Calibrating the "oh crap"-ometer
Aug. 20th, 2003 06:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teleidoplexSo, I was really looking forward to this upcoming semester because I had finally freed myself from the A105 onus. For those of you who don't know, A105 is the anthropology course in Human Origins and Prehistory that I AI'd for last year. It was pretty stressful, in part because of the people I was working with, but also because I am not a physical anthropology person. I'm an archaeology/cultural anthropology person. So, I did the best I could and probably focused on the cultural aspects of the topic more than the other AI's did. I must not have done too badly because my evaluations in the spring were pretty phenomenal. So yay.
Now, I've been very excited for the coming semester because my AI assignment was to assist in teaching a COAS topics course (the really fun courses that lots of freshmen/sophmores want to take because they're designed to be cool and attractive). The topic was People and Animals, and discussed human relationships with/perceptions of animals from an anthropological/archaeological perspective. So, pretty nifty stuff, and it's a much smaller group of people and a more intimate and free-form style of teaching.
I just got back from signing my teaching contract, where I learned that the guy scheduled to teach the evening session of A105 has decided not to come back to IU. Now, this is an assignment that usually goes to people who are pretty far along in their degree process because it isn't an AI position. It's actually designing, implementing and evaluating the entire course without really any supervision or guidance. Despite this, the department head thinks that I'm one of the few available people qualified to teach this course, and is currently considering changing my teaching assignment to this instead.
Now, on the one hand, this is a huge compliment, and a really encouraging statement about the work that I've been doing this past year. And if I can pull it off, it would be a very good thing for my resume and for my future teaching assignments at IU.
The key word is, *if* I can pull it off. The key problem is time. Classes start in a little over a week. Gah!
Working on the assumption that I'd rather be prepared and not get the assignment than wait and see and be caught more flat-footed, I did some checking into the course. It's once a week on Monday evenings for three hours, which is a miserable format to try to teach in because you need to vary your three hours or you lose the students. There's already 60 people signed up for it, so it's a pretty large group. Oh, and the guy who was supposed to teach it had done nothing, so there's no textbooks ordered (textbooks take at least two weeks to come in). No syllabus prepared, etc.
This all means that if I do get this, I have a week to to design a syllabus, select and order textbooks and prep the class.
So, no stress there ;>
Like I said, I've already decided to work on the assumption that I'm going to get this, so I'm going to be working on the syllabus for the next few days. The worst that can happen is that I don't get it and have wasted some time developing a syllabus that I may or may not ever use. Better to be prepared.
So, that's all my venting. I think whatever happens it will be okay, but I have to admit that I'm pretty peeved at the department for leaving the decision hanging like this.
Now, I've been very excited for the coming semester because my AI assignment was to assist in teaching a COAS topics course (the really fun courses that lots of freshmen/sophmores want to take because they're designed to be cool and attractive). The topic was People and Animals, and discussed human relationships with/perceptions of animals from an anthropological/archaeological perspective. So, pretty nifty stuff, and it's a much smaller group of people and a more intimate and free-form style of teaching.
I just got back from signing my teaching contract, where I learned that the guy scheduled to teach the evening session of A105 has decided not to come back to IU. Now, this is an assignment that usually goes to people who are pretty far along in their degree process because it isn't an AI position. It's actually designing, implementing and evaluating the entire course without really any supervision or guidance. Despite this, the department head thinks that I'm one of the few available people qualified to teach this course, and is currently considering changing my teaching assignment to this instead.
Now, on the one hand, this is a huge compliment, and a really encouraging statement about the work that I've been doing this past year. And if I can pull it off, it would be a very good thing for my resume and for my future teaching assignments at IU.
The key word is, *if* I can pull it off. The key problem is time. Classes start in a little over a week. Gah!
Working on the assumption that I'd rather be prepared and not get the assignment than wait and see and be caught more flat-footed, I did some checking into the course. It's once a week on Monday evenings for three hours, which is a miserable format to try to teach in because you need to vary your three hours or you lose the students. There's already 60 people signed up for it, so it's a pretty large group. Oh, and the guy who was supposed to teach it had done nothing, so there's no textbooks ordered (textbooks take at least two weeks to come in). No syllabus prepared, etc.
This all means that if I do get this, I have a week to to design a syllabus, select and order textbooks and prep the class.
So, no stress there ;>
Like I said, I've already decided to work on the assumption that I'm going to get this, so I'm going to be working on the syllabus for the next few days. The worst that can happen is that I don't get it and have wasted some time developing a syllabus that I may or may not ever use. Better to be prepared.
So, that's all my venting. I think whatever happens it will be okay, but I have to admit that I'm pretty peeved at the department for leaving the decision hanging like this.
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Congrats!
Date: 2003-08-21 12:35 am (UTC)Yes, it will be stressful, but it will also be an awesome experience, and I'll help you out with syllabus design and class-prep ideas when I get back. Too good an opportunity to pass up. And congratulations!
love lots, your fox.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-21 12:51 am (UTC)either way. ack.
remember the mantra: "Change is good. Change is my friend."
may not always be true, but it helps.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-21 01:16 am (UTC)Wow. I sound like a fortune cookie. But that's okay. I love you!
mE
no subject
Date: 2003-08-21 03:45 pm (UTC)Which means a whole class you get to sculpt to your Foxy will!!
I'm with AncientW on this one. You gots the moxie to pull it off.