So...Today was one of those utterly gorgeous spring days that had just a hint of summer in its warmth and sunshine. I rode to and from work; as I was leaving, one of my students cheered me on from the window of her boyfriend's car. Now, if she thinks that's going to get her an A... ;-)
In one of my classes, it seemed that about half of the students hadn't even begun to read A Doll's House, which I assigned last week. I asked them why they hadn't read; they said things like, "I started to read it, but I just couldn't get into it." All right, I can understand that, I said. But where did you start to have trouble?, I asked.
Some of them couldn't answer. One student yelled, "We should read the play out loud in class." I knew what they were trying to do: spare themselves the trouble of reading it. But I humored them and asked for volunteers to read aloud. Turns out, a number of students didn't even bring in their books.
I know, it's late in the semester, the weather is gorgeous and people's hormones are pumping and clothes are shedding. Under such circumstances, I can understand why some students would rather be almost anywhere but a classroom and doing almost anything else besides discussing a play. Still, I couldn't believe how much passive-aggressive behavior I was seeing in one room.
At least the class I taught after that one was better: They actually read the play and were actively participating in the discussion.
After that first class, I found myself thinking about Thomas Wolfe's description of teaching in a diploma mill. It was in You Can't Go Home Again, a book whose high point was its title. All right, I remember that there was a none-too-favorable description of the job or the college.
It's been a long time since I read the book and, frankly, I've never had any desire to read it again, not even to look for the passage I've mentioned. As I recall, that novel and the others Wolfe wrote were longer than War and Peace or Les Miserables and said about a tenth as much. Some prof of mine assigned them--in what course, I forget. Maybe I should find copies of those books and, the next time a student complains about how much work they're getting, I could show them a copy of one of Wolfe's books. "I could've assigned this!," I could tell them. What good that would do, I don't know.
Oh well.
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