I like to think that, as an adjunct instructor without another full-time job, I bring the ‘best of both worlds’ to my students. I have a wealth of the kind of real-world experience that students crave, especially in the areas of policy analysis, organizing, and advocacy. I also have relatively quite a bit of time to dedicate to teaching, course preparation, grading, and the mountains of reading that instructors must do in order to create a first-class learning experience for students. There are times when I feel a bit constrained because I don’t have as much access to university information as full-time faculty, so it can be harder for me to connect what we’re doing in class to other courses in the curriculum, for example, but my course evaluations and my conversations with students suggest that it’s working for them.
One of the things that I miss most, though, is the lack of colleagues–I don’t have much contact with the other faculty at the university, and, as an adjunct instructor, I don’t have the same connections to faculty at other institutions that some of my peers do. I’m always ridiculously excited to meet another instructor who specializes in policy or advocacy, and I love to share syllabi, assignments, and other course materials–I have learned so much from these generous social workers!
Unfortunately, I can’t post my class syllabi here, because they are considered School property, but I would love to talk through the courses with future/prospective students and other faculty, so please contact me or leave a comment if you want to connect.
