Life on the Tenure Track: Lessons from the First Year by James M. Lang

(Nonfiction)  This was a fun little read about a first year college professor’s struggles.  He’s a likeable guy: he tries hard to reach his students, teach well, and be a good father to his two little girls.  It is definitely a must-read for anyone contemplating a career in the world of academia.  He avoids crude language.  This may seem like a small item to some, but too many authors seem to have no better option than to resort to continuously tossing obscenities into their writing.  

I found it interesting to compare his first year to a secondary school teacher’s first year (by my own personal experience).  Sorry, Dr. Lang!  You had some rough challenges, but it’s nothing compared to the sheer brutality of a first year teaching middle or high school.  In fact, it made me wish I had written a book on my first year of teaching, although I’m sure it’s been done many times.  It’s not like I had the time or energy to do it then, and now I’ve forgotten so much.  Maybe I could write about my fifth (and last) year teaching.  I can still remember some of it.