Grades are in a mere 15 hours before the deadline. Nine commencements in four days certainly delayed them, even as those in-person commencements for the class of 2020 and 2021 were a spectacular culmination to a remarkable year. But the fact that my students did great work this semester made the grading process not just easier, but deeply enjoyable.
And it’s not just because one of the students described the class in this way: “its environment harkened to a long-standing ideal that Alanis Morissette put into words in my favorite song, ‘Utopia.’”
Or that another described the class discussions as “consistently the best class discussion I have been a part of.”
Or that one noted, “I felt like everyone had a voice in the discussions.”
The appreciation for the digital projects assignments and syllabus that we designed together and the interdisciplinary approach we took to the class we created together, all worked better than I had hoped. And selfishly, the discussions, and the creativity, and the exploration of the history of information, communication, and technology with engaged and involved students…well, I needed that at least as much as they did, and I’m grateful to have had the chance.
Grateful that teaching continues to be part of my daily existence.
From all the blog posts I read and projects I saw it seemed from a casual observer that yours students were very engaged and were creatively exploring lots of ideas.
The fact you were able to facilitate and guide students to create a class that would be meaningful to them while doing all the other things you had to do is nothing short of amazing.
I hope you have a little time to take for yourself this summer!