Random Bullets of Back to School

• It’s hard to believe I have been at my university for almost nine years. Since I haven’t taught in a while between the sabbatical and the not-quite-maternity-leave, the time snuck by me.
• In those nine years, this is the first time I’ve started the semester on a Monday. Usually the fall semester starts on a Wednesday and the spring semester on a Tuesday.
• Language class: It is the fourth time I have taught this particular class. And the fourth different textbook. I have taught a different class in the sequence more often, and had plenty of opportunity to get familiar with its textbooks over the years.
• Literature class: So far, I do not see significant improvements in the new edition of the anthology I use for the survey. At least they waited ten years to put out a second edition, unlike some of the language textbook publishers. Out of 21 students on my roster, 20 attended the first day of class, and there were no students who had added after the list was printed. I don’t think I have ever had a roster that accurate before. The language classes had a more typical pattern of missing and extra students.
• It’s hard to write syllabi after the baby goes to bed when the baby decides that he was really just down for a late nap and is now ready to play from 10:00pm to midnight.
• If you decide that one day per week should be free of classes so that professors can work on their research, does it really make sense to hold meetings on that day, just because nobody has class conflicts?