Gack! I find updating syllabi to take longer than writing a new one. Because there’s always something that took longer, or some new information to squeeze in or take away. Perhaps one less assignment to give, or combine two short assignments into a longer one.

And – being the designer that I fancy myself to be – I always fiddle with the font, leading and layout, wondering if things are legible, if key elements stick out, if the whole thing looks like a white paper, and why would anyone read that?

But a new course! Ah, to begin from scratch and create the universe is infinitely more enjoyable.

See, you say things like that, and I think I made the wrong career choice.

Funnily enough, the two worst things for me were adjusting the dates on the syllabi (and avoiding holidays, etc.) and completely revising my expectations of the students—going from a barely-selective state university to a moderately-selective private liberal arts college means a complete rethink of Intro to American Politics (essay exams instead of scantrons, a paper, discussion leaders…). Research Methods gained a beefed up paper and a class project for the class to hash out—probably an exit poll, but I’ll leave the final determination of that (partially) up to class discussion.

Still, even though it’s sometimes a pain, it’s also fun. Probably hard for you to believe now, Nick, but it’s true. (Then again, I’m one of those sick people who enjoyed his oral dissertation defense.)