The First Week

The first week of class should be full of excitement, anticipation and expectation. In reality however, our first week we usually spend within 4 walls - tables, chairs, projectors and whiteboards all around us - all ready to give, to impart knowledge, except for that one catch. There are no one present to learn! And the few who may be present are definitely not in the mood to sit through an actual lecture. There - the first week.

The management insists that classes must be conducted on the first week. But we can't be teaching if there are none sitting in the room, or if only 3 turned up (out of a class of say, 20). I usually start by the second class of the first week, and that, I'd never had ALL students attending my first lecture. If the rest come in after the first or second week, and try their best to follow the lessons, it would be by all means fine with me. The problem is, some would insist that I repeat the lessons they had missed due to faults definitely not mine. Repeat? A whole chapter, sometimes two (that's usually how much I can cover within week 1 and 2)? It's insane.

For that reason alone, we don't usually start teaching if too few are present. And thus, generally, lessons don't begin in week 1 because many are still not back from their holidays. They don't come back before week 1 because there are usually no lectures conducted. But that is because very few would be attending classes! *Headache*

And that is the story of our first week of the semester.