Some time back, Akie made a remark that convinced me to change the way I choose my classes.  He said that I never handled their batch. And he was right. 

For the past few years, I've tended to handle electives that only the upperclassmen or the grad students opt to take.  They were subject I enjoyed, no doubt, but they didn't really give me a chance to build relationships with the students. You don't really get to watch them grow up or work with them in greater detail.

So, starting summer of last year, I made up my mind to handle the lowerclassmen again. This is why I taught C# over summer.  This is why I am teaching Java and InTACT this sem.  This is a chance to touch base with the students early, learn their names, and then journey with them for the next four years.

I used to think that it was more fun to handle electives.  This was a mistake.  As with everything else, you need a balance.  And it's important to remember that the work we do isn't just about teaching students, but about getting to know them as well.