I spent most of the last semester overworked. I taught 11 sections (the norm is 6) which was far too much. I got a little ambitious. And I signed up to be a satellite teacher who goes to other campuses, so from January to mid-March, every weekend I was on a bus or plane to a different part of Thailand to teach on Saturday and Sunday.
It was a great opportunity to see more of the country and to meet different levels of students from around the country. It was a reminder how privileged the students at my university are, even if they don’t always see themselves that way.
The courses that I wrote on my own were well-received, I think. But honestly, I’m completely unsure whether or not I’ll even teach those again, even if they offered. It was so challenging and so much work. So much was expected of me and I got so little in return that I don’t really need to do that again.
I know I’m supposed to feel some kind of moral high ground or at least superiority about it, but honestly, I feel exploited. I wrote a fucking textbook. No compensation.
I think I’m getting ready to move on to the next chapter or look for other opportunities… which I know sounds ridiculous because I’ve still got a year and a half in my contract left, but I’m going to start analyzing what I can do now. Maybe there’s a way I can better position myself for when this rollercoaster ends.
And I might not wait for the year and a half, if the opportunity comes to jump ship, I might do that now.
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