Friday, April 2, 2010

"Dumb and Lazy." A Murderous Combo that Has Irked Irma from Independence.

I have a confession to make. I hate my students this semester. No, not every single blessed one of them, but a large majority in two of my classes. Here's the problem: They violated the contract.

To succeed in college, ideally, you are bright and motivated. My students this semester are lazy and dumb. This is a problem for me, you see, because this gives me nothing to work with.

They could be lazy, but bright. They won't do the work, and they'll try to dazzle me with their plethora of excuses. It'll be ok, though, because basketweaving, well, it's not rocket science. The bright ones can usually muddle through on their own once the hammer comes down.

They could be dumb, but hardworking. I could live with that. I have to work a little harder...teach a little better, but I can do that.

But honeys, this batch I have this semester...we have this department final in basketweaving. You have to be able to identify different kinds of baskets. I can bring them to class every damn day. I can describe them, with words like "This is probably on the test. You should write this down." Makes no difference. I wonder if they are expecting me to take the test for them. Because that, I can't do.

So when I told them today that if they fail this final thingie, they'll have to take technical basketweaving again, they were acting all surprised and shocked. For about 30 seconds. Then dumb and lazy won again.

I hate them.