First Day of Class

I’ve been nervous about actually teaching the class. Everything I have heard has made me think that my students would not participate or talk in class, and that it would be hard to get group work rolling. The computers in the classrooms are supposed to be old, and the internet sketchy. Seating is awkward, the chalkboard dirty, and mostly I had heard enough to make me apprehensive about my first day of teaching. Some of that was true abut the classroom, but other than that, I was happily surprised!

I have 40 students in my class, and I arrived early to get set up and to meet them. I love them already! Most of them came in about 2 minutes before the bell to our not particularly inspiring classroom. I have 4 different classrooms during the week, and it turns out I went to the wrong one today, since classes started on a Tuesday not a Monday, but when I got to class, there were students there for Spanish class, so I stayed. And the rest of them managed to show up for class, so I didn’t realize I was in the wrong place until halfway through the class period. Oops! We’ll try again tomorrow!

My students are delightful! There was a mass exodus from class during one of the breaks when students decided they'd rather take another course, and I’m left with only about 25 students, which is a perfect number. They are funny, and participate well in class, and I’m really excited to teach them! We started off by choosing Spanish names, which they thought was hilarious for some reason. They kept making me repeat names again and again so they could say them right.

We made mangoes with chili powder and lime juice, and they all pulled out their camaras to film me making them, and then a good 12 people wanted to try cutting up the mangoes. Some of them loved it, some of them hated it, but they were all willing to at least try it, and I must have made an impression because the work study student came to my office just after class and said that my students have already posted photos and videos to the Chinese facebook to share with their friends. She says that they are saying positive things about me. I think it will be a good semester!