Anxiety Attacks R Us
Classes start on Monday. Spouse reports that a couple of nights ago, I sat up in bed and yelled "Staples!" at him. Office supply nightmares? How depressing.
And then last night, the acting out of perhaps my biggest fear: first day of History of Everything I cover pre-history, the Neolithic Revolution, the invention of agriculture, all that jazz. In my dream, one of my students informed me that all this is bunk because the world was created in 4004 BC. The Bible says so.
I wish I remembered the dream well enough to see how I reacted.
And then last night, the acting out of perhaps my biggest fear: first day of History of Everything I cover pre-history, the Neolithic Revolution, the invention of agriculture, all that jazz. In my dream, one of my students informed me that all this is bunk because the world was created in 4004 BC. The Bible says so.
I wish I remembered the dream well enough to see how I reacted.
Labels: history, mindless anxiety, teaching
posted by Courtney at 5:51 PM
11 Comments:
It could happen. It's a tough situation. As infuriating as it is, you have to bear in mind that there is an entire subculture in this country that teaches its children that their very souls depend on rejection of science and modern education. I watch this show every week on Sundays, "The Hal Lindsey Report," to keep abreast of what the End-Timers are talking about these days. And not a week goes by where he doesn't say that America started to go wrong in the 1960s when the liberals took over the universities and and the media and began indoctrinating our country with lies. I don't know how you reach someone like that. (I also don't know why they'd go to college...) I guess we just hope that you don't have to try...
(I also don't know why they'd go to college...)
Well, it IS called "intelligent design."
By the way, Quinn, what's pre-history? Is it a theoretical era, or something like pre-calculus?
history starts with written sources. So pre-history is all the stuff that happened before written sources. You know, like man killing the dinosaurs.
I remember an ancient philosophy class (a class on ancient philosophy, that is -- we were relatively young at the time) in which the professor had a tough time getting across to one persistent questioner that the four quotes he had written on the board were ALL we knew of one Greek philosopher. She kept asking if he went on to explain what he meant.
Today, the kids would probably be scoffing and wondering why Hermatacritostotle didn't just explain it all on Facebook.
Good luck with your first week (and as to the student... if they believe that the world was created in 4004 BC, I'd have to ask them why they are bothering to take a pre-history class in the first place?)
"Fine. But it's bunk upon which your grade depends, so it would behoove you to remember it."
"And you registered for this class, why?"
"That is, as has been famously noted by national proponents of Intelligent Design, one theory. What I have taught today is the more broadly accepted theory, and whether you agree with it or not, it will be useful to you to have a working knowledge of it."
Just don't give them any ground ;).
Or, since I am late with this comment, I hope you didn't give them any ground ...
You just can't argue with a word like "behoove."
I like "behoove" :).
Next time I dig out my OED maybe I'll look it up. I can't figure out its derivation ...
Oh, probably from "beholden" ... yep, bet that's it.
I'll still dig out the OED sometime tho' ;).
Actually, I believe KR is incorrect. "Behoove" is a derivation of "to Hoover," meaning to suck up using a vacuum cleaner of the same name. Just as one might be "beheaded," I used my vacuum cleaner last night to behoove a spider in the corner.
It behooved that spider to get out of your apartment, for example.
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