Balance

The hardest part of teaching is finding the right balance. Too nice? Too mean? Most importantly, I am having trouble finding the balance between expecting compliance from students before I teach new material, and teaching new material so the students are interested enough to be compliant. It's tough, and I find myself leaning too much in one direction or the other. I need to have high standards for them, but I also understand what it's like to be sitting in class at 2pm on a Friday as a 13-year-old.

Today I did a lab with my challenging class, and it went well. It was slow to start, but they really got involved in it. At the very least, every group seemed to learn how to use triple beam balances. I am looking forward to reading the lab reports when they hand them in on Friday.

I have decided that Tue/Thurs/weekend will be my running schedule and Wednesday will be my manicure day. Although I don't love paying 10 whole dollars (plus tip) for a manicure, I found a place that treats me well and does a $25 mani/pedi (or $32 mani/pedi/10-min-massage!). On Wednesdays, we have a faculty meeting from 3:15-4pm, which kind of ruins my work momentum, so I might as well relax. And I can't help it if the nail place is right next to the Chinese take-out restaurant. Sometimes, you want some nice quality Chinese food. And sometimes you want to wipe grease off of your hands while wondering what country really invented with crab rangoons.