So the new semester is well under way. Both of my classes are full of freshman and much younger than any classes I've had before. I feel kind of like I'm teaching high school. This makes me glad I am running my classes now in a more formal and regimented fashion. I am even doing my best to look professorial, though today I suspect I looked um...maybe like the family had just passed the undertaking business on to the next generation. Black suit, dark shirt, and my usual demeanor, which I suspect doesn't scream "lighthearted fun!" I'm pretty sure I overheard one of the students say she liked my shoes, but she said it in such a way that it sounded like "well at least his shoes are cool." But one learns quickly not to pay much attention to whether the students seem to like you. Wanting to be liked is a real pitfall for teachers.
Now that I've been doing this for a while, I've learned to pay attention to what I'm saying as I'm saying it, and to monitor for words they may not be familiar with. A few of them knew what an "oligarchy" is, but none knew what a "demagogue" is. And none were familiar with the phrase "political expediency." The primary subject today was the historical context of Greece in the 5th century b.c.(e), the Peloponnesian War and the changes it caused in Athenian culture. None of the students picked up on any of the more obvious analogies with our present political situation. They are still pretty timid but I'm hoping that making them read aloud in front of their peers and calling on them randomly to interpret particular passages from the reading will keep them on their toes and draw them out of their shells. I used to refrain from doing that but I've done a 180 and now believe that many students want a teacher to compel them to improve and to learn. If you leave it to them to participate you mostly wind up with apathy and a group malaise that stifles those who are prepared and do want to learn. We'll see how it goes. I do have a student who goes by the name Luckie...maybe that's a good sign.
