wrapping up

The teaching is just about over. One last requirement to proctor the final exam and my obligations are complete. I churned through grading last weekend up through Tuesday and was happy with how quickly I finished up.

I really enjoyed teaching. My worst fears never did pan out. There was no mutiny and a surprising lack of apathy. I never wound up being a confidant, but I think I came close to being a friend. My evening class in particular was very chatty (while being productive) and I had a lot of fun with them.

I had a few token 'bad' students, but even they fell into the 'absent without excuses' category more than anything else. One of them I'm certain will fail the whole class.

Then there was the heartbreaking student, the one who tries with every fiber of their being and still fails. I willingly made special office hours for this one and worked with them through tricky concepts. The line between passing and failing is dangerously close despite both our efforts. Student confided that they will be changing majors away from something in the hard(er) sciences for a social science major. I think that's probably the best choice, but it saddens me to see one who is actually trying to learn slip through the cracks.

On a lighter note, on a whim I decided to look up some of my students on Facebook. I have a page but it's very bland. I'm glad I didn't try this experiment while I was still teaching! Nothing too scandalous, but I did find a few bikini shots of the girls and a few pictures involving beer-bongs and the like.

One of the sweetest things was the girl who always said "Thanks Honeybee!" at the end of every lab class. My students seemed to genuinely like me. It will be interesting to get the teaching evals back.

And, as promised...

Funny Things From Biology Papers:
1. "In a world of food chains, herbivory and predation transpire commonly."
2. "Caterpilars are human competitors for crop plants."
3. Gazing through the figures, we see..."
4. "This experiment was executed using the standard operating procedures..."
5. "We will discuss the mammals roll most of all as in this it serves a double roll."
6. "So that by the time the midget matures, the number of other insects will double but then be eradicated by the mature midgets."