I just read something funny in this great novel by Benjamin Prado that I want to use for my new article:
Sometimes, the only difference between a blackboard and a coffin is that, in the case of the blackboard, the dead man is located outside.
That’s how I felt yesterday during the first lectures of the semester. Students find it very hard to return to class after Christmas celebrations. I don’t blame them. January 7 is way too early to end the winter festivities.
I think of teaching like flying (from the airplane’s point of view).
It’s not the cruising at altitude that takes a lot of energy and causes wear and tear — it’s the take offs and landings.
The first classes after a two (or more) week break are exhausting. And short breaks in a block of classes are almost worse than no break.
If things are going reasonably well in class I hardly notice time going by but the 15 minute break between classes just wipes me out.
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I think you are right. This is why I decided to skip the 20 minute break in my 3-hour class. The students all voted for it, too.
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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