Teaching is like a drug
I find that teaching is like a drug for me. I'm a very high energy instructor, so I get very jazzed up before and during class, but it takes a lot out of me. I often crash, hard, when the class is over and that energy leaves me.
Anyone else experience that?
Hi Diane,
I hear you. I teach from 4 until 10:00 p.m. I like you am a walking and mover throughout the classroom and lab. So by the time I get to my truck at 10:30 I am shot. On the other hand I think I would blow up if I had to sit and lecture behind a desk. The ability to share and get involved with the learning of the students is what makes it worthwhile each day.
Gary
Yes I never ever sit down when I teach no matter what the subject is from computers to Business Courses to English course. When I sm finished I go to my office and I collapse.
Hi Tia,
It is great to hear new instructors talk about how much they are enjoying teaching. Welcome to the profession. I know you are going to have a most enjoyable career. What have you found to be the most rewarding part of teaching to date?
Gary
I am glad I am not the only one to do this! This is my first time teaching in a classroom setting, but I love it. I have a class that can be some what boring but it is necessary for them. I always try to keep my students up and involved. We play alot of games and spend time in the computer lab. So far they are learning and so am I. Yes at the end of the day I feel the crash, but it's worth it!
Hi Jay,
My schedule is to teach two three hour courses back to back. I start at 4 and finish the first at 7, start the other one at 7 and finish at 10. I work very hard to keep the energy up since my students have been working all day and are tired. Also the classes are the same, so I have to remember what I said in each class to make sure my message is consistent for both. I like teaching both of them because it takes the same amount of energy to do both and I can stay on the high for both. When I get home at night I do have to take some time to settled down so I find myself reading the paper, watching some TV and finally getting to bed around midnight.
I like the challenge of getting the students ramped up and excited about the course and am willing to work as hard as it takes to get them to that point. The results are well worth it to me and based upon my evaluations them as well.
Keep up the good work but look for ways to pace yourself so you don't burn out completely and leave the profession. We need to keep our high energy high interest instructors like you.
Gary
Yes, I find myself in the same "boat". When I enter the classroom I expend a high amount of energy to get the students as excited about the daily topic as I am. It also takes a lot of energy to maintain this high level of excitement. When the class ends, I usually stay on my subject "high" for a few hours until I crash and burn. However, if I have another class to teach after the first one, I find that it is rather easy to maintain my high level of energy.
I have also found that if I teach more than one class in a day, I crash that much harder at the end of the day versus only teaching one class a day.
Has anyone had a similar experience?
Yes, I often feel this way, too. I want to be sure that classes are high-energy and 'events' for the students. I feel that it is well-worth it to be an energizing and motivating force in the classroom - even if it means crashing a bit later on during the day.
I am a high energy teacher as well. My students can definitely tell I love what I do. I don't crash too much right after that class, but I do later that night.
Almost always feel that way.
As I mention in my thread "It's Showtime!", I always try to have my classes be upfront, high-energy events.
After awhile, you learn to keep things moving at a pretty rapid pace; jumping off to answer or give an example to a question; getting students involved in learning how to "discover" an answer on their own; making sure that every student in class was actively involved and either asked or answered a question.
It is only normal that after a high-energy class like that, you review it in your mind - what worked; what didn't work? Like an athlete after a sporting event, or an actor after a performance, you are your own worst critic. It is to be expected that you feel the crash after the high energy "performance". To me, that is a sign I gave my all and use it to make sure my next class is even better.
