1) No matter who your students are, they will always ask for clarification on the syllabus. This will happen regardless of how much time you’ve spent on the syllabus prior to the class.
2) Never write a syllabus more than two pages. See Thesis #1.
3) Writing assignments given to students will be done one hour before class by 85% of the class. The outlier will be the student who does all of the assignments for the semester within the first month and hands them in accordingly, reeling you in like a fish.
4) The amount of coffee drunk before class is directly proportional to the clarity of the lecture.
5) The amount of time spent preparing a lecture is inversely proportional to the clarity of the lecture.
6) The most effective way to prep a lecture is to snort instant coffee and never crack a book.
7) The chances my fly will be down while teaching is inverse to the preparation I have given to class.
8 ) Never trust the markers to be working. Throw one against the wall at the class beginning for effect anyway.
9) There is no ” perfect time” of day to teach. Students will always have a limited attention span, and you will always have more material than that span.
10) There is such a thing as a stupid question.
