getting out 10 minutes early: January 31, 2007

Well I did it again. I got to the end of what I needed to cover and either the content or the presentation of the content was such that it just didn't go as well as I had hoped. There were 10 minutes left and I just said, "Y'all can go." But then one of the students said, "But you never let your classes out early." How did he know that? Well, it turns out, he read my blog! I was taken aback while simultaneously being flattered. But there was a good informal discussion afterwards and I figured out that one thing was, now that the class is 2 hours and 10 minutes, I should've given them a 10-minute break in the middle. But I'm so used to teaching for 5 straight hours, I didn't think about it. Last week, I had two one-hour-long classes with a natural 10 minute break but this week, one group is out in the classrooms and I have the other group for the full time period. Wait! That means, I didn't let them out early, I just gave them their 10 minute break at the end of class! . Too bad I didn't think of that quick comeback in class. ;-) So I gave the illusion of letting them out 10 minutes early. That's the ultimate classroom management trick! I wonder if it's still considered a magic trick if the "magician" isn't aware that s/he is doing it at the time.

But they're a good group of students and a lot of fun. They just keep me on my toes for making sure my class is really engaging. Fortunately, I have fabulously engaging content: technology (fun stuff) and classroom management (they know how critical this is).