Vacation
Naomi and I are going to Utah today; in addition to being Gentiles for the first time in our lives, we'll be making the rounds of the national parks. We'll get into Salt Lake about six o'clock local time tonight and we'll be back on June 1; Naomi has threatened me with condign punishment if I even think of blogging before then.
Hopefully, the Blogger problems will be resolved by the time I get back; if not, I'll have to consider drastic measures such as getting a domain and switching to Movable Type. Thanks to all of you who've stayed with me despite it all.
posted by N.R.E. at 11:34 AM
Notes from the classroom, part 6
About twenty minutes ago, I put my grades in the mail; my semester is officially over. John Jay, like all the schools in the City University of New York, has a long academic year; my last regular class was on May 15 and the final exam a week after.
I've learned a few tricks over the course of the semester - how to keep the class' attention, how to turn a lecture into a conversation, how to fake the funk effectively when I haven't had time to prepare. Most of all, however, I've learned that I love to teach. I was an indifferent student and my prior experience teaching fourth grade in a Satmar elementary school ranks as one of my worst job experiences, but talking at an advanced level about material that both I and the students care about is a very different story. I'd like to teach law full-time someday; there are a few possibilities for the 2004-05 academic year, and I'll take them as they come.
Right now, my concern is coming back to John Jay in the fall. The department chairman says he wants me to return as an adjunct, but he isn't sure he'll have the budget lines to keep me. If I survive the budget cuts, I'll most likely be teaching one or two evening classes in September, hopefully including the international criminal law class I proposed to him last month. I hope it works out.
posted by N.R.E. at 11:33 AM
