The Truth Board

A Blog by the Editors of
The Truth About the Fact: An International Journal of Literary Nonfiction

My Photo
Name:
Location: Los Angeles, California, United States

The Truth About the Fact: A Journal of Literary Nonfiction is an international journal committed to the idea that excellence in the art of letters can play a vital role in transforming the planet we share.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The First-Time Teacher

My name is Elizabeth and I’m an associate editor for The Truth About the Fact. I look forward to blogging with you this year.

The fall of 2008 marks the start of two professional firsts for me: serving as an associate editor at Michael Datcher’s eloquent journal, and teaching freshman composition here at LMU. In addition to these jobs, I’m also a fulltime graduate student.

My ulterior motive for coming to graduate school in the first place was to avoid the grind. I was a little artist, a creative writing major as an undergrad, and I was just looking for ways to avoid a cubicle. I saw a professorship as a way to achieve the artist lifestyle without starving.

I won’t go as far as to say that I love teaching. It’s now week four and I’m still getting over my jitters of handling a roomful of eighteen-year-olds while at the same time the routine of class is becoming a tad—dare I say it?—monotonous. The constant repetition of assignments, the blur of papers that all begin to sound the same, the same reminders scribbled at the bottom of pages.

But there’s also something fantastic and promising about it. After earning my B.A., I entered the workforce and I immediately wanted to escape and hide in graduate school. Teaching is hard—really hard—but I don’t see myself wanting to run away like I have in the past. I see myself falling in love with teaching, with this forced relationship and dialogue between myself and a room of eager college students.

I’ve only known my classes for four weeks, but when I look at them I am completely blind to the drone of grading papers and trudging to a classroom in a trailer. Instead, all I feel is curiosity, willingness, and the interest to enter a previously unknown discourse. It’s one of the most fantastic sensations I’ve ever experienced.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The sensation of teaching is exactly as you say...fantastic! It is not easy, but that is where the adrenaline rush comes into play. Whether or not we would like to admit it, we are all unsure of ourselves. It is odd that one can have so many uncertainties about life and then step into a class room to teach a class of young minds. I also think teachers are lucky because they have the ability to learn about their students' lives and experiences through the work done in class.

Keep your imagination and energy alive for your students. Good luck!

October 16, 2008 at 4:17 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home