The Teaching Challenge

April-2022

by Paula J. Sanders-Nelson

This has been a challenging year. I truly want what is best for my students, but sometimes feel as if I am set adrift all alone. I do give a lot of challenging work. I am working with young people who will soon be off into the world. Mom or Dad cannot call the college professor and demand you have a second chance. Nor can students put off completing classwork until the end of the semester and try to play "catch up".

I want my students to feel confident walking into an arena-size English 1301 class and understand the reading and writing assignment; how to format an MLA-styled paper. I want them to KNOW what MLA is! I do not want them to feel lost, left out or worse, dumb, because they did not meet the demands my of senior-level class. I dread hearing "they didn't teach us that" on some social media confessional video. I tried. I stood up in front of many who ignored me to watch Tik Tok videos of dogs on skateboards or the latest dance challenge. Only to forcibly charge me with leaving them out of the loop when it's down to the wire and the assignment is due and they absolutely have no clue what they are supposed to do or where to find it.

This has truly been a challenging year, but out of the hardships, I have observed first and second-generation future college students rise to the challenge and sometimes going above and beyond with their assignments. They actually enjoyed the work, learned from the articles and the stories, and demonstrated this in their on-time submissions. They were not kissing up to me, they were simply following instructions and getting the job done. No, they were not all straight "A" students, but they are the ones who will excel post-secondary, whether it be academically or in the workplace. They have the work ethic, they are teachable and coachable, and sharp. And I am proud of them because had it not been for these hardworking, ambitious, and entrepreneurial students, I might have just walked away from the job I love the most.

Teaching💗

🎓Hat's off to the hardworking survivors of the class of 2022