09.18.05 - Life Update

I split the difference on my principle issue I told him, “I wouldn’t provide you the documentation if I had it, which I don’t.” He asked me to repeat myself and I did verbatim. He was dumbfounded and kept insisting that it was really very simple, that just about anything would suffice. I thought whimsically of calling my wife and having her write me a note but I ultimately let it go. I did take the time to clarify my reasons and to let him know that I understood the consequences. This made him very uncomfortable. I concluded by verbalizing my support of his right to run the class in any way that he sees fit and agreeing that he had been very clear in the syllabus and that I simply disagreed with his policy to the extent that I was willing to be penalized a letter grade for the sake of his peace of mind. He grudgingly agreed and indicated that he wanted no hard feelings and I told him that I had none and that I had enjoyed his class so far. On a whim I added that in any discourse between rational people there might, in fact, be disagreement but that it shouldn’t necessarily affect their ability to enjoy each other’s company. Needless to say, he was flabbergasted and I chuckled all the way to my next class.

Of course, it should be mentioned that he put us all on a seating chart the very next class to, “reduce the time spent on taking roll.” Yes kids, an alphabetical seating chart. I thought I had escaped this sort of blatant dehumanization upon completion of Jr. High School! So I am no longer sitting in the front row, as is my custom. Rather, I’m sitting in the back row with all of the other students who are unfortunate enough to have last names whose first letters land on the wrong side of the alphabet. The problem is that I can no longer see well enough to read overheads from the back row. One potential benefit is that I can make sarcastic comments under my breath about things like attendance policies and seating charts without being heard. Of course, I’d be more than willing to shout them across the room should he ask.

I’m working on a post that may well piss some people off being that it is on politics and the state of our nation. Keep your eyes peeled. I’ve also been working on the music post I mentioned in my tag post. I’ll also be updating the Photoblog and the Audioblog today or tomorrow.

I’m reading “Gulliver’s Travels” this weekend for my Great Works in American and British literature class. Perhaps I’ll let you know what I think when I’m done. For the last two weeks, it was Shakespeare’s “Othello.” For the two weeks prior to that it was, “Sir Gawain & the Green Knight.” The funny thing about this class is that I’ve read all but two of the six works we’re looking at previously though not in many years. It’s been fun because the teacher is not fixated on one specific point of view (usually his own) and is willing to discuss anything that can be supported within the text. I have taken many a “C” in lit classes for not regurgitating the teacher’s point of view. It looks like that will not be an issue this time around – a fact for which I am immensely grateful.

RCS