But...I've had an interesting year teaching, my first full year without a break for research, life, ice cream, whatever. My brilliant conclusion is that it's much harder to teach two semesters back to back than one per academic year.
There are consolations, though. Returning students are a big one. I had six or seven students take a class from me both semesters. Not only was a huge boost to my confidence (and meant fewer names to memorize), it was great to watch them develop over a whole year. On the other hand, it made the usual semester letdown feel even worse. After spending so much time listening to and evaluating these people, having them vanish abruptly stinks (save the few obnoxious students I's happily drop-kick out the door if I could).
The year has left me thinking a lot about pedagogy, something academics aren't really encouraged to do. I think more students sense that than we think. Most of them haven't a clue about the multitude of pressures academics face, but I'm still not convinced that we can simply throw teaching to the bottom of our "to-do" lists, despite all the administrative, collegial pressure to do so.
Meh. Perhaps I should finish grading, then ponder.
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