Fall 2016, that is. Classes at my university start on Monday, but I don’t have a face to face (F2F) class meeting until Tuesday. As I often do, I am teaching 2 sections of my course load F2F, and 2 sections online. This is actually a really nice schedule for me, since it provides a decent amount of flexibility for me during the week, allowing me to set my workout schedule and research time pretty much however I wish.
Now I realize this sounds positively relaxing, but as a visiting appointment, the 4-4 load can be quite a challenge, and thus the half online/half F2F breakdown is helpful in providing work-life balance for me. Not that I am super great at that balance, but this schedule gives me a chance at it, anyway.
The start of the semester tends to be stressful, of course, and this year I feel somewhat in between stress and calm. I’m ready, and I’m not teaching any new courses, but because of that I haven’t really had the panic and pedal to the metal attitude that indicates true readiness. I am just hoping that, like muscle memory, teaching memory will take over.
I plan to set out some goals for myself on Monday, once I have a chance to face the Semester and see what seems reasonable to accomplish. I’ve been feeling pretty good about my CV, but there are conferences to attend and more to write. So let’s get started, shall we?