EDSS 531
What is it like to be a student in my class?

A couple of weeks in, one of the students entering the room remarked, “Oh, Mr. Wrench, you’re always so smiley and happy”.  That took me by surprise, and I had to think about it, because I wanted to understand if I was grinning through stress, or if I was genuinely happy to be there.  On that day, it was the latter, but there have been other days as well.

Going into it, I never imagined how much I would dislike lecturing – and that dislike comes out in the lecture.  I get a deer-in-the-headlights thing going on.  I put down my clicker and forget where, lose my place in the power-point and sometimes even make algebra mistakes.  It’s got to be pretty boring and frustrating for the kids.  But those days when it’s a lab day, or those days when I know we’re going to be mostly doing guided and independent practice; those are the days when it’s fun for all of us.  We get to play with the equations together, they get to have those Aha! moments and they get to experience the success of solving a puzzle or making something work.  On those days I think they can feel my enthusiasm for my subject, and the joy I get out of being with them, and on those days, they even learn a little Physics. 

See, there are no bad kids in my class.  I love ‘em all.  Even the ones who really, really don’t want to be there.  I mean, what’s not to love?  So being a student in my class is like doing anything else.  There’s the boring, frustrating parts, and there’s the fun parts.  My goal is to get through the boring and frustrating as quickly as possible, and let them experience the fun.  I don’t always succeed, but I always try, and they seem to get that.