Who Is In The Classroom ?

 

You can't stop a teacher when they want to do something.  They Just do it.

J.D. Salinger

Who the heck is in the classroom? 

I am so totally baffled by statistics.  I don't understand any of it, not sure who is accessing my site other than the small amount of information supplied by my stats page and Google analytics and that is so freaking confusing lol.  What shows up in analytics is a small portion of what shows up on my stats page. Though the blog stats pick up viewers from all over the world...analytics only shows Canada and USA? The viewers from the States are showing up in analytics now but even that is  showing a bounce rate  anywhere from 60 -100%...closer to 100 %...Still there are always "new viewers" registered from four  cities. ..possibly    telling me that maybe people are being "referred"  to my site from the same referrer but are not interested once they tap in. ??? I am perfectly okay with that. I know this content and method of teaching is not for everyone.  I am very grateful to the referrer, if that is the case,  and I hope I have not offended anyone  in my confusion. 

A Familiar Way Of Teaching

This is a weird experience for me.  My experience with teaching, prior to this, was in a classroom where I could  see how many people showed up for my lectures.  I could see who was interested in what I had to say and who wasn't. I could observe confusion and disinterest  on the faces of the students in front of me and could quickly  switch gears and rephrase what I said for better comprehension.  I could change the inflection and tone of my voice when I noticed people were staring to dose off.  If that didn't work, I could change my strategy.  I could  see the few on their cell phones or side barring and called them on it if I felt it was necessary.  I knew who was ready for what I had to say and who wasn't; who wanted to be in my lectures and who didn't. I could call upon the disinterested and the struggling after class for more clarification as to what I  could do to help them understand or make the learning experience better for them.  I would ask them if they really wanted to be where they were. ...giving them the opportunity to make other choices. And I opened up the floor every lecture to questions and comments.  I asked for feedback throughout the semester even before the official course evaluation at the end of every term. I really wanted to get through to all my students. I wanted to encourage them and inspire them.  I really wanted them to learn and advance forward. I put a lot of energy into teaching and I was good( if we want to use a judgement term) at what I did.  I had the feedback to validate that what I was doing was effective and appreciated even( my ego did get quite puffy...sigh!) . 

The Strangeness of This

My ego is definitely not inflated here because I have no idea if I am standing in front of an empty classroom or if the lecture hall is full of very, very quiet students. I really don't know. There is no verbal and nonverbal feedback directed my way.  So sometimes it feels a little strange...like I am teaching an A & P class with my skeleton beside me, my power point on the screen behind me and I am passing along  organ models to empty desks.  Imagine if someone peeked in and seen me doing that everyday...lol...they would be a little worried. Yet this is what I am doing , coming here everyday because it feels like my job...so, so important for some reason I don't understand. I may never know who I am reaching. . I am lecturing away anyway, possibly to an empty classroom. 

It is funny, I am suddenly  recalling how sometimes the janitor would come to me after a lecture and say, "I heard what you said in there and it made a lot of sense."  Hmm!  Maybe I have a near  empty classroom for now but there might be someone in the hall listening and needing to hear what I have to say.  Do you think? 

All is well in my world.