The Sociology of Gingerbread

I am tired today, in part because I didn't get enough sleep, and in part because I subbed for a colleague yesterday, which means I stood up all morning.  So, I didn't sleep well, in part because of my aching lower body.

I know that many teach from a seated position, but I've never been able to do that.  Plus I know that the class could be somewhat rowdy, so I wanted to be standing so that I got a full view.

The class wasn't rowdy--in fact, they were delightful.  I know that I came to the class from a very different position than the teacher, so I'm not reading much into it.  We spent the first 90 minutes talking about social change and how social change comes about--a great discussion about social justice movements.  We took a break, and then did a thorough exam review.  When I didn't know an answer, we looked it up in the textbook.

I realized that I've always felt like a failure if I have to send people to the book, while many students like using the book this way--an interesting insight.

While I was teaching upstairs, gingerbread house decorating began downstairs.  Here's my favorite picture from the day:

I spent the afternoon trying to recover from teaching.  In retrospect, I probably should have gone offsite for lunch to give myself a chance to regroup.  When I teach the way I did yesterday, it takes a lot of energy, which leaves me drained.  I'm not at my most patient, problem-solving self in the hours after a class.

But overall, it was a good day.  When students are enthusiastically decorating gingerbread houses, how can it be a bad day?