First Night

I'm very, very nervous about tonight's first night at Holmes. I always get nervous; throughout my 20 something years teaching, I have always been nervous the first night. Imagine standing in front of 30 strangers you've never seen before trying to convince them that you know what you're talking about, especially if you've just spent a couple of months off. You don't know exactly what's going to happen (even though planning is always done), you don't know how everybody's going to react, you don't know whether to be serious or funny or goofy (which is my chosen method). Put the students at ease; make them wonder what you're going to do next. Plan things so there's a good flow of information, and good movement that's going to be interesting and fun. Everybody likes shiny things.

It's all about high expectations. I care A LOT about making a good first impression; we all do (well, most of us do. I've known people who didn't care, and I never quite understood that). Teaching is its own kind of specialized performance art, and everybody reacts differently. But I'm prepared; I know what I'm going to say, I know what we're going to do (although I'll be very nervous and probably make it look like work), and I'm confident that my students will be put in a good place that will enable them to learn, write, keep learning and keep writing. And before you know it it will all be over and I'll be staring at another sea of strange faces. With a lot of grading in between.