admin Books, Culture, Higher Education, Students

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 this room, so strong sometimes that they seemed to shoot from the students telepathically and bounce off the furniture. Kids looked down at the table top, out of the window, or at Howard with great longing; some of the weaker ones blushed and pretended to take notes. But not one of them would speak. They had an intense fear of their peers. And, more than that, of Howard imself.

–from Zadie Smith, On Beauty (2005)

admin Books, Culture, Higher Education, Students

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 plastic tab defining a semicircle of forehead. The reversed student hat makes a statement about its wearer, something like, ‘I am dull.'” That’s what I’m talking about!

admin Higher Education, Students

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 another was (1) drunken hook-ups and (2) getting engaged to marry. Nothing in between.

Students often attributed this to OLU’s Catholic heritage, single-sex dorms, and policy of not allowing people in opposite sex dorms overnight (“parietals”). This led many of them to believe that if these pathologies were eliminated, gender relations would improve.

I always maintained that the state of gender relations was a generational issue, not attributable to the particular characteristics of OLU, So I defended single-sex dorms and (to a lesser extent) the parietal policy. Recently, one of my students here at Wake Forest offered some support for my position in an essay she wrote for class. The following is an excerpt:

An observation often made about seniors graduating from Wake Forest is that they are either engaged, almost engaged, or have never dated anyone in college. Why is this the pattern? Is it what students want? In the [campus newspaper] there was an article that expressed both a male and a female perspective on this issue. Both acknowledge that this was the common pattern at Wake Forest. As the girls put it, “people either don’t date at all, or are picking out rings.” . . . The other extreme found at Wake Forest is that people don’t date, but rather just hook-up on the weekends or after parties. The girl in the newspaper article asks, “Why is there pressure to randomly hook-up and not commit to one person?” This is definitely due partly to the pressure that is put on marriage. People don’t want to date someone if there is going to be a pressure for them to get married.

Wake Forest is not a Catholic university, it has co-ed dorms, and students are allowed in each others’ rooms overnight (provided that they are not actually sleeping — aside: this seems to be a self-defeating policy since I don’t think the kids are staying over to sleep). So, something more general is going on between men and women (or, perhaps more accurately, boys and girls) today. Even the commonalities in the language used on the different campuses — “ring by spring,” “hooking up,” “friend with benefits,” “walk of shame” — suggests that this is to some extent a generational issue.

But as I think about this further, I increasingly believe that saying it is a “generational issue” does not fully explain the situation. The student bodies at OLU and Wake Forest are very similar: predominantly white, upper-middle class, and suburban. So, social background may play a role. Also, both OLU and Wake Forest are largely residential campuses with no real “town-and-gown” relationship with the surrounding community and, hence, a limited social life for students. These characteristics — common to many private colleges/universities — may play a role. And the role of alcohol in the social lives of students surely has a profound effect on the way men and women relate to one another socially. I didn’t notice any major difference between the gender relations on-campus and those among students who lived off-campus; alcohol seemed to be a common denominator impeding improved relations.

One final observation, about OLU only since I don’t know what the case is at Wake Forest yet: as much as students complained about the poor gender relations on campus, no one seemed to do anything about it. I think it was easier for the students to point to the single-sex dorms and parietals than to change their behavior. Plus, if the milk is free, why buy the cow?

admin Higher Education, Students

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 patronage also includes kidney disease and poison sufferers.

But in reading student papers from my “Religion and Society” class this week, I learned something new. The real Patron Saint of Students is (the heretofore unknown to me) ST. MATTRESS — the saint who receives the most attention from students, especially on the Sabbath.

Live and learn.

admin Higher Education, 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 OLU students, it seems, favor luxury SUVs, like the Lexus or BMW, in addition to the ever popular Jeep Cherokee.

In retrospect, this makes perfect sense given the different regions from which the two universities draw students.

Bottom line: I would trade my car for a random draw from the student lot at either institution!

admin Higher Education, Students, Teaching

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 topic was the proper role of religion in public life — with specific reference to President Bush — and the students all handled the issue incredibly well. They expressed their opinions and listened to others’ opinions in a very respectful way. It was one of the best discussions I’ve ever had in class. Go figure!

Now, if only I could figure out the formula for that and bottle it.

admin Higher Education, Sociology, Students, Teaching

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 question in class.

I return to my office after to read the written responses, which are very well-done and thoughtful.

What is the source of the gap between these two things? Is it simply not worth the effort to speak in class if that is not specifically rewarded? Or are students paralyzed by the fear of looking “stupid” or “know-it-all” in class? Or something else I can’t see?

I certainly don’t want to come to the same conclusion that the novelist Vladimir Nabokov came to when he was observing the students he taught at Stanford: “The great fraternity of C-minus, backbone of the nation, steadily scribbling on.”

Can I get a witness?

admin Higher Education, Students, Teaching

“Wasting” Time on Students?

MLK HOLIDAY ’05: THE CAUSE FOR WHICH HE FOUGHT IS STILL A CAUSE, AND THE DREAM FOR WHICH HE DIED IS STILL A DREAM

On the brief, five minute walk from the kids’ bus stop to my office last week, I was bothered by a familiar feeling. The first three days of the week I had “wasted” too much time dealing with students (enrollment in class, getting together course materials, etc.). All I had to look forward to on this day, too, was class related work. As I walked, I racked my brain thinking about my schedule for the day, wondering when I would be able to squeeze in some “real” work.

This uneasy and unwanted feeling is one of the legacies of working at Our Lady’s University for six-plus years. I was socialized at OLU to see students as taking time away from my real work. How ironic, since I became a professor precisely because I wanted to spend time with students.

One of the attractions of Wake Forest University for me, then, is its focus on undergraduate education. So, I’m excited to be at an institution whose educational values are more in line with my own. (Or so it seems. Of course, I have been fooled already by OLU, so I’m more guarded about professed values vs. institutional realities now. I mean, I embarrassed to say now that I bought OLU’s rhetoric hook, line, and sinker.)

My experience last week made me see that this deeply ingrained feeling of alienation from students may take some time to shake. It may take me a while to embrace fully the time I get to spend working with students and working on classes; to see them as my real work rather than a distraction from my real work. Who knew that getting back to my professorial roots would take work?

admin Higher Education, Sociology, Students, Teaching

Questions and Answers

Yesterday was the first day of classes for the semester, and my first day of classes ever, at Wake Forest University. Which raises a number of questions that I’ll try to answer quickly. Further observations will no doubt be posted as I make them.

How’s the weather?

It depends on what you like. You probably wouldn’t like it unless you like 60-70 degrees and sunny during the second week of January. Tennis, anyone?

How was the first day of class?

OK, the first day of class was not without its challenges. Monday night, because I was nervous/excited about my first day of classes at Wake Forest, I couldn’t fall asleep right away. So, I turned on the TV and got caught up in a bizarre episode of “The Surreal Life” with Peter Brady and Mini-Me and one of the non-famous women from the Go-Go’s. So, I didn’t log many hours of sleep before my first classes, but the adreneline carried me through.

I am teaching introductory sociology and a sociology of religion course, both of which I’ve taught many times before, so there won’t be too much heavy lifting involved in terms of the course material. Of course, there’s a great expenditure in energy in actually conducting class. I have a 9:30 am class, then two hours of office hours, then a 1:30 pm class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Right after my afternoon class dismisses, I go and meet Chipper and Beth at the bus stop. Which is just as well since I am totally spent after that much time teaching. (How teachers who teach all day, five days a week do it, I am not sure!)

Not surprisingly, I’ve encountered various technical problems related to being a new faculty member starting in January, rather than August like most of the new folks. For example, I was told to save on copying expenses by emailing my syllabi to my class roster, but I couldn’t access my class roster until Tuesday. Students in my intro soc class told me they couldn’t get the textbook at the bookstore, so I called and was told that only 14 of 35 copies had arrived. It apparently didn’t concern anyone at the bookstore until I called. They ordered another 21 copies, to arrive today or tomorrow (hopefully), but because the students have an assignment to do for Thursday, I had to make photocopies of the first chapter. Of course, a student then pointed out that the assignment for Thursday requires them to consult another chapter of the textbook, so I had to find the graphic I refer to and put it up on the course web site. For my religion class, I assigned five books, so I can only imagine what sort of mess awaits me there. A couple of students have already said that two of the books are sold out. With my luck, it will be the book we are using next week!

On the positive side, both of the classrooms I teach in are in the same building as my office, so I just need to walk around the corner to get there. And both have good technology. I can bring my laptop to class and easily project images or videos, and I can play music, which I love. In both classes we listened to Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” (homage to North Carolina). In my religion class we also listened to Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” (for obvious reasons), and in intro we listened to Alanis Morissette’s “You Learn” (stresses that learning an active and relational process).

Now, if I could just get a replacement battery for the piece of crap they put in my third generation iPod, I can just leave my computer behind and play music directly from that.

What are the students like?

I haven’t had too much direct interaction with the students yet, but they are similar to students at Our Lady’s University in some ways and different in others.

The biggest similarity I immediately noticed is that the students travel in packs. Almost everyone in class, it seems, is taking the class with a friend, roommate, teammate, or frat/sorority brother/sister. The students also wear “hang dog” faces in class. I mean, the atmosphere just feels so heavy when I walk in the classroom. Maybe I need to play some more raucous music at the start to pep things up. I’ll experiment with Trick Daddy’s “Let’s Go” and Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started” on Thursday. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

The feeling I get in class raises a question, though, which I also had at OLU : why do people who live such privileged lives seem so somber? Like the weight of the world is on their shoulders, when their biggest concern of the day isn’t how to eat but what to eat. (I should add that I am guilty of this same thing myself.)

Among the differences I’ll be watching are:

(1) Regional differences. The three best represented states so far are Florida, New Jersey, and North Carolina. At OLU, I had the most students from Indiana, Illinois, and New York.

(2) Religious differences. At OLU, I had 80-90% Roman Catholics. Here, the predominant religious group is Baptist, followed Episcopalians. I was surprised by the Episcopalians, but it makes sense if the university draws from rich, Southern families. Here at Wake Forest, I also have a diverse group of other religions represented (Jewish, Christian Science, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, nondenominational, Methodist, Lutheran, and even a couple of stray “Romans”).

(3) Fraternities and sororities. I had pairs of sorority sisters in my classes — evident from their t-shirts — which definitely got my attention. There are no greeks at OLU and greek life was not big at my alma mater, UC-Berkeley. All I really know about them is that two of my friends at Berkeley lived in a sorority because the house had extra rooms. Not exactly a center of campus life, at least not back then. So, we’ll see what effect that has on campus life.

Well, that is all that you need to know about my first day of class at Wake Forest University — and more.