Rockstar Instructor

My Life As A Professional 

I think that you, my loyal readers, already know enough about me.

I’m the type of person that will burst out laughing in dead silence over something that happened the previous day.

I'm over-the-top.

I have no directional knowledge.

But way back, Second Daughter suggested that I write more about me, particularly my work. Not house work. Work work. 

What? Another opportunity to be the center of attention? 

Why not? So here's another About Me series, with special emphasis on work. 

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I felt like I'd just burned all my note cards on Blake for my final thesis in English 199 - the burning of notes being an end-of-the-semester ritual for all the comparative literature classes I've completed.

And now, three months later, it was June. What did it mean in the Philippines? 

Tropical wet climate, oftentimes thunderstorms and flooding. It also signified...

Back.To.School.

Yay!

You may think, Nerd, but yes, it was one of my favorite seasons of the year. As a kid, I loved the smell of paste and fresh school supplies, new outfits, and the chance to crack open a new textbook.

And now, more so.

Outfitted in a blue polka-dotted shift dress and a cream shoulder bag, I was ready.

With Shaw's Freshman English tucked in my arms, I strutted in my Mum's Camara Cuban-heeled shoes toward the Arts and Sciences building.

If you've been paying attention, you may wonder, Why a freshman text? Haven't I just mentioned final thesis at the beginning?

Well, let's take a look back before we jump forward.

Philippinensian Directory of Graduates.
University of the Philippines: March 1965 

Just turned twenty, I graduated cum laude with an English and Comparative Literature undergrad degree in March.

I thought, that (and my impressive paper on Blake) were the winning points for my being recruited by the English Department Chair to be part of the faculty even prior to graduation day.

Yes, I was going back as university instructor. Today was the first day of my life as a professional.

UP Faculty Conference.
Baguio: 1965

I had thought up titles for this post and so many came to mind. Here were my top three:

You’ve Come A Long Way

I Still Can’t Believe It

I'm Definitely Excited 

And, umm... (dramatically channeling Maria in The Sound Of Music): 

What Will This Day Be Like? 

Yep. Seriously.

I had no idea where the road ahead would take me. It was all too new, too replete with possibility.

My heart should be wildly rejoicing. Oh, what's the matter with me? 

But with each step up the fourth floor to my first class, I became more certain that everything would turn out fine. My heart began to sing.

I have confidence the world can all be mine

They'll have to agree, I have confidence in me.

That pep talk to myself paid off.

So proud to say that I was a lot like a rock star during my three years of university teaching.

Every day, I put on my cape sans rhinestones (a reference to Elvis, in case you're too young or unfamiliar) and taught from the heart, not from the book, sometimes using readings of my own choice (mimeographed pages that I sold for.. ahem... profit).

I'd always thought that when students weren't having fun or getting the experience, they were seldom learning effectively. Thus, rather than simply read the words of Ben Jonson's Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes off a page, I brought my guitar and had the class sing it (you may know it, to the tune of To Celia).

In exploring the science fiction genre, I brought a couple of students to the movie house to see Fantastic Voyage. Back then, this film adventure was a big deal. We gasped as a surgical task force was reduced to microbe size to perform a delicate operation inside the brain of a dying scientist.

I had my students attend poetry reading sessions that were conducted by local university poets. For the unit on theater and drama, I invited a student actor who talked about sets, makeup, emoting, etc.

Every day, I told myself, You got this, Teach. 

Who's going to be awesome?

Me.

(To be continued)