Once again
Posted By Sika on May 11, 2009
For reasons that are fundamentally minor and that I don’t really want to remember anyway, I was having a crappy, ill-prepared morning. I spent some of the morning crying (don’t worry, not much) and a large portion of it in an exhausted, irritated funk. I believe, at one point, I actually said to my first year students–who were not actually in my living room with me–”You guys better be good today.”
And they were.
They asked questions, answered questions, went along as the conversation got derailed into interesting, semi-related, side paths, and helped me re-rail the lecture, and came and asked even more questions later, after class. Instead of going straight to lunch.
I was on, too: drawing diagrams on the board, reviewing basic concepts they needed to know better to understand what was happening. My timing was good, for once; my questions were answered with more than just the scritch scritch of pens and the rustling of paper. I had interesting stories and was actually able to see where I was losing them. And I managed to find the time to go back and help them find the path. Drawing on the board (how impressed was I with myself that I could remember what water and protein molecules look like?), writing down extra words to define, and none of it was too hurried or unwelcome.
It was, undoubtedly, the best lecture I’ve done. So now I’m still exhausted, and still on the knife edge of don’t-mess-with-me-frustration, but I feel pretty good about today.
Plus it’s raining. And if it stays rainy and cold for another hour and a half, and I have power when I get home, I’m gonna have a cup of hot cocoa. Can’t beat that.
Oh baby girl! What a wonderful ending to what started as a crummy day. You rock, missy!