Well it’s official, I’m a teacher now! A new semester is here and I’ve now taught for a week and a day! It’s the beginning of week two and I’ve had five class sessions already. This semester I’ll be teaching three units: Networking Essentials and Introduction to Programming and Algorithms for the students, and Introduction to Linux for the staff. That’s one class every day, so I’ll be very busy writing lesson plans, assignments, and continuous assessment tests (CATs)…
On the first day of class I usually write my name, the course number, and the course title on the board. Last semester I wrote “Mr. Orth” and a few students giggled; I guess they could see right through the act, as I’m not really the formal type. This semester I told my students to please call me “Alan.” Among other things, I also tell them to please ask questions.