Starting in January, I will be teaching a required course for our sophomore undergraduates. I have 85 students registered for my section. If any Spring ’20 students are reading this, let me know you are out there!
I don’t recall having much of an interest in my professors outside of the classroom in my undergraduate days. (In general, but definitely not this guy.) There was no blogging then, so to hear further thoughts from them, I would have needed to seek out their academic journal articles or books. I think I would have been more likely to read a blog, especially one that featured indignation, sentimentality, and silliness.
I have spent my career teaching masters students and undergraduate juniors and seniors. Sophomores are new territory. So I turn to you, dear readers. Please contribute a comment: what advice do you have for twenty-year-old students? I’d love to have some of your comments to share on the first day of class.
From Twitter:
@laurakornish: Ready for the new semester! Tweeple, what advice do you have for sophomore undergrads that I can share on the first day of class?
Response from @PeterMcGraw:
Make your health your #1 priority.
LK: Absolutely!
“Believe in Yourself”
A collection of good advice, via email:
“Get to know your professors. Sit in the front row and be present. Go to office hours.”
Always take a shower after swimming, that chlorine is doing more damage to your skin than you think.
Sko buffs
There are no answers, only choices.
Tell them that it’s gonna be okay and to sleep more.
I will do that!
Start considering whether or not this is really what you want to do with the rest of your life.
“If you’re gonna go to school for business, also study opera so you can get a full ride and come out debt free.”