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| {My morning meeting with my precious TA back when I taught high school. It’s probably around November in this picture, so my North Face fleece seems appropriate. However, I was wearing this same exact fleece in a picture taken on the LAST day of school in mid-June. That’s Seattle for ya.} |
I think blogging is starting to influence the way I write even when I’m not blogging. Last year, when I wrote notes to my students on our online class site, I was all prim and proper…
“Hello class! My name is…. and I will be your teacher this fall. I like blank, blank, and blank. I am so excited to get to know you better.” And my idea of friendly humor was… “I can’t wait for college football season. Especially to see those Horned Frogs play! Rah Rah TCU!” And that was that.
Here is what I wrote to my new students this year. In the words of Bob Dylan/Skeeter, the times they are a-changin’…
My name is Jen Russum, and I will be your instructor for ENG 102. I am a second year PhD student in the English department. I came to ASU to study Renaissance literature (yes, that means I actually enjoy reading Shakespeare), but I took a class last spring on digital literacies and now I am on a whole new research and career path studying the crazy, fun world of blogging. I love the university environment (and the long summer breaks), teaching undergrads, teaching writing, and I am really looking forward to this class.
When I’m not reading a bajillion pages a week for my grad classes or grading my students’ essays, I like trying new dinner recipes, running, blogging, dabbling in photography, making to do lists, hanging out with friends, serving at my church, organizing closets and cheering on my college football team – the TCU Horned Frogs! If you like sports, you’ve enrolled in the right class. But if you don’t like sports, that’s okay, because I clearly have many interests.
I was born and raised in the Seattle area, but I spent my teenage years counting down the days until I could move off to college in a sunny locale. When I graduated from high school, I did just that… drove my little car down to Fort Worth, Texas where I lived, studied, worked, and played for my undergraduate experience. After I graduated with a degree in English, I puzzled over what to do next until I finally decided to become a high school teacher. I taught high school English for five years, and I loved every second of it (minus the staff meetings and a few psycho parents). However, in the back of my mind I ultimately wanted to get my PhD and teach at the college level, so a year ago I resigned from my job, got hitched, and moved to Phoenix two days after returning from my honeymoon. My husband and I love, love, love it here, especially the sunshine, so please don’t complain to me about the weather. There is a reason 75% of Arizona’s population is from out-of-state. If you are an AZ native, you’ve probably never heard of rain, snow, ice, humidity, or a popular Seattle phrase pronounced “mostly cloudy” but I promise you, there is some scary stuff outside this desert paradise. Sure, I hate burning my hands on my steering wheel when I get into my car in the middle of a Phoenix summer, but 98% of my childhood was spent in the rain, which makes scalding my palms sound almost pleasant in comparison.
And please feel free to share in your post why you chose to take this class in hybrid rather than in a traditional classroom setting or completely online. For me… you should know that I can be very OCD. One of my traits is that I must clean my bathroom every Thursday no matter what. Since this class meets online on Thursdays, I never have to worry about missing a bathroom cleaning. I can go scrub my shower and clean my mirrors and come right back to class on the computer. You are probably scared of me now… but I promise I’m not that scary (I don’t think…). Please post your introduction. I am excited to meet you all in real life on Tuesday!
So what do you think? Would you be scared to have me as a teacher? My evaluations from last semester tell me I’m a “tough grader,” but I’m “always available to give extra assistance,” and I help people learn how to “wright.”
Or do I????
I want to be in your class and learn how to "wright" all over again. Cheers to another year of teaching!!
but obviously not how to spell.
You're getting your PhD!? Holy moly, friend! Good for you! Hope this semester goes smooth for you š I'm sure you're an amazing teacher!
Haha – I love this! You def are a blogger now – you use the world bagillion. š
This would make me way more excited to have you for a teacher than the first one!
As a parent, I love your letter. We were fortunate over the years to have some great teachers and only a few that led ME straight to the principals office š