Long-time student, first-time teacher
After two years of sitting back and just letting Agora Week wash over me, I opted to co-teach a few classes this year. My main reason for doing this was to solidify my schedule. Instead of just hoping that there would be interesting classes, and further, that I would be able to get into them, I could guarantee that my day included a few solid hours of stuff that I would truly enjoy. I co-taught three classes this year, and factoring in two free hours and my required hour of journalism, there were only two slots that had to be filled by optional classes.
After coming in early to turn in my junior class requests, I had a wide-open first hour to waste. After a very halfhearted attempt to work on my history paper, I plopped down on a couch with my laptop and watched “Futurama.”
Next hour, I taught a Monty Python movie class with Noel Knox. My duties entailed: bringing a DVD; convincing Noel that we should watch the DVD instead of listening to sketches on the stereo; and flipping the disc over halfway through the hour. Not rigorous tasks by any measure, but it was neat to have that feeling of authority, however small.
After dodgeball class (where I used my dependable strategy of hovering around as far from the opposing team as possible and throwing whatever rolled my way to my imprisoned teammates across the gym), messing around with Squeak! in the PC lab, and devouring a lunch from Zorba’s (in retrospect, taking fourth free for lunch would’ve been better; the line at Za’s was ridiculous), I helped Carl Pearson, Deren Kudeki, Jacob Druker, and Paul Miller with basic instruction in 3D modeling. I took the same class last year, when only Jacob and Deren were teachers, and in the year since I have developed a significant interest in it.
Finally, before coming down to the Mac lab to write this up, I helped teach a second movie class, “Red vs. Blue.” The turnout was modest, but everyone there seemed to genuinely enjoy the show. This hour was probably the highlight of my day, since not only was I watching my favorite online show for an hour on a giant projector screen, but it was during school hours. The thought of watching cartoons and playing sports instead of simply sitting in class waiting for the day to end is, for me, exactly what makes Agora Days so appealing.
Given the fact that “Red vs. Blue” contains much more footage than we could fit into a single Agora week, and that we can expect the same people to turn out next year, I’m sure that “RvB” class will recur in Agora Days 2008. 3D modeling might also return, so my schedule for next year is already taking shape.
Overall, being a teacher is a fun experience, and I would encourage anyone to try it. All you have to do is assume the humble duties of taking attendance, changing DVDs, and nagging people about getting permission slips turned in.
— Andrew Lovdahl