When he says, "So what was the main principle you wanted them to take away? What would you do differently next time?" I know they're important questions, but I keep feeling like there's a right answer and I don't know it, and I want to say, "Just tell me what I did wrong already!"

Ooh, that's so irksome!

Heh. That's how I teach. Most of the time the students really can come up with an appropriate answer, they just don't realize that they can. And on the practical side, I lose my voice if I try to lecture.

Shoulder pain kept me awake until almost 6am and the alarm was set for 7. I think I want to nap now.

I graded papers for awhile. Still not done, but I think they're just not going to get done by tomorrow.

I'm trying to decide what to have for dinner. My plan was to make this tofu and watercress dish that's really good and fairly simple, but it also takes a long while (marinating and rice-cooking.) Maybe I'll save that for tomorrow, and have a salad and a sandwich or something tonight.

Tom is test driving a hot cross bun recipe to see if it would work to bring for Easter dinner, and also toasting up/grinding spices for the carribean spiced brick-grilled butterflied chicken. It smells so good... I want to be finished with my work!

Only a couple sentences to go, to finish the 2nd page...

OK, it was one more sentence and now I am knocking off for the night!!

(of course, I still have a shitload of work to do on this paper, but I have another week)

Theo - I did make out in time. And I have had a lovely day.

Franken, Franken, Franken, sigh I am choosing to pity your wrongheadedness instead of taking stronger action. While The McWaringles are very nice and funny, and a pleasure to spend time with, let's not be silly over-exaggerate those qualities.

There now, don't we all feel better?

Oh, and look, I have a lovely post #, because TPTB agree with me.

aurelia, for me it's more about when the teacher has information you don't have, and which could be useful. In Emily's case, it sounded like, "What do you, as a more experienced teacher, think I could have done better?" In mine, we were working on an interview protocol, and kept asking the prof if he thought what were doing would work in the field, and he literally wouldn't tell us. And it turned out the answer was no, it wouldn't really work. I feel like it would have been OK, pedagogically, for us to have known that ahead of time, since I'm sure it was glaringly obvious to the prof.

Oh, and Consuela, can't you refuse to be pushed up the ladder? You'd think people would be happy to keep people in jobs they are good at. Stupid Peter Principle.

Most of the time the students really can come up with an appropriate answer, they just don't realize that they can.

What Jesse said. Also, honestly, although I know it's considered good pedagogy and I actually do it myself, I hate hate hate it. Possibly because I will remember it if you just tell me, whereas if you ask me what I mostly learn is the stress of trying to figure out what you want me to say. I know that that makes me the exception and not the rule, and I am actually aiming to teach all of my students and not those just like me, so I totally try to persuade them to come up with answers.

Also, when I ask my kids to try to come up with the answers, the worst that can happen is it turns out they don't really understand, in which case we keep working on it. The worst that can happen with me is that he finds out I have no idea what I'm doing and should never be allowed to be a teacher oh my god what are you even doing here? Or, well, so say the voices inside my head.

he literally wouldn't tell us

I don't do that. And I've never officially taught grad students. And my field is half practical math/science/engineering and half art, so some questions will have right/wrong answers and some will be completely subjective.

IOW, I am totally backing out of this conversation.

oops, didn't mean to stop the conversation. I just figured my oranges (or more like crabapples) didn't belong with your apples.