The rhythm of the semester
Classes ended on Tuesday, and now we’re entering exam week. Pretty soon it will be commencement and the whole thing is over (for me) until September.
After so many years of unstructured grad school, it’s quite strange to be tied to that roller-coaster rhythm of the semester. I feel like an undergrad again. The first few weeks are fresh and exciting, then there’s a settling in to the routine, then the realization that the mid-term is approaching fast. After that, the stress level rises as we notice that we have N weeks left to squeeze in K projects, quizzes, or assignments. Then the last two weeks we just can’t wait for it to be over.
When I was an undergrad, it probably never occurred to me that my professors might be feeling the same kind of pressure I did. After all, aren’t profs the providers of stress, for which students are the recipients?
This is nothing like grad school. There is stress in grad school, of course, but it’s not on a schedule quite like this. You know what I’m talking about if you’ve been a Ph.D. candidate or post-doc who emerges from his/her office in mid-afternoon seeking coffee, notices that campus is maybe a little quieter than usual, but doesn’t realize that it’s spring break until it happens three days in a row! You are clearly not on the rhythm of the semester.
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That’s why some people like to recycle material and teach courses in discrete math. Some folks even have exams written at the start of the semester so they have as effortless a time as possible. Personally, I found the semester rather stressful for a programming class because of grading, developing new projects. Time seemed to press down on me. Part of that was my fault for trying to do too much when no one else much cared.
I feel a bit freer now that I don’t have to do that. Presumably good planning can help alleviate some of this.
Or teaching discrete math.