Tomorrow marks the beginning of yet another semester at the college where I teach human services and psychology. I’ve been teaching at the college level for 28 years now and still, after all this time, get excited and anxious as I look forward to the first class. Today I was shopping for “school supplies” - new highlighters, new brightly colored pens for grading papers, and a few more of the mechanical pencils I love. I no longer grade papers with a red pen - purple, green, pink, orange, turquoise - anything but red. I started using other colors years ago, when I couldn’t find a pen in my desk, but then began getting comments from students who appreciated that I didn’t use red ink. Many of my students are adult learners, many of whom have been out of school for a long time, and may not have had the best experiences in school when they were younger. A student once remarked to me that the red marks all over her papers brought up an image of her own blood being spilled…a graphic reminder of the blood, sweat and tears she’d poured into her work, only to have the teacher tear it apart. I promised myself then and there never to use red ink again.
I love working with adult learners because they bring with them a wealth of knowledge about life. They are often scared, to be sure, but they are so excited and motivated and they challenge me in ways that keep me sharp. I’ve often been asked if I don’t get tired of teaching the same classes year after year. Truth be told, while the subject matter may be repeated year after year, the students change the climate of the class and the energy they bring creates a new experience for me time after time.
So while my job title is “Professor of Human Services” my work/life is really about sharing who I am and what I’ve come to know, and learning at least as much from my students as they learn from me. I am well and truly blessed.
Namaste….
