I'm happy to report...

...that 265 went much better today. I don't know why: any number of variables could account for the difference. One could be that we already struggled through the resistance, so they got their ya-ya's out and could just do the work today. Another could be that they were in different groups: sometimes simply a different mix of personalities in a group will make a big change in what work gets done and how. A third could be that there were two students in the room who weren't there on Monday. One of them was a late registrant who came once, missed, and then was back (I was afraid I'd lost her, and she's smart, so it's nice to have her back). One missed the first three classes: she e-mailed me yesterday to tell me she hadn't actually disappeared but would be joining the class. I told her she'd be way behind and might want to look a the syllabus and assignments before deciding if she wanted to jump in. Of course she didn't get that e-mail, so she showed up today, bright and chipper--and promptly got buried in a barrage of handouts. She seems intelligent and sufficiently motivated, but I've been fooled by first impressions before. I'll know a lot more when I start getting assignments from her (if in fact I do). I think she did OK today, just rolling with whatever was going on and trying to do her best, seeing the poems for the first time. I'll be interested to see what comes on Monday.

In any event, we got through "The Second Coming," and they understood it pretty well. (I did have to remind them not to pole-vault to what it "means" but to work through the details first. Once they started to do that, they did well, picking up on images that led to sensible interpretations.) We still have three poems from this week to churn through next week, so I only gave them two Wilfred Owen poems ("Apologia Pro Poemate Meo" and "Dulce et Decorum Est"). I also gave them a handout of common themes in Modernist poetry, and we went over what the language meant (making sure they understand phrases such as "social norms" and "despairing responses." I know it seems like one shouldn't have to check that sophomore-level students get language that basic, but one does.) They then started to look for some of those themes in the poems we were reading--and what do you know: there they were, even in pre-Modernist "Dover Beach."

Today's 102 went pretty well, too. They got to some good stuff in "Sonny's Blues"--in fact, some things that no one has ever noticed in any class I've ever taught with that story. (They were the first to ask about the "cup of trembling" reference at the end, for instance.) There seems to be a good critical mass of decent brains in there (albeit one poor kid who is already completely drowning and who very likely will not make it even half-way through). I was quite happy with the discussion--and could have done more with it except I forgot to bring my little box of clips, mini-stapler and chalk with me, and of course there was not a hint of a sliver of chalk anywhere in the room. I didn't feel like we could productively start on the process of identifying theme, as that requires a number of steps that they need to see. Shelved until Monday.

(Oh, and that reminds me: I want to try to remember to schedule time with the computer in each class so I can visually demonstrate revising a thesis in real time. Mmmm, put that on the list of things to remember tomorrow--along with writing the letter for my mentee's folder.)

In any event, I still have a slew of things to mark--as per last night's post--but for various reasons, I'm hanging it up for the night. (Yes, Scarlett.) The alarm is still set for six, so we'll see when I get in and how much I get done. Right now I feel much like I'm trying to swim through cotton, and that is not conducive to evaluation of student homework. So, next on my agenda: food, fun read (or DVD), and sleep--soon. And I'm parked right out back tonight, so I don't even have to walk across campus to get into the car, which means I'll be home 5 minutes earlier....