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Teaching, part 2
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It feels good to have finally figured out what I am here for.
I've been trying to find my place in the grand scheme of things for some time. I'm a pretty passive person, and so the advice and recommendations of others have always had a big influence on me, which has been good and bad.
However, I think I have identified what I was born to do, if there is such a thing. I was made to be a teacher.
I just finished teaching genetics for UCLA summer session, and it went very well. The students leared as much as I could have hoped for, and I only made a complete idiot of myself a few times that I know of. More important, though, is that I feel centered, at peace, and in control when I am teaching. I struggled all through graduate school with maintaining focus and energy about my work. I love science, but in addition to being passive, I am LAZY, and it was tough to keep myself on track. When I have a class to teach, though, I have no difficulty spending hours of focused attention on making it come out right. It is rewarding and exhilirating, even when it is exhausting and frustrating.
It was certainly a different experience from the other school where I have taught. The UCLA students are significantly better prepared and motivated. I wouldn't say I like it better; these folks don't really need me, whereas I feel like I'm doing some good for someone at the other school. Still, it was an interesting experience, which I hope to try again sometime soon.
So now I just need to find some school that will hire me full-time. My postdoc will be over next summer, and with some luck I'll actually be an assistant professor somewhere in the fall. Or maybe take two or three part-time positions until that magic tenure-track spot opens up.
Anyway, I feel good, and happier about my future career than I have felt in some time, and I though I'd share my joy.
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