First Friday

Image source: NCI Blog.

Semester II started this week in the College - it is my 31st semester teaching in NCI. In all the previous 30 semesters I never once had classes on a Friday evening. I'm no stranger to evening classes from Monday to Thursday, but this semester due to a new timetable (and a new module for me) - I agreed to a class on Fridays from 18:00 to 21:00. One of the good things about teaching in the evening is that I do not need to go into work until lunchtime - I have the morning to myself. 

I was pleased to see so many students turning up on a Friday evening - it can't be easy for them, they also have classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings (plus some Saturdays). Students of course know in advance that classes take place on Friday evenings, so they have to be ready to commit to this before they start the course. It cannot be easy for those who are also working full time to fit classes and study - they give up so much free time to learn, especially on a Friday.

I have to say that my first reaction to teaching on a Friday evening was a positive one - I was pleased with my first class which was on An Introduction to Data Visualization. The students seemed enthusiastic and I was happy to share the evening with them. A pizza and a glass of wine rounded off the evening - a good start to the weekend!