To improve my teaching:

During preparation, always mark my book with those specific passages that I want to discuss in class. I know these texts well, but especially when I switch editions or anthologies, I sometimes lose track of the passages that I want at inopportune times. I occasionally get lazy and assume I will remember which passages are important. Usually, this assumption proves correct. But we don’t prepare for when we get lucky: we prepare for when we are unlucky.

During class, write a critical passage on the board, as discussed in previous post. This has worked well everytime that I did it, and when I do not do it, discussion is more difficult to get started.