Recent interaction with a student of mine: Student: Did you try T’s tennis racket? Me: Yes. It didn’t feel quite right, though. It’s very heavy and at the same time very head light. Student: Well, Wilson is coming out with a new line of women’s rackets, aren’t they? Me: Thanks alot.
Category Archives: Students
Speaking of Duke
Speaking of Duke, here’s a quote from a recent New York Times article called “Rebels with a Cross”: [Christian Smith, a University of North Carolina sociologist,] compared the romance of rebellion to the middle-class fascination with hip-hop culture. “Spoiled suburban white kids act like rappers, and there is a real connection to something, but reallyContinueContinue reading “Speaking of Duke”
Student (Dis)Engagement?
From “A Very Long Disengagement” by Mark Bauerlein, Chronicle of Higher Education (6 January 2006): “Last spring Nielsen Media Research reported that the average college student watches 3 hours 41 minutes of television each day. . . . Last year the National Survey of Student Engagement found that 44 percent of first-year students never discussContinueContinue reading “Student (Dis)Engagement?”
Classroom Dynamics
“Any questions?” asked Howard. The answer to this never changed. Silence. But it was an interesting breed of silence particular to upscale liberal arts colleges. It was not silent because nobody had anything to say — quite the opposite. You could feel it, Howard could feel it, millions of things to say brewing in thisContinueContinue reading “Classroom Dynamics”
What’s up with the hats?
I dislike the look of people who wear hats backwards (a.k.a., “hat boys”). Reading Patrick Allitt’s book, I’m the Teacher, You’re the Student, I realized why. Allitt, who teaches history at Emory, writes: “Then came the trend, starting around 1994, to wear the hats backward, with the bill sticking out behind and the adjustable plasticContinueContinue reading “What’s up with the hats?”
Gender Relations
One of the most consistent complaints I heard from undergraduates at Our Lady’s University concerned the poor gender relations on campus. Two major components were that men and women did not form real friendships often enough and dating did not take place between students. The two dominant ways men and women related to one anotherContinueContinue reading “Gender Relations”
Patron Saint of Students
It is often said that nothing brings students to their knees in prayer like an exam does. Because of this, I am often asked who is the Patron Saint of Students. Until recently, my answer was the standard St. Benedict or St. Thomas Acquinas — with a slight preference for the former because his patronageContinueContinue reading “Patron Saint of Students”
Student Differences Revealed!
I’ve been thinking alot lately about the big differences between the students at “Our Lady’s University” and the students at Wake Forest University, as the similarities between them are so striking. Just this week, for some reason, I noticed that Wake Forest students are much more likely to drive Audis than OLU students. The OLUContinueContinue reading “Student Differences Revealed!”
Redemption?
So, after my morning class in which people couldn’t bring themselves to speak, I went to my afternoon class during which we spent the whole hour discussing and debating a single question. One student would make a comment and another five students would raise their hands to weigh in. Not only that, but the topicContinueContinue reading “Redemption?”
Stupefication?
35 students in an introduction to sociology course, in which I’ve tried to cultivate an ethic of participation + a question to which they have prepared a written answer ahead of time = 35 students looking at me as if I am speaking Aramaic when I ask them to discuss their answers to said questionContinueContinue reading “Stupefication?”