An Unprepared Teacher

Today was probably the first day ever where I was not prepared to teach. Do not get me wrong. I have had those days where nothing goes right. I have had those days where the students are not paying attention and no matter what you try, it just does not work. I have had, like everyone else who teaches, those days where you just feel like chucking the whole thing and doing something else. Today was not like that.

The movers came this past weekend to move us into our new place. The computer was not set up and we will not have internet access for a few more days. As a result, we left the computer set up in the old apartment, which we still have some time to vacate. The computer is still hooked up to the internet (which we still have at the old place) and it is also hooked up to the printer. An old computer is in our new place. By the time it was set up, along with enough of the house to do work, it was time to put the child to bed (and of course he wanted me to do it). I did not start typing up my critiques for the class until close to 9PM, and I had 13 to do (and I still have 11 for my Tuesday, Thursday class). I stopped around midnight and did the last three around 5:30 this morning. I still had to print them out.

I had hoped to have time to stop at the old place to print them off of my thumb drive, but there just was not enough time. When I got to campus I had to print them out and attach the comments from all other students to the critique. I then realized with less than 10 minutes to the start of class, I did not even know what I was supposed to cover in today’s class. Fortunately, on my thumb drive I have a lesson plan of each chapter in the book. I found a copy of my syllabus so I knew what chapters we were covering today. I printed them out, grabbed them and ran to class. I did not have a chance to look over the notes ahead of time or to skim the chapters, which I like to do. I still have no idea how comprehensible I was (or comprehensive for that matter), but I just never felt like I had a grasp on that lesson, and I hate that.