Easy Come, Easy Go
First impressions are very important. More often than not, they can give you a pretty good sense of what kind of experience you're about to face.
Take Fall semester, for instance. I got the impression right off the bat that this semester would be challenging on multiple levels because it would require concentration on my mathematical, philosophical and physical attributes. That's quite a lot to take in. What substantiated that impression was my primary sense of my three professors.
I knew David Shaner would be a welcome refreshment in the morning from the moment I first saw him (even if he was saddled with an annoying hoarse voice on the first day of class) because he really delved into the subject material and he went out of his way to help us engage it on our own terms. David Penniston, I knew, was going to be a beneficial help in mathematics, the subject in which I needed it most. He had a warmer personality than my previous Math professor, and he came across like he understood and believed in what he was talking about. Veronica Yockey was a thoughtful, demanding yet thorough professor who always wanted the best from her students and never hesitated to sprinkle in little tidbits of supplementary information simply for our best interests.
So what was my first impression of Winter term? Well, I only have "half of an impression" today, but thankfully, based on what I've seen thus far, I think I'm in for some good, interesting times.
As it turned out, Education 20 with Dr. Gust didn't meet this morning. Our WebAdvisor program confused me on the start date for the class, which is scheduled to meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And yet the start date on the website said January 4th, which is today. It was only later that I found out it was the default date for all of Furman's classes and didn't necessarly conform to the professor's respective schedule. Whoops. Oh well. You know how it is; easy come, easy go. At least I had a couple extra hours to sneak in some leisure reading.
So for me, Winter term "officially" began at 12:15 with Dr. Peyrouse's Theatre Arts 11 class. Well, he didn't blow me away, but neither did he turn me off. Good qualities include a light-hearted, not-too-rigid approach to protocol issues, a willingness to engage students in their own interests, a fairly simplistic approach to his course requirements, assignments and expectations, and the ability to laugh at his own expense. A couple questionable traits that I won't hold against him (yet) include a tendency to be opinionated about things, a few swear words I heard him say, and a strange coughing, gagging noise he makes to get our attention. We speak English, prof. :)
Initially, I believe I'm going to enjoy Theatre Arts, although it's too early to make a definitive claim. The course will involve a few projects and extracurricular work outside of class, but none of that looks overly demanding at the outset. I was pleased to recognize quite a few of the plays and productions we'll be looking into throughout the course. I spotted The Importance of Being Earnest, Death of a Salesman, Arsenic and Old Lace, Othello, Our Town, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others. As you can no doubt tell, I have a new appreciation for the works of Shakespeare, thanks in no small part to 11th grade English class (and thanks to you, Mrs. Mayernik).
It'll be great to have BCM again tonight. I've missed my friends in Drama and Praise Band, and I can't wait to get back with them and start planning ideas and activities for this semester. I'll cover Education 20 tomorrow!
Song of the Day: ZOEgirl - "Beautiful Name"
Quote of the Day: "Ah, *ahem ahem*, ah, excuse me, sir? You'll want to take these papers as you come in. There ya go ... ... *cough cough ahem* sir, sir! Ah, we don't sit in the back rows in this class! Thank you, sir, thank you!" - Dr. Peyrouse
Verse of the Day: "But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." - James 3:17-18
Take Fall semester, for instance. I got the impression right off the bat that this semester would be challenging on multiple levels because it would require concentration on my mathematical, philosophical and physical attributes. That's quite a lot to take in. What substantiated that impression was my primary sense of my three professors.
I knew David Shaner would be a welcome refreshment in the morning from the moment I first saw him (even if he was saddled with an annoying hoarse voice on the first day of class) because he really delved into the subject material and he went out of his way to help us engage it on our own terms. David Penniston, I knew, was going to be a beneficial help in mathematics, the subject in which I needed it most. He had a warmer personality than my previous Math professor, and he came across like he understood and believed in what he was talking about. Veronica Yockey was a thoughtful, demanding yet thorough professor who always wanted the best from her students and never hesitated to sprinkle in little tidbits of supplementary information simply for our best interests.
So what was my first impression of Winter term? Well, I only have "half of an impression" today, but thankfully, based on what I've seen thus far, I think I'm in for some good, interesting times.
As it turned out, Education 20 with Dr. Gust didn't meet this morning. Our WebAdvisor program confused me on the start date for the class, which is scheduled to meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And yet the start date on the website said January 4th, which is today. It was only later that I found out it was the default date for all of Furman's classes and didn't necessarly conform to the professor's respective schedule. Whoops. Oh well. You know how it is; easy come, easy go. At least I had a couple extra hours to sneak in some leisure reading.
So for me, Winter term "officially" began at 12:15 with Dr. Peyrouse's Theatre Arts 11 class. Well, he didn't blow me away, but neither did he turn me off. Good qualities include a light-hearted, not-too-rigid approach to protocol issues, a willingness to engage students in their own interests, a fairly simplistic approach to his course requirements, assignments and expectations, and the ability to laugh at his own expense. A couple questionable traits that I won't hold against him (yet) include a tendency to be opinionated about things, a few swear words I heard him say, and a strange coughing, gagging noise he makes to get our attention. We speak English, prof. :)
Initially, I believe I'm going to enjoy Theatre Arts, although it's too early to make a definitive claim. The course will involve a few projects and extracurricular work outside of class, but none of that looks overly demanding at the outset. I was pleased to recognize quite a few of the plays and productions we'll be looking into throughout the course. I spotted The Importance of Being Earnest, Death of a Salesman, Arsenic and Old Lace, Othello, Our Town, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, among others. As you can no doubt tell, I have a new appreciation for the works of Shakespeare, thanks in no small part to 11th grade English class (and thanks to you, Mrs. Mayernik).
It'll be great to have BCM again tonight. I've missed my friends in Drama and Praise Band, and I can't wait to get back with them and start planning ideas and activities for this semester. I'll cover Education 20 tomorrow!
Song of the Day: ZOEgirl - "Beautiful Name"
Quote of the Day: "Ah, *ahem ahem*, ah, excuse me, sir? You'll want to take these papers as you come in. There ya go ... ... *cough cough ahem* sir, sir! Ah, we don't sit in the back rows in this class! Thank you, sir, thank you!" - Dr. Peyrouse
Verse of the Day: "But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." - James 3:17-18
posted by david @ 2:06 PM
1 Comments:
At 11:00 PM,
Amanda | Glittericity said…
Oh, man, my OT professor last semester had this bizarre hacking thing going on too. Remind me to tell you the reason (that I found out much later) that he had that problem.
Post a Comment
<< Home