First Impressions

Sometimes I feel that I should really apologize to my students: “Yeah, I know, it was so bad today. The beginning was kind of awkward, it just didn’t quite turn out as I thought. Then the poem was too hard and I shouldn’t have ploughed through it for so long. It’s not you... Sorry, I messed it up.”

Then I would go on to think: “Hey, hold on! Whom will it serve? How will it aid their learning? Think it over. You learnt a lesson so try to get something out of it and don’t do the same stupid things again!”

This is particularly true when I get new students. I simply seem to struggle with giving good first impressions.