Both sides of the educational equation

I think college professors should take college classes every now and then. It gives us an insight as to what we’re doing to our students.

I’m taking an online course on Serving the Diverse Community During Disaster. It’s a great class, as all my classes in disaster mental health have been. However, these are the thoughts that keep going through my mind: 

• This class is only five weeks long! How am I going to get all this done in such a short time?
• I hate group projects.
• I have 150 pages to read each week! 

This is what I put my students through (except they probably only read half as much in a week). These things are necessary for learning, and the pace is necessary for a summer class. So when I’m teaching, I have to incorporate lots of reading, group projects, and all those assignments. 

But when I’m a student, I see it from the students’ point of view, and I have to remind myself all is wise and necessary.