![Anxious Frank [ ]](http://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c6e18ae348cd9296b1c8271/1550719472585-VTW5XGWXSF2N3AC8VC8S/AF-site-hero.png?format=750w)
I’m reading Mike Monteiro’s Ruined by Design and wonder if I’m doing a disservice to my students. (The book is really good - this is nothing against it or Mr. Monteiro.) I suppose it’s easy to have self-doubt in any profession unless you know deep down you are absolutely the bee’s knees in that field.
I often wonder how good of a job I’m doing as an educator. Am I providing enough content? Am I providing the correct content? Are their questions being answered or should I be asking them more questions? Lately I feel like I’m failing on all fronts.
Is there a perfect curriculum? Probably not. Probably not even possible. That is something I need to keep reminding myself of when I read other’s opinions of the state of higher education and more specifically, the state of design education. Fields of study change. Keeping up with them can be an daunting task - especially constantly changing fields such as web design. Course curriculum doesn’t turn on a dime over night. It can take months to change the content of a course and by then it will change again.
Before we moved the program online, I could see faces. I could see confused faces, perplexed faces, and faces that glowed when they understood what was being discussed in class. Being online, there are no faces to measure my delivery with. And when the rare questions is posted, it usually has hours, if not days, of space between replies. And I can’t just use a whiteboard or project my computer on a screen to explain a concept or technique. I have to record a video, edit the video, upload the video and then post a link to the video.
But I think the majority of my doubt is coming from within. I don’t feel like I’m doing a good job. I’m not 100% current on every topic my courses cover because I really don’t love web design. Which on one hand is my fault. And on the other, a byproduct of being spread thin most days of the week. (Yes, start the excuse engine so it has time to warm up properly.) But I am spending a lot of time on Skillshare - learning new things. Maybe that will help.