How does three hours of continous walking, distributing paper, thread and collecting answer scripts everyday for a week feel....let me tell you, BORING!!
Add a stray student who thinks that she can get away referring a book hidden under her kameez....yawn!!
I never really appreciated what my invigilators underwent all these years when we all gave countless semester exams and not to forget those terrifying boards......trust me, today as I stand in their place or hobble (owing to marathon invigilation sessions) I completely empathize with them. God bless their souls!!
And also understand why the research scholars at the University looked so haggard.....doing invigilation for our profs must have seriously addled their research findings.
So, how does one enliven these sleepy times.....Applied Research comes in handy. Say for example....36 students out of 44 in a hall wear jeans (Whoever said dress sense at colleges are creative??!!).
And then the primary colours of the chumki clad brigade.....bright pink, shocking yellow and bright blue, with default silver or gold chumkis ofcourse. (Courtesy- a colleague who shares similar academic pursuits)Other hypothesis that have been proved right are that:
1. for every 10 students there is one who carries a cell phone inside the hall.
2.creativity runs riot when there are law and history papers, so be prepared to give each one a dozen additional sheets.
3. when you are totally on the verge of dropping asleep and decide to check that three months old frayed newspaper at the back of the hall, the dean or the controller will walk in to check on some question paper.
4. You burn more calories by simply invigilating rather than giving the actual test.
5.Once has to retie atleast 7 out of every ten answer scripts, as the students never learned their knots as girl scouts.
After heavy academic research the other activity that provides some relief is snooping answer scripts.....where else can we glean valuable information like Gandhiji started the Indian National Congress or that Prasar Bharati is the secretary to the Vice President Vajpayee or TOI stands for Trust office of India and UNI for United Nations of India.
Actually after this first ordeal of mine, I would wish invgilation only on someone I really want to torture painfully and slowly.Doesn't one envy that blessed student in the last row who completed her paper in half an hour and is now enjoying blissful dreams??!!
sigh, sigh!!
romila.
Showing posts with label Trying Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trying Teaching. Show all posts
Friday, October 20, 2006
Turning into an absent minded professor
Well, teaching is quite a strain on one's nerves and grey cells, not to forget those strained vocal chords......
look at me, three months into college teaching and am already turning into the conventional absent minded professor.Wake up one fine sunday and you think of calling a university senior and congratulating her on her wedding......five minutes after talking to her, realisation dawns that it isnt your senior but another accquaintance of the same name who was the one who tied the knot.
Thank God, I didnt embarass my senior and managed to hold my ground with the other pal. Though she was confused why i repeatedly asked her about days at Madras University, while she is from MCC. Much confusion arising from the fact that both of them have names like Rachel and both were working with the Indian Express. but, how did I not notice the difference in the mobile numbers??
A few hours later, another misnomer......I mistake an old pal from a common writer's workshop to be my junior from college and rave about old profs....the poor fellow is totally confused, smiles politely and walks away......realisation dawns later and I look around to apologise to the fellow, but he is nowhere to be seen. Feel really sorry for him.When one is teaching, one generally tries to remember the names of all the students with disastrous effects.......often confusing them. But what is the poor teacher's fault.....how does one remember a name like Prateeksha, say when there are two girls in different classes of the same name but of totally different characteristics.
Worse still, a battallion of Priya's, Priyanka's and Archana's in every class are just beyond comprehension. Why can't parents think of anything unique and different......how can one blame the poor professor for turning absent minded.And to top it all when you think you have almost memorised their names and identify them with their places, they have a trifling argument or quarell amidst themselves and change places.....lo, it starts all over again!!And then the guilt tripping, call a certain Vidyasri as Anuvidya.....and the crest-fallen, 'Maam, you dont know my name??!!' looks are sure to haunt you for the entire day!!Whoever says teaching is a safe vocation....the mutitude of students, the galaxy of youthful high-strung emotions, raging hormones and complex psychologies......whoever can blame the poor, blundering, confused, absent minded college professor for mixing up socks or leaving one's spectacles in the freezer??!! As for me laughing over my Professor dad's idiosyncrasies (wearing a mixed pair of black and brown shoes) and forgetfullness (of whether he locked his car or not) are halycon days that can never come back, all I can do is hope to remember that I locked my bike!!
Sigh, sigh....!!
Romila.
look at me, three months into college teaching and am already turning into the conventional absent minded professor.Wake up one fine sunday and you think of calling a university senior and congratulating her on her wedding......five minutes after talking to her, realisation dawns that it isnt your senior but another accquaintance of the same name who was the one who tied the knot.
Thank God, I didnt embarass my senior and managed to hold my ground with the other pal. Though she was confused why i repeatedly asked her about days at Madras University, while she is from MCC. Much confusion arising from the fact that both of them have names like Rachel and both were working with the Indian Express. but, how did I not notice the difference in the mobile numbers??
A few hours later, another misnomer......I mistake an old pal from a common writer's workshop to be my junior from college and rave about old profs....the poor fellow is totally confused, smiles politely and walks away......realisation dawns later and I look around to apologise to the fellow, but he is nowhere to be seen. Feel really sorry for him.When one is teaching, one generally tries to remember the names of all the students with disastrous effects.......often confusing them. But what is the poor teacher's fault.....how does one remember a name like Prateeksha, say when there are two girls in different classes of the same name but of totally different characteristics.
Worse still, a battallion of Priya's, Priyanka's and Archana's in every class are just beyond comprehension. Why can't parents think of anything unique and different......how can one blame the poor professor for turning absent minded.And to top it all when you think you have almost memorised their names and identify them with their places, they have a trifling argument or quarell amidst themselves and change places.....lo, it starts all over again!!And then the guilt tripping, call a certain Vidyasri as Anuvidya.....and the crest-fallen, 'Maam, you dont know my name??!!' looks are sure to haunt you for the entire day!!Whoever says teaching is a safe vocation....the mutitude of students, the galaxy of youthful high-strung emotions, raging hormones and complex psychologies......whoever can blame the poor, blundering, confused, absent minded college professor for mixing up socks or leaving one's spectacles in the freezer??!! As for me laughing over my Professor dad's idiosyncrasies (wearing a mixed pair of black and brown shoes) and forgetfullness (of whether he locked his car or not) are halycon days that can never come back, all I can do is hope to remember that I locked my bike!!
Sigh, sigh....!!
Romila.
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