[gdwriter]

I've taught at the community college level since 1997, on campus until 2003 and online since 2006 – business communication and intro to advertising.

In my experience, the students were either very good or very bad – not a whole lot of in-between. My favorite students are working adults who are taking the class to get ahead in their job or deciding to go back and get a degree having goofed off and not finished college the first time around. These students are motivated, and I really enjoy working with them.

Teaching online, I never meet my students face-to-face (the college is in Arizona, and I'm in Oregon). It's just e-mails back and forth, plus a lot of corrections and comments when I grade their assignments. But even without the face-to-face, I can see students who get it and apply the lessons well. That's the reward.

When students don't do the work or do half-assed assignments, I don't hesitate to flunk them. After a shock of reality, some will straighten up, learn from the experience and go on to do well in the rest of the course. The ones that don't, well that's their problem.

When I taught on campus, students' cell phones weren't a problem. I simply asked on the first night to put it on vibrate or turn it off; if they had to take a call, they could step outside.

A bigger problem was there was usually one student in every class who had to express an opinion on everything, often completely off topic. I had one who turned every comment into a diatribe against Microsoft. I finally had to tell him, as nicely as I could, to STFU.

I wouldn't want to make teaching my full-time job, but it's fun as a second one. Have fun with your class.