No teaching this year | Family Man Librarian

Yesterday I made a decision to not teach a graduate course this year. I was asked again to teach Technical Services Functions in UIUC GSLIS’s LEEP program (http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/leep/), and I was grateful to be asked. But given the situation with Michele, she and I both felt it would be wise to not do anything extra for the foreseeable future. I am struggling just to fulfill my regular job duties at times and I feel quite distracted as it is. My boss told me she would fully support me if I wanted to teach again, which was nice.

This was a difficult decision to make. Although I know I have failed at it in a lot of ways, I enjoy teaching very much. Each time I teach this course, I gain more experience and become a bit better at doing it. The interaction with students is invigorating and it forces me to think in greater depth than I usually do about the whys and wherefores of technical services librarianship.

I am feeling kind of sad about this situation, yet I know it is the right decision. I hope some day I will have another opportunity to teach this or another course.

http://marklindner.info/blog/ <![CDATA[Mark]]>

Steve, you must do what is best for your family, first and foremost. There will always be (well, as long as we’re alive) students here to be taught, who need the experience you can impart.

Who knows, I could still be here, at least another year anyway.

But your family needs you now. We can wait; they cannot. I speak from experience, sir. The Army has a motive in convincing us our mission is more important than our families. And whether or not we believe it, acting on it is the same thing. That (among other things) cost me mine.