Extra Credit_(1)

I finished my doctoral degree when I was 26 and took a job at medium sized university in the midwest.

In my first semester, I was given three sections of an introductory level course to teach, each with about 100 students.

About one third of the way through the semester, one of the students came to my office and introduced herself. Her name was Karen, and she was a faculty wife, and was also very pregnant. She explained that she was having problems with the class and did I have suggestions to help her.
I told her that I had a committee meeting this afternoon, and would be free after that. I asked where she lived, and it was not far from my apartment. I asked her if she would be comfortable coming to my apartment or would she prefer to drive back to the university and meet in my office.

She said “your place is fine with me, and it is a lot closer than coming back to campus.”

We agreed upon a time for her to arrive, and she left my office.

After the meeting I went home and tried to straighten up a little, then I heard the doorbell. It was Karen.

“Come in Karen, please have a seat on the sofa. I will be with you shortly.”

When I returned from the kitchen with soft drinks for us I sat on the sofa beside Karen and asked “do you have any thoughts as to why you are not doing well in this course?”

She said, “no, I study the text and notes, but some of the concepts just don’t fall into place for me. Bryan says I need to concentrate more, but I think I am concentrating.”

“Well, how much time to you have today? We can try some things to see if we can help.”

“Harold has a night class tonight, so I do not have to cook or be home early” she said.

“Great,” I said as I opened the textbook, moving closer to her so that we could share the book. “Now, read this paragraph and tell me what you think it being discussed, “ I told her.

We continued this for about an hour, then Karen said “I must go to the bathroom, and the baby is not making it more comfortable for me.