The first day of classes (Fall 2025) (#1363)

Topics/tags: Academia, Grinnell

Here at Grinnell, today is the first day of classes for Fall 2025. You might ask why Grinnell starts classes on a Thursday. The tradition has existed for longer than I’ve been at Grinnell, but my understanding is that we start classes on Thursdays so that we have the same number of meetings for each day of the week. (We lose a Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving break.)

Of course, given the recent faculty vote to cancel classes on Labor Day, we don’t have the same number of meetings for each day; Monday has one fewer. Is that a problem? It might be; there are some classes that meet on Monday nights, so they’ll only meet thirteen times instead of fourteen. I suppose we have the same issue in the spring, when we don’t hold classes on MLK Day. Then there are the classes that meet MWF. It’ a bit odd that they won’t have their first class until next Wednesday, but not as odd as the ones that meet only on Mondays and won’t start until week two.

I support the decision to cancel classes on Labor Day. However, I don’t know what it will be like to have two days of classes and then a three-day weekend. Would we be better served by starting classes a week earlier and having a week and two days of classes before Labor Day weekend? That would also allow us to end Fall Semester over a week before Christmas [1].

Not all faculty teach on the first day of classes. For example, I usually teach classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so my first day of classes is often the second day of the semester. Of course, this year I’m on sabbatical [3], so I don’t have a first day of classes. Rather, it is my first day of sabbatical. I should muse on that soon. I probably will. However, my mind and my muse find themselves occupied with other topics at present.

I love the first day of classes. It’s an opportunity to meet a new set of students and get them excited about the class (or at least try to get them excited). Since I hate starting classes with a walkthrough of the syllabus, almost all of my courses have one or more collaborative activities: CSC-151 kicks off with the legendary Nut Butter and Fruit Spread algorithm, CSC-207 begins with a group ADT [4] design activity (and, at times, a followup data structure design activity), and CSC-301 also launches with some design activities. Do I teach other classes? Yes, but not with a much regularity. Well, I teach CSC-281 and CSC-282 every-other year (or at least I used to), but those are one-credit courses.

Where was I? Oh, I was noting that I love the first day of class. I usually enter the semester with fresh ideas of how to approach topics. I also get to teach subjects I’m passionate about, so I can look forward to revisiting them in new ways. Students almost always provide new perspectives!

Of course, that’s not the case this year. So I’m trying to be excited about starting the sabbatical work, the two independent studies I’m running this semester, and the time away from the classroom. Nonetheless, I must admit that I’m generally happier when I’m teaching than when I’m not. It is, after all, my vocation.

I just realized that it’s been some time since I reported on registration data. Exploring data seems like another good way to start the semester. Let’s explore some departments and other academic units and see how enrollments are going.

Anthropology: There are five sections of ANT-104, Anthropological Inquiries, each with a capacity of 25. Section 1 has ten spots available. Section 2 is full. Section 3 has 11 spots available. Section 4 has eight spots available. Section 5 has one spot available. Would it make sense to balance? (I know, we don’t balance anymore.)

I’m glad to see that John and Kathy’s last offering of Stone Tools is full (well, over-full). I always appreciated having John come to my Evolution of Technology course to talk about stone tools. I wish I’d taken more advantage of the informal knapping group.

You know what? Recording all these numbers is perhaps too biasing. I’ll leave Anthro up because it seems to have appropriate offerings and enrollments, but I won’t comment on individual departments.

Well, maybe it’s worth exploring a few.

Alternate Language Study Option (ALSO): For those who don’t know, Alternate Language Study Option (ALSO) is a 2-credit self-guided language course in which students work independently and with native-speaking peers to learn a language not taught by Grinnell faculty. [5] I’m intrigued to see that sixteen students have signed up for Korean I. Why don’t we have Georgian on the slate?

Computer Science: For the first time ever, we’re offering four sections of CC-151 this fall. Our enrollments are much like Anthro’s. Section 1 has seven slots available, Section 2 is full, Section 3 has 1 slot available, and Section 4 has fifteen slots available. 8:30 a.m. classes are not popular! There’s also a cancelled Section 99, which I expect was a placeholder for something or other. I hope no one thought we’d need ninety-nine sections!

Economics: It appears that Economics originally planned for seven sections of ECN-111, Introduction to Economics, but ended up cancelling two sections and slightly over-enrolling some of the remaining ones. I wonder what happened. I’m not surprised to see that one of the sections cut was at 8:00 a.m.

Philosophy: I’m pleased to report that of the six 100-level philosophy courses (two each for PHI-102, Symbolic Logic, PHI-111, Introduction to Philosophy, and PHI-121, Philosophy for Life), there’s precisely one open slot. I remember the days when Philosophy had one of the longest lines at Registration. I’m glad that students are returning to it.

RGS: I have no idea what RGS is, but we have RGS-999-01 listed as Billing Placeholder.

Studio Art: As is often the case, every Studio Art class is filled or has only one slot available. Well, there’s one exception: This year there’s a second section of ART/FMS-155, Introduction to Film Studies, and that’s not full. However, that’s really a Film Studies course, rather than a Studio Art class. If our Studio Art classes continue to fill, shouldn’t we consider expanding the department?

Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies: I’m sad to learn that THD-195, ST: Art of Writing a Musical, was cancelled. I was looking forward to seeing those.

Tutorial: For the first time in a few years, all the Tutorials have twelve or fewer students. I love having twelve students in Tutorial because twelve can be divided in so many ways: six pairs, four groups of three, three groups of four, two groups of six. Well, maybe not so many, but more than enough for various teaching practices. I’m glad we were able to cut it back to twelve. I hope it will still be twelve when (if) I next teach Tutorial.

That’s enough data exploration for now.

Happy start of semester, everyone!

Postscript: This start-of-semester is also difficult because it brings back memories from last fall. I’ll report on those in my next monthly Michelle musing.

[1] The Five-Year Calendar [2] suggests that the last day of Exam week is December 19 this year, December 18 next year, December 17 in 2027–28, December 15 in 2028–29, and then jumps to December 21 in 2029–30.

[2] Note that a Web search for Grinnell Five-Year Calendar may lead you to an incorrect calendar. It’s best to look from the Registrar’s Web page.

[3] Note to prospective faculty: Grinnell currently gives full-year, full-pay post-tenure sabbaticals every seven years. That’s one of the many great reasons to work at Grinnell.

[4] Abstract data type, for those who don’t know the TLA.

[5] https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/global/clic/also

Version 1.0 of 2025-08-28.