A couple weeks ago, I received a call asking me to teach an extra class this semester (Fall 2013). This was the result of a last minute change out of my control that required an extra instructor to come in on the class. I decided to say “yes” because I have taught the course before, and I was probably the most natural fit to fill in at the last minute. Unfortunately, this caused my other class to have to change lecture time, and subsequently caused a whole bunch of scheduling issues with many students in the class who were taking classes at the same time. To make a long story short, I will be giving lectures to about half of the people enrolled in the class, and the other students will need to make up the material on their own.
Now I haven’t had this many students scheduled to miss nearly all of my lectures before, so this will be a bit of an experiment for me. My primary concern is that the students get the best education they can from the class, and I believe the course is set up to give a lot of hands on knowledge and experience. That said, I don’t know how valuable the lecture material is in general to the students (in this particular class). I almost feel like the lectures should really just be a time to get together and talk about the projects the students are working on, and to address any problems and concerns they might have; sort of a group study session where I happen to be present to keep the discussion on track. The truth is, the content for the class is best learned by getting your hands dirty and doing the lab assignments.
To make matters worse (for my life), I had also previously asked to be able to continue my research project from the summer. I have felt like I’ve been able to accomplish some interesting and useful things, and that there is much more that I could contribute to the company, and by ways of its products, many areas of computing and human experience. I really want people to be able to get the most out of computers, and the opportunity to lend my expertise to this company at this time gives me a chance to work towards that goal. The real trick is going to be figuring out the best way to maintain a balance between these exciting and empowering work endeavors, and my personal life that I definitely want to keep active, and progressing.