My first class

My First Class

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By Linda Gottlieb
EDI 15A Psychological Perspective: Teaching & Learning
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
September 2, 2008

My First DayWell, there I was, my first day of college in many years. Oh, I’d been to an advanced certificate program at NYU, but that was full of hard working professionals like myself, or at least what I portended to be, This was real college - textbooks, classrooms, a campus and students, loads and loads of students, much younger than myself. This was CW Post, where my 11 year old son has been going on Saturdays for the past four years. CW Post, where my baby sitter was Bat Mitzvah’d two years ago. Oy. What was I doing here?

I sat in the back, not next to anyone. The room rapidly filled to capacity. There was an AV guy hooking up a screen - so official and serious. I had spent the last four years working in museums and as a PTA mom. This was another world, one I needed to acclimate to in a hurry if I wanted my new sought goal of becoming an art teacher to be realized.Introductions, explanations by the professor, quite varied, humorous and unexpectedly personable.

Then horror of horrors, a game is introduced. I felt panic. How would I ever remember all these names? I was hoping to slip by anonymously as my New York City upbringing had taught me. Having to engage in conversation and personal contact with all 35 people at once, not as a lecturer or guest speaker as I had done before, but informally, creatively, immediately.What a blast! Studying each person’s face, memorizing their own personification of their names, recognizing in that self description a clue to their character and personality proved to be an excellent introduction to familiarity and a sharp example of the effectiveness of creativity in teaching and interpersonal communication.

The group presentations revealed further the interconnectivity the game produced and even further disclosed the individual persona of each class member.This is going to be a great class, I thought, challenging and demanding, yet fresh in its approach. I’m so glad I stayed and didn’t run out screaming.