postr/StutterSeptember 21, 2019

I’m going to be teaching a small class this quarter at university and I’m terrified.

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Content

I’m going to be teaching a small class this quarter at university and I’m terrified. One of my professors reached out to me to help her with instructing this quarter. She’s teaching a large (120+ person) class and she wanted to hire advanced students to lead smaller instructional seminars from her larger class to help some of the new students out. I’m flattered I was chosen for the job because one day I want to become a college professor—but the thought of me leading a class all by myself is absolutely terrifying. At the same time, my greatest aspiration in life is to teach, but I’ve always been so anxious to actually be a teacher because of my speech. I’m lucky I have a professor who believes in me and supports me, but I don’t know if I believe in my abilities to convey difficult topics to students through my speech impediment. What if they can’t understand me? I’m so afraid and anxious about the whole situation I don’t know what to do. I’ve never let my speech hold me back before, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it now, but that doesn’t help the fact that I feel like the world is crashing down on me from every direction.

Themes

Emotional ExperienceSchool & Work

Subthemes

Anxiety & Social JudgmentSchool & Academic LifePublic Speaking