Putting on my Professor Hat

[BicycleBuck]

Woohoo!

My interview with one of the local universities this morning went extremely well. They've decided to bring me in as a guest lecturer in the spring with an eye toward an adjunct position in the fall!

I'm so excited about this that I had to share with my Oppo friends!

My coworkers joke about me putting on my professor hat when I have to train younger employees. They keep telling me that I need an outlet for that side of my personality. Now it looks like I found one!

With my background and my experience in disaster recovery, I'll be doing guest lectures on the "unintended consequences" that lead to or exacerbate disasters, and how our choices during the recovery phase can help mitigate future disasters. I can't wait to get started!

[davesaddiction]

@bicyclebuck Congrats!

I love that movie...

[ForSweden]

Does me wasting my life explaining that the movie "Sully" is a work of fiction count as an unintended consequence of a disaster?

[jminer]

@bicyclebuck That's awesome - congratulations!

[Rusty Vandura]

@bicyclebuck

[flatisflat]

@rusty-vandura said in Putting on my Professor Hat:

@bicyclebuck

[Chariotoflove]

So you’re a substitute teacher now.

Teaching is a great experience when you don’t have to rely in it for your income. Enjoy!

[Stef Schrader]

Hell yeah. Good luck!

[DipodomysDeserti]

@bicyclebuck Awesome! All the professors in my program work in fields that this degree covers (environmental resource management). I have one course this year where the professor has brought in contacts from the EPA and our state equivalent to give lectures on environmental regulations that they work with. It's been so much more beneficial than listening to someone who only teaches.

[BicycleBuck]

@chariotoflove Well, that's kind of humbling. At least I'm not on-call.

They did ask me to apply for a full-time position that they have open. I was honest with them and said that I'm not looking for full-time work. I only want to scratch that teaching itch while sharing my experience with the students. You're absolutely right about how relying on it for income really degrades the experience. It's all the ancillary junk - committees, grant-writing, publication, etc. - that makes people reluctant to pursue a career in higher ed.

[Chariotoflove]

@bicyclebuck All the curriculum revision and committee BS have had me shying away from the teaching side this last couple of years. It’s my time with the students that reminds me it’s worth while.

[BicycleBuck]

@chariotoflove Curriculum revisions were the bane of my existence. My first go-around was teaching technology and the software changed every six months to a year. I had to revise my lectures, homework, lab exercises, and exams every semester for four, sometimes five courses. It didn't take long for me to lose some of my enthusiasm.

You're right about the students when you get a good group. They can be a joy to work with. On the other hand, sometimes they can be horrible. Freshmen are always challenging, but the older students who were going back to school for retraining caused me the most headaches. Most of them were not prepared to go into a highly-technical degree program and struggled with basic tasks. When they made a breakthrough, it was fantastic, but getting there could be painful.

[ttyymmnn]

@bicyclebuck Congratulations. Once a teacher, always a teacher.

[ttyymmnn]

@chariotoflove As a private lesson teacher and somebody who was fired from an adjunct position so the area head could bring in a friend, yeah.

[Cash Rewards]

@chariotoflove I wanted nothing more than to be in academics until I got my doctorate; then I wanted nothing to do with it

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@bicyclebuck Way to go!! Very happy for you!

[Chariotoflove]

@bicyclebuck I've been having really good interactions with this year's crop. People are expressing appreciation and asking questions to increase their understanding, not just their grade. That makes me happy.

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@forsweden Sully Sullenberger: Airport Pilot

[BicycleBuck]

@chariotoflove Ah, the perfect storm! Those classes are the best. I found them most often in my senior/graduate level classes. Those are the students who really want to be there and learn the material.