was easily found) and email it to them. Problem solved!

Actually, though, it wasn't. I got to class on Monday and had the students move the desks into a circle. From personal experience as a student, I have noticed that it is easier to have conversations when everyone can SEE each other. I had just sat down when one student raised her hand to tell me that she didn't read because she was out of town all weekend, didn't have a book yet, and checked her email 10 minutes before class. Awesome. Not the end of the world though. One student out of 26 ain't bad.

I thanked the student for her honesty and asked if anyone else was having trouble getting a copy of the book. About half of the class raised their hands. I then asked how many of them did not get my email and 7 students raised their hands. Oy.

It was this moment that I had my first regret as a teacher: I should have asked for everyone's email address on the first day of class. If I had, then I may not have been in such a situation. Since there is no use dwelling on things I cannot change now, I asked the students to give me the email address that they check the most if it differs from their campus email.

The first item on my agenda was to explain to students that our class is not a lecture. To think about our class as a community. We need to talk to each other, feel comfortable, and share our thoughts. Yes, this is a seminar. The students, although quiet, seemed to like it. I think they are still getting past the whole stigma of high school.

With the email addresses in hand, and seminar speech complete, I opened up the floor to conversation about Dillard. There was a long moment of silence. As uncomfortable as it was to sit and gaze into the eyes of scared deer standing in the headlights, I remained silent. From my writing center data, I learned that silence really upsets hierarchy. Although it seemed like an entire minute of silence, I think it was only about 20 seconds. Then, from the left side of the room, a hand went up. Hallelujah.

The conversation was limited, but it was there. Yes, somewhere there like a kernel just waiting for the right conditions to turn into its potential. Just as I was bringing the conversation back to points that I wanted to make about the essay as a whole, one student started chatting and had a look of boredom on her face.

I felt the Hulk creeping out. Oh, no. I reasoned with myself and slipped into my "hard ass" persona and subdued my inner Hulk. I looked at the student and asked her if she had a question. She said she didn't read and she was sharing the news with the guy sitting next to her. I said, "Well, if you stop talking, then you will see that I'm about to tell you what you didn't read."

The rest of the class I spent asking questions to get students to talk. I don't like this approach at all. For tomorrow, I am going to start the students off with a quick write. Rhodes had us quick write in most of the classes I took with her (which is a total of 5 classes) so it must be a good thing. We shall see.