Friday Afternoon Confessional: Dynamics!!!

I confess that I have been relatively non-anxious since my paycheck situation was resolved, leading me to think that my anxiety is mostly situation-bound rather than pathological.

I confess that, particularly when The Girlfriend has to leave for work, my lifestyle sometimes strikes me as unrealistic. I may well have enjoyed more “freetime” in my adult life so far than many people will enjoy pre-retirement. I have weeks- and months-long periods with only minimal structured obligations — I work a lot, but outside of class and meetings, I plan out my own time as I choose. I feel lucky, but I’ve never felt guilty — I honestly think that everyone’s lifestyle could and should be more like mine. I am the change I want to see!!!

I confess that I can already tell that teaching in a discussion-centric environment is going to prove very helpful in moderating my perfectionism. Classroom dynamics can always be improved, and especially at this early stage of my career, I’m continually seeing things I can do (or should’ve done) to help matters — but there’s an inherent limit to what any one person can do to improve a group discussion. Indeed, that’s the entire point. And this makes me think that there’s an important ethical or even character-formation issue at stake in the kind of pedagogy Shimer does.