Yesterday I had my last classes of the semester. I always have mixed emotions at the end of the semester, especially now in the awkward period of time when I have finished classes but have a long way to go before I’m actually on holiday.
When my friends ask me if I’m finished with my classes, I can happily say yes! That means that I can sleep in a bit more, get up when I want, and not make any more lessons for a while.
But when my friends go on to say, “Wow! You’re on holiday already!”
I smile and shake my head. “Oh no, this is when my work begins.” Grading is one of my least favorite parts about teaching. I don’t like hiding in my room for hours upon hours reading essays and trying to decide if it deserves an A, B, or C.
So right now, I’m in the beautiful period where I don’t have very many assignments to grade yet (most of the essays are due next week), but I also don’t have any classes (except for a few oral exams on Thursday mornings). So I have a bit of time to look back and reflect.
I’ve been thinking about some of the things that I love and some of the things that I don’t love about the end of the semester. Let’s start out positive.
1. I love looking forward to a break from my normal routine and the chance to focus on projects that I don’t usually get to work on. I’m also really excited to travel and see friends that it’s harder to see during a busy semester.
One of the first things that I want to do this semester is to work on my second book and get the next draft done so that I can be one step closer to publication. I’m wondering if it will possibly be ready to publish by the end of the year!
The next thing that I want to do is travel. This summer I’m planning on keeping my traveling in China, and I’ve already started some of my traveling plans, but a lot of the summer is just a vague outline of what I want to do. I’m planning to do some blogging on the trip, so stay tuned to see how my adventures turn out!
2. I love hearing about what my students have learned and how the class has helped them. In cross-cultural communication, I have the students write reflections about one or two of their biggest take-aways. I love the reflection because I can see that many of the students understood some of the things that I was trying to teach them. They recognize that they are just starting on the journey of how to communicate, and they are excited to keep walking along this path.
Another big take-away that makes me excited is when the students realize that even though the class is about cross-cultural communication, they can use the same things that we discussed to help them in all of their relationships with people even from the same culture. They have started to recognize more of the diversity around them, and they are putting into practice the theories that we discussed.
I also love reading these reflections because the students often challenge me. I tell them that I still have a lot to learn about cross-cultural communication, but when I read their reflections and see how they are applying these things to their own friendships or relationships with parents, I see that I also have a lot I can work on. I love learning from my students.
3. I love the end of the semester because I get to take pictures with my students, and I get to look back on all of our classes together in the happy glow of: “Wasn’t that fun!” As we go through the semester, there are lots of challenges and lots of days when it would be nicer to stay in bed (especially when it’s raining). But looking back, it’s easier to focus on the positive things that happened. It’s easier to see how much fun it was to see these students and their smiles every single week.
What about some things that I don’t love about the end of the semester?
1. I don’t love saying goodbye to my students. I don’t teach senior students, so all of my students should be here for at least another year, but I know that once our class ends, it’s much harder to stay in touch with 150 students. In fact, it’s impossible. There will be some students that I will see around, and there will be other students who will stay in touch, but it won’t be the same. Even though I like to have the illusion that we will stay in touch, I know that I will sadly lose touch with most of these students.
And even if we do meet again, I will be meeting students who have grown and changed, and they will be different than the students that I know now. While that’s good, part of that process means that we’ve also grown apart. That’s hard. I’ve seen that happen.
When I leave my last class at the end of the semester, I usually take a picture of the empty desks. I always think of the song, “Empty chairs at empty tables” even though my students are alive and well. A friend of mine inspired me to make this connection. I think of all the memories I had with my students in this classroom at these tables, and I feel a bit nostalgic to know that all of those times have ended. I took that picture when I left classroom B410 for the last time.
But when I left my last class in S403, my students stayed late because it was raining. So we chatted for a while, took some pictures, and finally I left while they stayed behind. I like the idea that my students are still gonna be around for a while. And those students are just sophomores, so I will get to see them for a bit longer. That’s a nice thought.
2. Another thing I don’t love is the grading. I love interacting with my students, and I love knowing their ideas, but the process of reading lots of essays and then trying to put a grade on that essay is a hard and grueling process.
In some ways, I wish I could hire this part of teaching out. But I also think that it’s incredibly important to see what my students have learned in the class and to grade them according to the standard that we have used throughout the semester. So I will read nearly 100 essays and give feedback and grades, and hopefully you will see me on the other side one day.
The summer has ended, and while that’s sad, I’m looking forward to the next step. I am on the cusp of summer vacation and all of the adventures that are coming with that. I like to take some time to reflect, but I’m also looking forward to my next adventure!