A Report on the First Day of Class

Yesterday was a good first day of class.  I met with the four students signed up for Nonfiction Writing, and they seem interested in writing.  You might say, "Of course they are--why else would they sign up for the class?"  And yet, we know that there are many reasons why they might have.  They are all interested in different kinds of nonfiction writing, which makes it an interesting challenge.

I also met with my Survey of American Lit class--it's the second half, which is my favorite half of American Lit.  I am assuming that most of them are taking the class because they need it to fill a Gen Ed kind of requirement.  Nonetheless, they, too, seemed enthusiastic.  

Of course, it's the first week, when we're all more likely to be enthusiastic.  For me, it's because there's still so much potential for classes to go well; I'm not beating myself up for all the ways classes don't go well, as I am prone to do in later weeks.  There's no grading yet.  I'm rested.

And this week, we have a potential snow day on Friday.  That, too, might have us all humming with excitement.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy the sophomore level literature survey class.  I love how my brain is making connections.  I love how it inspires my own creative writing.  I love that the students have often had some exposure to the lit and are ready for some deeper evaluations.

I've had some difficulty getting exercise in--each morning, I've thought, well, maybe the weather will be better when I return this afternoon.  I finally decided that I just need to do my walk in the morning, no matter how windy or cold or rainy it is.  So this morning, I bundled up, and off I went.  Parts of the walk were pleasant, and I did stop in the workout room at the Faith Center, so it wasn't as bad as it could be.  On the way back, with the wind blowing against me, I did wonder what I had learned long ago about frostbite and exposed skin.  And then I laughed at myself because it was 20 degrees outside, not below zero.  Of course, it was windy, so perhaps it's good that I broke up my walk with time inside the workout room.

And it's good to remember that I can use the treadmill and other aerobic machines that are in the workout room, if the weather does get worse and stay worse for a longer period of time.  Last year, we had a fairly mild winter with just one week of really cold weather.  Even during that week, I didn't feel in any danger of frostbite, although I did move my walk to later in the morning; back then, I only had to be in Spartanburg two days a week.

Let me get ready for the trip down the mountain for today's classes, which are English 102 classes, an extension of Composition, with learning about literature, and a research paper--fun in different ways and grueling in different ways.  But for today, for this first week, it's fun, not grueling.