Me, Nervous? Apparently So…

business, health related issues, humor, lessons learned, Teaching and Education, technology 2 Minutes

I start teaching next week, and all my classes will be 100% in person. I will be teaching in a large room that has been reconfigured as a classroom. The room has a social distancing capacity of 40 students, and since my biggest class only has 28 students, there should not be an issue keeping the students safely apart.

It will be interesting teaching with a mask on, but other than that, I’ve been thinking it will be business as usual.

Well, at least that is what I’ve been telling myself.

But based on the interesting set of dreams I had last night, my subconscious is apparently not buying it.

My first class of the day is 8:00, which is a half-hour earlier than classes normally start in order to allow more time in between classes for cleaning, and still get the same number of classes in over the course of the day.

In my dream, I completely forgot I had an 8:00 class, and so I never showed up. My next class was scheduled for 9:10, but for some reason, I didn’t show up until 9:30, which would have been the normal time for the second class of the day to start.

When I walked into the room, there was already another teacher in the room, but it did not seem like his class had started yet. I wasn’t sure what was going on. My first thought was that I was in the wrong room, and so I started to leave. I then noticed the other teacher start to pull a divider across the middle of the room. So it seemed that he was in one half of the room, and I was in the other.

So I went into my half of the room and started to set up my laptop. 

I then noticed a group of my students not wearing masks, which are mandatory. When I asked them to put their masks on, they just stared at me, defiantly. It was then that I noticed that one of the three students, while not wearing a mask, was wearing a full-body hazmat suit…

While I was trying to get that situation under control, a young woman came into the room, asking who had ordered the coffee. I told her she could not be delivering coffee in the middle of class, but she started giving me some attitude.

While arguing with her, I noticed that my laptop was not connecting to the projection screens, so I had to excuse myself to try and fix that. When I finally got that under control, I noticed that the young woman was now going around to every student and asking them if they wanted to buy a snack from the large variety she had in her backpack. I told her she had to leave and after a couple of minutes, she finally did.

Throughout all of this, I also noticed that my mask was either steaming up my glasses, or it was constantly slipping off my nose.

When it seemed like things were finally under control, it was time for the students to leave, and I had not having covered a single item. Since I had three more classes left, I decided to just cancel the remaining three classes so that all my classes stayed in sync. I sat down at one of the student desks, wondering how it all went so wrong. 

I then woke up, thankfully realizing it was all a dream/nightmare.

I don’t know what it all means, but I’m thinking it’s a sign that it is going to be a semester like no other, and I better be prepared for anything…

*image from Steelcase

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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52 thoughts on “Me, Nervous? Apparently So…”

  9. just a wee bit of anxiety, and your brain told it so well. this reminds me of the vivid nightmares i would have during my waitress years. like you, i’ll be back in person, as i’m at a private school, and there is lots of worry all around. stay safe and well.

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  10. “Late to take a test I didn’t prepare for” was a recurring nightmare for twenty years after I completed my studies, gradually replaced by “late to teach a class I didn’t prepare for.”

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  14. I hope the reality will be better than the dream! For safety’s sake, if there will be someone providing refreshments there should also be a demonstration of the emergency exit locations and what to do in the event of your lessons crash landing…

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  16. You will be fine!!! Can’t wait to read about your first day! I’m hoping people aren’t spread out so far that you have to yell for them to hear you!!!! My daughter starts online college the 18th and she denies it but she is pretty excited to start back to school!!

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  18. Not a dream expert here, but would you say that you are person that likes order/things organised Jim? I’ve had reoccuring dreams that follow a similiar theme where I’m back at school, can’t remember where my locker is and have no idea what my timetable is, so I run around in a panic knocking on doors trying to desperately find where I need to be. I say this as I like things organised and in control

    The mask bit and all the other stuff going wrong – no idea!

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    1. I do like to feel that I have things under control. I have every class planned in terms of what I hope to cover. Inevitably I fall off the plan, but at least having an overall idea of the plan is helpful…

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