Teaching at Tennesse--Day 2

Wherein technology almost foiled my lesson plan.


My mentor sent me an amazing YouTube video created by an introduction to cultural anthropology class at Kansas State University. It's about the failings of the current post-secondary education curriculum for Gen Y students, essentially. I thought it tied in beautifully with article on Gen Y attitudes about work I'd assigned the students Monday. My plan was to come in, have them watch the video (and also pass out some candy, because it's Halloween, after all), and have them respond to these questions: In what ways is school like a job? What are your motivations for being in school? I wanted them to see that they are self-interested, goal-oriented, financially aware young people, as the article I had them read suggested.

My technology mishap occurred when I couldn't get my mentor's lap top to access UT's wireless Internet. She and I both worried with the computer for a few minutes before I decided I'd have the students just respond to the questions and dive straight into the article. The video was a wonderful supplement, but I could work without it. Fortunately, in the 6 or 7 minutes I had them write, my mentor was able to access the wireless and the video went off without a hitch.

I quite shocked myself by being on my toes enough to have a plan b (though I hadn't initially prepared a plan b). I felt really comfortable altering my lesson plan, and I didn't freak out by the thought that (my god!) I might have to spend an extra five minutes blabbing away instead of having the students watch the video. I'm learning to be more flexible.

The greatest part of my teaching experience today was the students' responses to questions I had them write about. These guys, man, they are smart, they think critically, and they know what they want in life. It makes me wonder if I was so pulled together when I was 18...

In other news, I've been writing, writing, writing about all that stuff I don't want to write about for the past couple days (sorry for the angsty post, btw), so poetry class, beware. I'm reading Paradise Lost and realizing, yet again, how much I don't like Milton. I understand how influential his work is. I can agree that his text is culturally and historically important. I'll even go so far to say I understand (slightly) why people should read (parts of) it. Still, that doesn't make me enjoy it anymore.
I think I finally decided on a topic for my Renaissance Tragedy seminar paper. I want to look at the division and measurement of love in King Lear. I'm interested in Lear's preoccupation with hearing he possesses (but not really needing to possess) all of his daughters' affection, why Cordelia refuses to tell him what he wants to hear, and, essentially, why so much in the play (especially Act 1, Sc. 1) rests on the assumption that a person's capacity for love is finite, and that love only exists in one manifestation. Indeed, I want to explore the economic quantification of love in the play. My God, I'm becoming such a Shakespeare nerd.

I'm going to remain tight lipped about the Democratic debates last night and Obama's allegedly anti-gay rhetoric that's been burning up the blog world (Atrios, anyone?). Still processing all the info into an informed opinion.

I realized yesterday upon hearing some classmates talk about veganism that I haven't eaten meat in a good while, and I should just switch to eating strictly vegetarian. But, then, I don't like doing anything strictly. Plus, Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, is coming up, and what's turkey day without the turkey? So, I ate a chicken sandwich and moved on with my life.