First time I visited Carbondale last December, I got to know what it means to be in Southern Illinois. When I left Toledo, it was cold and snowing. Over my stop in Chicago, it was terribly cold, windy and snowing. When I arrived in Carbondale, it was spring and it was raining day and night.
But today, I got to get a better understanding of weather here. It started raining last night and continued pouring down all over the morning. Well, that must sound normal to people here. But to me, not accustomed to such a pouring rain, it was not a good start for my first day of classes as a Teaching Assistant in Sociology.
First time I was a TA, it was for Signals & Systems (one of the fundamental courses in Electrical Engineering) and I taught SIGSYS, a software I had discovered for problem-solving in Signals & Systems.
My teaching experience was not limited to that. I had taught German in high school (and after that in college) and also essentials of computing and BASIC programming language. But those were mostly one-to-one tutoring. While teaching SIGSYS for the first time was an interesting experience, it sounded kinda challenging (and exciting) to teach in a classroom for the first time. And I was at the same age as my students (most of whom where my friends). Just imagine dealing with kids who've jumped from high-school to college, while you, the teacher, are just one of them. And I had not taken the course myself yet. I counted mostly on their friendship and cooperation so that I could lead the class.
I've continued teaching after my Teaching Assistantship for Signals & Systems as an undergrad student (and the last time I taught SIGSYS, I'd already passed the course and was a senior student). I've taught some other software, Mac OS, basics of computer networks and Internet and Decentralized Control Systems (DCS). It should be obvious that as the son of two teachers, I love teaching.
But while most of my teaching experience is with technical stuff, today, I had my chance to experience leading a non-technical class, Introduction to Sociology discussion section. And again, kids who've jumped from high-school to college. Although I've grown 16 years older compared to when I had to deal with such kids for the first time, it's still challenging to handle a classroom comprised mostly of such an age cohort. And there are two more challenges: leading a classroom in a country other than yours and as a result, dealing with various accents in a foreign language and also interacting with kids from a different culture.
And although I easily make friends with people, students in these discussion sessions were not already friends with me for 4 semesters before this class (as was the case with my first time teaching SIGSYS). So, I could not primarily count on their friendship and cooperation. I had to trust in God and try to make friends.
I found the best way of ice-breaking to ask the students to write their name, the way they prefer to be called, their hometown, their major, why they have chosen that major, what do they think of Sociology in general and about this course in specific and how they relate Sociology to their major. Then, I would introduce myself, explain about my background and then ask the students to do the same. People are usually comfortable talking about themselves.
Such a pouring rain made it impractical to ride my bike. I had to walk to the bus stop, take the campus shuttle and then walk for a while to reach my first class before 8 am in a less-than-ideal room, equipped with a blackboard and a sink. And the people needed more than an ice-breaking at that early class (in Carbondale, students don't find Friday 8 am the best time to sit a class). But I was not in a good mood myself.
While I had rain-suit and people looked at my bright yellow rain-gear with envy, it was not as fun as it looked. It somehow worked in Northwest Ohio, but not in Southern Illinois. A rain-suit may protect you from pouring rain, but when it rains heavily, it drains all the rain into your shoes. And furthermore, it works both ways; the same way that it shields you from rain, it keeps the humidity and vapors inside. So, when humidity is high, your clothes feel terribly damp. And that's how I felt when I reached my first class; damp with wet feet.
My second class was in a better room (without a sink). Although not much better equipped than the first one, this was not as gloomy and depressing. And people were already sitting in a circle. And they didn't need much ice-breaking. As it went on, it reminded me of my first TA experience 16 years ago.
Back then, I had two sections on two different days. One of them was overpopulated and not very enthusiastic. But people at the second section were so friendly and active. On the day that I taught them, I had to rush to another university (near downtown Tehran) to sit a class as a guest and then rush back to our university to teach my class. And just like now, I didn't have a car. And yet, I didn't feel overwhelmed. My students/friends in this second section gave me so much motivation with their attitude that I felt upbeat despite such a hectic schedule.
When I entered the room for my second section here, I felt myself in a similar environment as that second section 16 years ago, although it was my first time meeting these guys. And interestingly, there was only one student majoring in Sociology and the rest were not in relevant majors (most of them Radiology). By the end of the class, I'd almost forgotten about my wet feet and damp clothes.
My third class was in one of the best equipped rooms I've seen on this campus (with all sort of multimedia and other high-tech gadgets). I anticipated that such a high-end environment would entice students even more. But maybe not. It was the less enthusiastic of all. At times, I felt like talking to the wall. While there were some students who showed some energy over the introduction part, I wouldn't receive any answer whatsoever whenever I asked a question from the class in general and I had to just play my tape no matter what. An open loop control system. I kinda felt all my energy drained. And that, despite being in such a high-tech room. I wonder what was wrong here. Maybe it was such a big room and people were scattered around. Maybe it was near lunch time. I have to find a solution.
I left for my office at the longhouse (aka Faner Hall), feeling wet and grumpy again. And it was still raining. Here, if you don't have a car, an umbrella is necessary (although it may not be sufficient when wind splashes the rain in your face). Welcome to Southern Illinois.
But today, I got to get a better understanding of weather here. It started raining last night and continued pouring down all over the morning. Well, that must sound normal to people here. But to me, not accustomed to such a pouring rain, it was not a good start for my first day of classes as a Teaching Assistant in Sociology.
First time I was a TA, it was for Signals & Systems (one of the fundamental courses in Electrical Engineering) and I taught SIGSYS, a software I had discovered for problem-solving in Signals & Systems.
My teaching experience was not limited to that. I had taught German in high school (and after that in college) and also essentials of computing and BASIC programming language. But those were mostly one-to-one tutoring. While teaching SIGSYS for the first time was an interesting experience, it sounded kinda challenging (and exciting) to teach in a classroom for the first time. And I was at the same age as my students (most of whom where my friends). Just imagine dealing with kids who've jumped from high-school to college, while you, the teacher, are just one of them. And I had not taken the course myself yet. I counted mostly on their friendship and cooperation so that I could lead the class.
I've continued teaching after my Teaching Assistantship for Signals & Systems as an undergrad student (and the last time I taught SIGSYS, I'd already passed the course and was a senior student). I've taught some other software, Mac OS, basics of computer networks and Internet and Decentralized Control Systems (DCS). It should be obvious that as the son of two teachers, I love teaching.
But while most of my teaching experience is with technical stuff, today, I had my chance to experience leading a non-technical class, Introduction to Sociology discussion section. And again, kids who've jumped from high-school to college. Although I've grown 16 years older compared to when I had to deal with such kids for the first time, it's still challenging to handle a classroom comprised mostly of such an age cohort. And there are two more challenges: leading a classroom in a country other than yours and as a result, dealing with various accents in a foreign language and also interacting with kids from a different culture.
And although I easily make friends with people, students in these discussion sessions were not already friends with me for 4 semesters before this class (as was the case with my first time teaching SIGSYS). So, I could not primarily count on their friendship and cooperation. I had to trust in God and try to make friends.
I found the best way of ice-breaking to ask the students to write their name, the way they prefer to be called, their hometown, their major, why they have chosen that major, what do they think of Sociology in general and about this course in specific and how they relate Sociology to their major. Then, I would introduce myself, explain about my background and then ask the students to do the same. People are usually comfortable talking about themselves.
Such a pouring rain made it impractical to ride my bike. I had to walk to the bus stop, take the campus shuttle and then walk for a while to reach my first class before 8 am in a less-than-ideal room, equipped with a blackboard and a sink. And the people needed more than an ice-breaking at that early class (in Carbondale, students don't find Friday 8 am the best time to sit a class). But I was not in a good mood myself.
While I had rain-suit and people looked at my bright yellow rain-gear with envy, it was not as fun as it looked. It somehow worked in Northwest Ohio, but not in Southern Illinois. A rain-suit may protect you from pouring rain, but when it rains heavily, it drains all the rain into your shoes. And furthermore, it works both ways; the same way that it shields you from rain, it keeps the humidity and vapors inside. So, when humidity is high, your clothes feel terribly damp. And that's how I felt when I reached my first class; damp with wet feet.
My second class was in a better room (without a sink). Although not much better equipped than the first one, this was not as gloomy and depressing. And people were already sitting in a circle. And they didn't need much ice-breaking. As it went on, it reminded me of my first TA experience 16 years ago.
Back then, I had two sections on two different days. One of them was overpopulated and not very enthusiastic. But people at the second section were so friendly and active. On the day that I taught them, I had to rush to another university (near downtown Tehran) to sit a class as a guest and then rush back to our university to teach my class. And just like now, I didn't have a car. And yet, I didn't feel overwhelmed. My students/friends in this second section gave me so much motivation with their attitude that I felt upbeat despite such a hectic schedule.
When I entered the room for my second section here, I felt myself in a similar environment as that second section 16 years ago, although it was my first time meeting these guys. And interestingly, there was only one student majoring in Sociology and the rest were not in relevant majors (most of them Radiology). By the end of the class, I'd almost forgotten about my wet feet and damp clothes.
My third class was in one of the best equipped rooms I've seen on this campus (with all sort of multimedia and other high-tech gadgets). I anticipated that such a high-end environment would entice students even more. But maybe not. It was the less enthusiastic of all. At times, I felt like talking to the wall. While there were some students who showed some energy over the introduction part, I wouldn't receive any answer whatsoever whenever I asked a question from the class in general and I had to just play my tape no matter what. An open loop control system. I kinda felt all my energy drained. And that, despite being in such a high-tech room. I wonder what was wrong here. Maybe it was such a big room and people were scattered around. Maybe it was near lunch time. I have to find a solution.
I left for my office at the longhouse (aka Faner Hall), feeling wet and grumpy again. And it was still raining. Here, if you don't have a car, an umbrella is necessary (although it may not be sufficient when wind splashes the rain in your face). Welcome to Southern Illinois.
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