Lately I've gotten a number of requests for letters of recommendation. Although they take a good deal of time and energy to write, I can't say I'm not flattered.
The following is excerpted from an email from a student I had last semester:
I hope this isn't too informal, but I am applying to the Social Studies MAT program for the fall, and I would greatly appreciate it, if it isn't too much trouble, if you would write me a letter of recommendation. I really enjoyed your course last semester and would value your endorsement. If you want me to come by and discuss this with you, I can meet whenever you're available. Thank you.
2.09.2009
2.06.2009
The Humanities
I don't much care for the beginning of the school year (or semester). And it's not just the anticipatory dread that comes before Day One. I just don't feel like I have any emotional investment in these very nice, literate, non-felons who comprise my roster. I know their faces and can usually link them to names, but that's about it.
But around the two week point (i.e. now) the students become better distinguished from one another. I have a better sense of their personalities, hobbies, interests. This morning I had a fifteen-minute discussion after class with one of my students about his decision to embrace a vegan diet and the challenges of negotiating an alternative diet. Afterward, I worked one-on-one with a Journalism student who was having difficulty with the grammatical concepts we've covered so far. This afternoon I spoke with a Taiwanese student about American dialects and different forms of English; he expressed the challenges of learning a language with so many colloquialisms (his word).
As I left work today, I couldn't help but love my job and each of the students in my classes. They've suddenly become human.
But around the two week point (i.e. now) the students become better distinguished from one another. I have a better sense of their personalities, hobbies, interests. This morning I had a fifteen-minute discussion after class with one of my students about his decision to embrace a vegan diet and the challenges of negotiating an alternative diet. Afterward, I worked one-on-one with a Journalism student who was having difficulty with the grammatical concepts we've covered so far. This afternoon I spoke with a Taiwanese student about American dialects and different forms of English; he expressed the challenges of learning a language with so many colloquialisms (his word).
As I left work today, I couldn't help but love my job and each of the students in my classes. They've suddenly become human.
2.04.2009
Hot to Trot
Today, in an effort to teach my 101 students how to make inferences from observed facts, I opened my wallet and told them the contents of it. Once I finished, I prodded them to make bold inferences about me and my life.
Based on the fact that I have a Petco card in my wallet, one student said I was a pet owner. But that wasn't bold enough: I asked whether I was a dog or a cat owner. One student, an English language learner still attempting to grasp colloquial speech, said, "You're a dog owner because cats are cold, and you're so...hot!"
Based on the fact that I have a Petco card in my wallet, one student said I was a pet owner. But that wasn't bold enough: I asked whether I was a dog or a cat owner. One student, an English language learner still attempting to grasp colloquial speech, said, "You're a dog owner because cats are cold, and you're so...hot!"
2.03.2009
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