Regarding Carol DeVolder's query about how to teach when you don't feel like it...(I'm trying to follow the TIPS request to remove the gigabytes of forwards and concisely sum up the ongoing post):
Perhaps I'm one of those people who has hyperthymia (read Richard Powers' wonderful novel, *Generosity: An Enhancement*), but since I'm pretty much always "up," I don't know what it feels like to feel draggy, unmotivated, etc. But I do know what it feels like to wonder if I have prepared adequately for a "Really Good Class." "RGC" is always my goal. But what I do find is that sometimes when I enter the classroom, wondering if I can make it worth students' while to have battled traffic, waited for a parking space, arranged daycare (and all the other thought-provoking considerations that Paul Bernhardt summed up) just to be in my class, I get caught up in the subject matter and things seem to click. Conversely, I have gone into a classroom brimful of activity ideas, cool photos, interesting ideas, and found the atmosphere seems to be grey, with apathetic students who don't seem to share my enthusiasm that day. In that case, I just plow ahead, telling myself that even if they don't *look* inspired, it may not be me. (I'm a social psychologist after all, and I know all about attribution errors.) So tell yourself that *someone* is likely getting something out of what you're trying to convey. Beth Benoit Granite State College Plymouth State University New Hampshire --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1085 or send a blank email to leave-1085-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
