Well, the confession I am about to make would never make this magazine. I have so little in my life that is racy enough for the cover announcements.
If I did, the announcement would read--I was not the most industrious student in the world! Or even in my college.
When I teach students, and interact with them, always at the back of my mind is the strong memory I have of the type of student I was. So, herewith three confessions.
1) I did not excel at all my subjects. When I entered college, I had aspirations of studying to become a physician. Well, I quickly ran into a subject called Chemistry, and knew my aspirations were doomed. I managed a C the first semester, and escaped with a D the second semester. So much for being a physician.
I still have my old grade transcripts, and as I look back over them, even in my eventual major subject--English--I did not always get top grades. In fact, I never made the Dean's list.
I did, however, excel at taking exams, and was exempted from one required course based on an exam. Further, I did very well on Graduate Record Exams (GREs) earning one of the highest grades anyone from my college had earned to that point.
2) I did not always start my papers timely. Perhaps the most egregious example of this tendency occurred when I was in graduate school. I was writing a paper for the seminar on Chaucer and. . .well, I just didn't get started early enough. By the time I had to leave for class, I was still typing the paper. So, I took along my little portable typewriter, and with it balanced on my knees, I kept typing while my girlfriend drove me to class. I scrunched what should have been 4 or 5 pages into one closing page. As a result, I failed the paper and the professor told me to rewrite it. When I did, he gave me a B, and told me in no uncertain terms that the paper would have been an A, had I put the effort into it initially.
3) I did not always read the assignments in advance of class. In fact, the habit was brought crashingly back to my recollection in a most unusual way. After grad school, I returned to my undergraduate alma mater as my first teaching career. Soon after I began teaching, some of my students came to me and said--do you know what Dr. S told us about you? Puzzled, I said--no. Then they said--he said we have to read our assignments; otherwise we won't be able to discuss intelligently in class. In fact, he continued, there is only one student that I had who could discuss intelligently without having read the assignment--Miss C was the only one who could do that (that was me!).
I went to him, my former professor and now colleague, and said--please stop telling my students about my old habits. Now, I find this story hilarious, but at the time I was mortified.
Don't tell the students what I did as a student!
9 comments:
Ah yes Donna - those were true confessions of a teacher!! It is interesting to look back at ourselves as we progress hopefully. I always told my children that making a mistake was one way of learning, just don't keep repeating the same mistake!!
Oh, I love that. I laughed out loud at your professor's statement.
They say true confession is good for the soul. Now we know.
I wonder what brought on this need to confess???
You are forgiven.
Your student life has surely made you a better, and more sympathetic, teacher.
Too funny!
OMG! I remember this magazine. I used to sneak into my room every once in awhile.
I think it's good that you remember your foibles as a student, it makes you a better teacher.
I was an absolutely terrible high school student. Beside my grade 12 yearbook picture, they noted "undone homework" as a prime characteristic.
I just can't believe you were a slacker, Donna! I knew a high school chemistry teacher with a masters who told me she only earned a 2.0 gpa. She knew how to take the tests and banked on it. Scored 1620 on SATs but didn't do a lick of work in the classroom.
Funny post. You are still the tops, in my book.
good to know that even the academically inclined had tough years in school! I certainly did. I was too scared to even try chemistry!
I was a slacker, for sure, always putting off papers (lit major....) and and not reading ahead. I think of how much more I could have gotten from it had I "applied myslef!" Ah well, water under the bridge.
found you via Laura
Happy Thanksgiving!
OMG, we must be twins separated at birth. I once finished a paper at the last minute after typing it all night and I got the paper done in time for class, but not the bibliography! The professor (this was college) was nice enough to accept the bibliography the next day.
I also did very well on standardized tests but was a terrible procrastinator for all of my homework and papers.
I was a biology major freshman year of college, but like you, Chemistry did me in (organic chemistry) and I switched to journalism! And then I never actually did journalism but ended up in market research.
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