The Whining and Bitching Thread

[Master_Yoda77]

Teaching is fun insofar as I give a flying fuck about the subject matter. Teaching Latin and Greek last year was a blast. Teaching Rhetoric this year, on the other hand, has been utter hell.

You know my situation, and while I'm not too interested in Rhetoric and Composition either, I enjoy teaching my students even if I feel that, at times, I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about.

I'd love to teach Latin 101 or the general Mythology course with my Latin professor, but alas, I'm in the English program and not the Foreign Language program. I might try and work something out with the two departments next fall and get a Graduate Assistantship instead of teaching 2 sections of ENGL 103/104.

 

[Zephyrus]

Yeah, you're in English. You should be teaching Rhet/Comp. I'm the one in fucking Classics, and they put me in a class to teach retarded freshmen how to write.

 

[unknown]

Rhet/Comp represent! Except it was actually my field of study. A bunch of my friends were Lit majors who got stuck teaching Composition

 

[SentinelSlain]

It's taken me two full days to sort out my room and I'm still only about halfway there.

 

[sevag00]

Teaching is so much fun.

Aren't they surprised this kid is teaching?

 

[The Ozzman]

Yeah, you're in English. You should be teaching Rhet/Comp. I'm the one in fucking Classics, and they put me in a class to teach retarded freshmen how to write.

You were a retarded freshman at one point. Remember that.

 

[whiskey funeral]

It would be nice if I could have ONE DAY where my kid doesn't throw something in a fit of rage/temper tantrum.

 

[Matt]

Slap him around a little.

 

[Matt]

Teaching is fun insofar as I give a flying fuck about the subject matter. Teaching Latin and Greek last year was a blast. Teaching Rhetoric this year, on the other hand, has been utter hell.

I'm hoping to get an economics assistantship. I'm coming from a very retarded perspective mathematically and I think this will make me a better teacher. Most of my professors are math geniuses don't know how to relate with people who aren't inherently quantitative.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I teach English at Long Beach City College, Rio Hondo College, and Saddleback College

Oh rad. How has your experience working at CCs been?

I'm hoping to get an economics assistantship. I'm coming from a very retarded perspective mathematically and I think this will make me a better teacher. Most of my professors are math geniuses don't know how to relate with people who aren't inherently quantitative.

Yeah the problem with a lot of university professors is they have little to no actual teacher training so unless they put out the effort themselves, they might never learn to communicate their ideas to different kinds of learners. This is especially true at universities where the classes are huge and the teacher rarely interacts with the students on a one-on-one basis. This seems even more common in the math and sciences, where you have more individuals who aren't "people persons."

 

[Zephyrus]

You were a retarded freshman at one point. Remember that.

If only it were that simple. As a retarded freshman I still liked Classics, which is the only way I can approach the subject of Rhetoric with any level of authority. All these students want to talk about is Miley Cyrus.

Also, I should add that I was in the Honors program as a freshman, and my students here are not. In Rhetoric classes that is a major difference in terms of how the students take command of the learning environment.

 

[unknown]

Oh rad. How has your experience working at CCs been?

Outstanding. I worked/taught at CSULB for three years, and it was nothing but headaches dealing with all the hoop jumping. CCs are smaller, pay better than the CSUs, and the faculty camaraderie is significantly more enjoyable. Plus you have a wider range of students. I tend to work with more adult students or older students in general which I like. I noticed when I taught at CSULB, it was entirely freshmen out of high school who had no opinions on life or original thoughts of their own. It was like pulling teeth.

 

[damnromulans]

That sounds perfect. People who are there because they want to learn stuff, not because they're "supposed to be there."

My neck/back/shoulder is killing me and I have no idea why.

 

[Matt]

It's looking like I might fail one of my harder major requirement classes. My teacher fucking sucks and also happens to be my adviser so I'm royally fucked.

 

[SentinelSlain]

what is the course actually on?

 

[Master_Yoda77]

If only it were that simple. As a retarded freshman I still liked Classics, which is the only way I can approach the subject of Rhetoric with any level of authority. All these students want to talk about is Miley Cyrus.

Also, I should add that I was in the Honors program as a freshman, and my students here are not. In Rhetoric classes that is a major difference in terms of how the students take command of the learning environment.

I actually really like teaching Freshman. There is something about their knowledge (or lack of) and thought process that I find so intriguing. Like, how the fuck do you get "viscous/vicious" and "manor/manner" confused on numerous occasions?

 

[whiskey funeral]

Slap him around a little.

That won't work.

My son is a toddler and has Sensory Integration Disorder. Not sure if any of you are familiar with this, but it has been linked to autism in some cases (not his, thankfully). He has issues with speech and transitioning from one task to another. When things don't go his way, it's a toddler tantrum times 1000.

His morning teacher told me today that he threw a chair in class. Not at anyone, thankfully. But still.

 

[Matt]

what is the course actually on?

Managerial economics. Lots of calculus and stats.

 

[Dak]

Business stats hasn't been too bad content difficulty wise. Just such repetitive homework.

 

[Matt]

It's hard for me when applying them to advanced economic concepts; 15+ step word problems, etc. I always forget something or make a small error that fucks everything up, no matter how hard I try to prepare. It doesn't help that the lectures aren't good and I have to teach myself everything backwards.