1:20am. No, not yet.
3:39am. No, not yet.
5:09am. Now? No.
6:00am. Ok, I can finally get up.
It was pitch black outside, the infamous cloudy skies of Pittsburgh doing their job. But it was the first day of classes and I didn’t want to be late! So I kept getting up and looking at the clock, like you would with an early morning flight. The dog refused to get out of the cozy bed and do her business so I carried her down and back three flights to do so before I left for my first class.
I’m one of three teachers of Service Design, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10am. A cruel and unusual hour to teach (or be taught) anything, but space is at a premium at CMU, so it’s tough to get good classrooms that can accommodate 60 students at more reasonable times.
“Teaching” in my case is carrying a lot of water here. “Assisting” and “observing” is closer to what I’m actually doing, although with an eye that I would step into the role of sole or co-teacher of this class in Summer or Fall. But I was occasionally able to chime in with an example or bon mot to help drive points home.
Crazy being in a classroom again—in the front of a classroom even. I’ve certainly taught workshops before but thanks to the pandemic, it’s even been a while for those. Forgot (or maybe never realized) classes are interactive performances, and you’re on your feet for three hours at a stretch. My back was hurting by the end. Need more yoga I guess. Or Advil.
I also forgot how much prep goes into a course, which I should have remembered from teaching classes in grad school. As a student, classes just seem to magically, effortlessly appear, but that’s not really the case at all. You have to plan out the lessons and the exercises and fill each class meaningfully. It’s both obvious and a lot of work.
It’s also a little terrifying being up there and having to be smart and funny and entertaining and knowledgeable. It’s like having a lot of very discerning clients you’re trying to keep off their phones in a long meeting because you have really important stuff they should know.
Students! The campus is filled with students again. Last week was so quiet. This week is bustling with activity. Sidewalks are crowded. Rooms are full. Email inboxes filling up. The semester has begun!
This sounds really exciting, and I'm enjoying the experience through your eyes. Learning has such an energy that is hard to duplicate, and maintain, at work. It's impressive you're jumping into this!