Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"The genius of Bunsen and the beauty of the flame"

Number of days: 2.  Daily commute: 76 train stops + 2 transfers.  Number of students: 120.   Hearing giggles at the SAME EXACT PART of the safety video six times in a row: priceless.

Well, I can say it might be a long semester.  I can also say that I survived these past two days.  It was easy.  Take attendance, watch the safety video, go over the syllabus, and for the two gen chem sections I teach- check equipment and play with Bunsen Burners. 

By the end, I was a little bit annoyed at having repeated the same speech over and over again.  I'm hoping that once we get into actual labs, it'll get better.  I think I already like my gen chem labs better than the topics labs.... i don't care if that makes me awful.  Would I rather do reactions and play with acids and bases or measure an object three times and find its average length???  No contest!

Things I liked about teaching:
-Feeling like I know this stuff.
-The wonderful advice I got from two of the smartest people I know.
-The awesome messages of 'you will do great" that I got from my friends.
-Playing with Bunsen Burners.
-Hitting my stride on my sixth, and final, lab of the week.

Things I didn't like:
-That shaky public speaking feeling the first five times.
-The sore throat I'm getting from speaking so loudly in a large room.
-Having to repeat the same things over and over and over and over and over.......

I will leave you with my two favourite parts of the Chemistry Safety Video...  They never failed to get giggles out of my classes:
Shower Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1ZX6u9t9Q


Best acting Mannequin ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTPrLh5Kvc&feature=related

No comments:

Post a Comment