A Teaching Subject
The latest book to be layered with post-it flags is Joseph Harris' A Teaching Subject: Composition since 1966. It's an easy read with compact summaries of major works in the field and some very interesting "disagreements" with the authors of those works. This dude gets bonus points for keeping it real, that's for damned sure.
I'm also back to "a teaching subject" myself as Brooks regrouped after a three week break. Like with every other class, I can already identify the clown, the apathetic asshole, the needy girl, the uptight and conservative guy, the non-traditional-returning-after-twenty-years man,
the Chatty-Cathy and the I've-done-everything-to
-avoid-you-but-my-schedule-
has-forced-me-into-your-evil-class kid. They come with every new session, like clockwork. I find myself yearning for the classes of yore, when I somehow struck teaching gold and got a class of 17 students who gave a shit (and thought my jokes were funny). I had about three of those sessions in a row. It was heaven. Now I'm paying my dues. Gah!
Today is our first peer review. I am a bit apprehensive too. I have clearly stated in my syllabus that students who come unprepared for class on peer review day "will be asked to leave and take an unexcused absence." This is the Brooks equivalent of fighting words because each student is only allowed two missed classes before being dropped--no refund (four grand) and no reinstatement. I think this is generous, as the course is a mere seven weeks, meeting twice a week. Two missed classes is an entire week! Most of these kids would rather me stab them in the face than drop them from the class. It fucks up their schedules, graduation dates and basically, their lives. So when the inevitable one or two students show up empty handed, I point to the hallway and borrow a quote I heard from Jamie Foxx--don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya. It's never a pretty site.
Anyway, the heat is getting to me already and it's not even noon. When the hellish high pressure system leaves CA, I'll be a more pleasant person. Although I do have to thank Brooks for having a perfectly frigid a/c system in my classroom. I've been heading to work an hour early just to play online in temperatures under 85*. And my students complain that it's too cold in our classroom. My response? Bring a sweater.
I'm also back to "a teaching subject" myself as Brooks regrouped after a three week break. Like with every other class, I can already identify the clown, the apathetic asshole, the needy girl, the uptight and conservative guy, the non-traditional-returning-after-twenty-years man,
the Chatty-Cathy and the I've-done-everything-to
-avoid-you-but-my-schedule-
has-forced-me-into-your-evil-class kid. They come with every new session, like clockwork. I find myself yearning for the classes of yore, when I somehow struck teaching gold and got a class of 17 students who gave a shit (and thought my jokes were funny). I had about three of those sessions in a row. It was heaven. Now I'm paying my dues. Gah!
Today is our first peer review. I am a bit apprehensive too. I have clearly stated in my syllabus that students who come unprepared for class on peer review day "will be asked to leave and take an unexcused absence." This is the Brooks equivalent of fighting words because each student is only allowed two missed classes before being dropped--no refund (four grand) and no reinstatement. I think this is generous, as the course is a mere seven weeks, meeting twice a week. Two missed classes is an entire week! Most of these kids would rather me stab them in the face than drop them from the class. It fucks up their schedules, graduation dates and basically, their lives. So when the inevitable one or two students show up empty handed, I point to the hallway and borrow a quote I heard from Jamie Foxx--don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya. It's never a pretty site.
Anyway, the heat is getting to me already and it's not even noon. When the hellish high pressure system leaves CA, I'll be a more pleasant person. Although I do have to thank Brooks for having a perfectly frigid a/c system in my classroom. I've been heading to work an hour early just to play online in temperatures under 85*. And my students complain that it's too cold in our classroom. My response? Bring a sweater.
posted by Hootah at 10:55 AM
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