Make class worthwhile

I am generally one of those students who always does homework, studies like crazy, pays attention, and doesn't skip class unless I'm pretty sick/it's one of those awful days when the alarm clock doesn't go off.  But today I broke one of my personal unwritten rules and skipped my class, and I don't feel bad for two reasons: 1, because it's a non-mandatory recuperation class for a day the instructor didn't show up.  And 2, I decided that it would be a better use of my time to instead work on my final essays/projects/presentations.  Based on the class this instructor gave yesterday (where he spent 45 minutes talking to himself before leaving the room as we took a 20 question quiz that meant nothing), I knew that going today would have been a waste of my time.  And then I wondered what he would say if he knew that's the reason I wasn't there today.

Over the course of the last 3 months I've spent at this Argentine university, this instructor has indirectly taught me a lot about what kind of teacher I don't want to be (there are other posts coming on those topics...) and now I get to add one more lesson to the list: making students feel like they should be there.

First let me begin by saying that I have no illusions.  I want to teach middle school Spanish, and I know that my students won't be bounding into my room every single day with a huge smile, excited to begin that day's class with attentive eagerness.  Of course I would love for it to be that way, but I know things happen.  Students have bad days, they get cranky, or it's beautiful outside and they'd rather be out playing soccer instead of listening to me talk about verbs.  But I never want a student to feel that being in my class is a waste of their time.  Ever.  To me that's one of the biggest slaps in the face a teacher can get.

I want my classes to be worthwhile.  Even on the days that I don't have games or songs or any of that other "fun" stuff planned, I want the students to feel like they're learning, or at least like they should be there.  It just amazes me how comfortable this instructor is with not only wasting our time, but really his own as well.