If a new edition of a textbook just came out 2 years ago, why must this year's new (& improved!) edition be double the 2-year-old price? Most students won't read it anyway, so I might as well choose an affordable text for the handful who will at least glance at it in between Jell-O shots and raging keggers.It's funny: Here I sit, in front of my computer, spending over 5 hours looking for a textbook for a course I may not even be offered to teach at a school I swore I'd never teach at again.
I hate being an adjunct whore. I hate how administrators promise to get back to me within a week, but then make me wait three, all for the pleasure of being paid just enough to pay my monthly bills.
And yet, here I sit, after swearing to find a new job.
I loved teaching this class last time. But, the students…oh, those little bastards, made me LOATHE the school and the course. Some were wonderful, like the quiet guy who was always so anxious when he arrived 5 minutes late, yet always paid attention and I KNEW he did the reading by his insightful responses to my questions and his own follow-up questions. And the woman who thought she was going to fail all the time; she always knew more than she gave herself credit for because she took notes, studied, did her assignments carefully. And the interested students, who furrowed their brows when I talked about complicated ideas, who struggled to find their way with the material, and who always surprised me (in a good way!) on the exams when they nailed it!
But then there are ... the others, who made up at least 50% of the roster (often more). The athletes who sauntered into class 10 minutes late, often without a notebook or a writing implement, never paying attention, yet well-equipped with those laptops and Blackberries they used everyday…to do what exactly? And the dumbass who claimed he needed a laptop because of some undiagnosed arm problem yet web-surfed in every single class session; it was funny seeing the light change on his face during video days. And the nappers, who were always just so very tired in the late morning. And the rich kid, who must have flunked out of another school because he lacked all fortitude to actually do ANY work in the class, including showing up regularly, staying awake, and taking notes. And the talkers, oh the sweet chatterers, who seemed to think nobody could hear them talking in the middle of the classroom. I hated them all then, and I still do.
I'll get another crop of just the same sort of dullards this time too if I actually get to teach the course again. And I intend to make their lives a living Hell. I'll make them drop by midterm so they can annoy someone else besides me. If they behave and do their work, then we'll all have fun. The students who pay attention in class always do their work anyway, so I know a little rigor will not deter them.
But, I think it's time to make sure the losers, the slackers, the self-entitled brats, and the kids who think college is just the 13th grade, to get the fuck out of my way. I have some students who want to learn in my classroom, and you're not getting in my way again.
Wanna bet I end up not teaching the class anyway?
