Poetry (Class) Blues

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So my poetry class is down to seven students. One student, when I asked her why she thinks this is, told me that the Korean students prefer to receive literature instruction from Korean lecturers because its easier for them to understand. Studying English poetry in a language other than English seems to beg the question, but then again, I'm the foreigner in this country. Since 19th & 20th Century American Poetry is not a required course, if the student number drops below seven it will automatically be canceled. The deadline is tomorrow at 3pm. Alternatively, I can decide to cancel the class now if I so choose. Or I can hope that the number will stay at seven students and if it does the class will continue with a handful of dedicated students that are truly interested in poetry and accepts my teaching style, which requires critical thinking -- a rare requirement in an education system that places its emphasis on memorization.

If the class is canceled it would mean three extra hours a week for me that I will have free, not to mention the time it would free up that I would have spent on class preparation and grading. The con is that I will get a cut in my pay check of around $300 a month for the next six months, which adds up to a loss of $1800 (nearly R13 000).

To be honest, I would like to teach the class as it is the only literature class I'll be teaching this semester. I love teaching poetry; I see myself as a teacher of poetry before a teacher of language skills and academic literacy. It is the only class on the list of classes that I'm teaching this semester that truly gets me excited. However, if I were not to teach the class, the extra off time could be greatly spend on research and academic writing -- something I've been grossly neglecting over the last two years. I would also have the time to start an extra-curricular class in poetry writing. My master's degree is in Creative Writing and I'd really enjoy teaching creative writing, particularly poetry writing. With extra time available I'd be able to start an "English Poetry Writing Club".

So the count down starts. There are about twenty six hours until tomorrow 3pm at which point I'll know if this class will continue or not and how the rest of my semester will be affected.