indigo_rose99

The mistaken belief that I, as an instructor, have amazing mental and physical powers continues to astound me.

I have been teaching classes like the one I'm currently teaching in CA for something like 17 years. My habit is to attempt to walk into my building to teach an hour in advance of the class start time. About 60% of the time, I am successful. The rest of the time is a mess of locked doors, unreachable security guards, careful employees who won't let a badgeless or unworking badge in the building, copy machines that jam up irreparably, projectors that refuse to connect to my laptop, and all the other things that can and do go wrong. If things go well, I spend about 20 minutes reviewing my class material just before it starts.

Yet every class, I have students who are deeply shocked that I bother coming in an hour in advance. They seem convinced that I can teleport into a classroom, have my computer set up, connected to power and projector, with all appropriate files open, have all of their handouts stacked and ready, all their prizes organized in a line... All in about 30 seconds.

I'm organized. I'm prepared for things to go wrong. But I have no magical powers. I have tried to gently explain this to my students, but they are persistent in their firm beliefs that these things should all together take less than 30 seconds.

I once had a class for which the entire building didn't open until 9am. Class was supposed to start promptly at 9am. And it was England, which meant that at 9:10am when the person who opened the doors actually appeared, my entire class was waiting in the lobby with me. *sigh* Yeah, I tried to do the magical act then. Start class while plugging in cables and booting my computer and trying to pull out handouts and notes... It didn't work. And I was off balance the entire class. Ugh.

Where do they come up with these ideas? Perhaps I appear too organized and in control in an ordinary class?

This morning as I was at breakfast in the hotel waiting for the chef to appear and make my omelet, a familiar-looking gentleman walked by and said a pleased "Good Morning!" I'm sure I gave a more reserved response.

I thought, Is that Phillipe? (a student this week, staying in the same hotel) No, Phillipe is younger. Odd... He looks so very familiar... I wonder, perhaps I saw him in the gym this morning?

A few minutes later, he walked by again and said, smiling "You told me next time I saw you to say that my name is Ger and I was in your class last week."

Ohmigod! I saw him four days ago and couldn't place him?!? I am SO EMBARRASSED!!! And he took it so well... *hang head in shame* At least I tell my students the truth... I'll never remember any of them once the class is over. The faces look familiar, but the names and the dates are just gone.