There is an upside to teaching the way I do--i.e., in a sort of manic, freewheeling, free-associating sort of way. Most students seem to respond well to the amount of energy I'm pouring into the class, which is especially important when "selling" writers and ideas that they've been tortured with/turned off from. A common response is, "I thought English would be boring! But it's not!" So I chase rabbits, make slightly off-color jokes from time to time, tell stories about my cats and my children (and occasionally The Runner), and generally perform. All the while, I try to take seriously every student comment and question, and am happy to stop mid-stride to deal with an upraised hand.
Like I've said, most students respond well to this style. Some, however, take it as license to say whatever they wish. This is particularly troublesome when the license-taking student is either dumb as a stick, or unable to filter between brain and mouth. I've had both kinds this summer. Yesterday, for instance, I had to warn the men in the class (the difficult ones are both men) to not respond out loud to what I was saying, because "the ladies in here will absolutely kick your ass. And you'll deserve it." It worked, because it came off as a joke. The thing is, after a certain number of stupid/silly/gauche questions or comments, I'm at my wit's end to figure out how to shut them up politely. Most people are self-policing at least to a certain extent; frankly, a lot of times we rely on everybody sort of agreeing that they can go so far but no farther. If the agreement breaks down, the class is that much harder to manage.
I try to keep my rebukes relatively jocular, which seems to be working okay for now. The other option is to teach in a way that seems to close off honest responses. I don't want to do that.
1 comment:
lol @ you in cat form
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