Teaching

[nomadologist]

That does sound quite sadistic. Though to be honest the work schedule for undergraduate law at Oxford (if you ACTUALLY did what you were supposed to) was just as brutal (but without computer programming/writing in German). I fail to believe that a single person actually did tho.

Oh, plus, this was only one of 4-5 classes I was in at the time. From what I understand you use the tutor system at Oxford, yeah?

 

[mixed_biscuits]

That does sound quite sadistic. Though to be honest the work schedule for undergraduate law at Oxford (if you ACTUALLY did what you were supposed to) was just as brutal.

Same for modern languages and literature at Oxf.

A friend reading French at Cambridge told me that, in his first week there, his prof told the class to start memorising the larger Collins Robert dictionary.

 

[Numbers]

Our final involved not only creative writing in German, but COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

Sounds very Kittlerian. Didn't he teach at Columbia University NY?

 

[gek-opel]

a couple of times I even thought the assignment reminders they sent us were a "piss-take" (is this the right way to use this?)

Yes- very good!

The tutorial system had its advantages very definitely. But after a year they put me with the other guy who "blatantly could get a first but hates the course and is now taking the piss" the end result being some hilarious but woeful tutorial sessions... "Um I don't know that case- do you know that case?" "Errr... no... can you give us a hint? Is it the one with the nuns?"

Though ethics was taught by an alcoholic cycling obsessive who had killed someone whilst working anti-narco trafficking for the US coastguards, (and also had a nice line in talking about "bouncing fucking babies off walls") so not all bad...

 

[STN]

I used to be taught by this geezer who was convinced that people were farmed and kept underground and that leather was people's skin and not from cows at all. He also thought that tea was the ground up bones of people. I think he believed in gnomes as well.

Barking.

 

[matt b]

I used to be taught by this geezer who was convinced that people were farmed and kept underground and that leather was people's skin and not from cows at all. He also thought that tea was the ground up bones of people. I think he believed in gnomes as well.

Barking.

raymond briggs?

 

[gek-opel]

Hang on at school I was taught physics by a guy who was a fundamentalist Christian who actually believed in "giants". However he did play Joy Division's "Atmosphere" once at a service at the school chapel in memory of Ian Curtis (why?) to general bewilderment/amazement...

 

[nomadologist]

Sounds very Kittlerian. Didn't he teach at Columbia University NY?

nope vASSar.

 

[nomadologist]

Hang on at school I was taught physics by a guy who was a fundamentalist Christian who actually believed in "giants". However he did play Joy Division's "Atmosphere" once at a service at the school chapel in memory of Ian Curtis (why?) to general bewilderment/amazement...

No Gek for real!! I was talking to my dad, who is an inorganic chemist/network engineer/electrician AND (and this is the part I really don't get) Christian. He did mescaline one too many times I think, because he was telling me about his spiritual awakening, and he was talking about how much the Bible agreed with Greek mythology (because this would make me believe? I don't know) because in the Bible the "sons of God" came down to earth to reproduce with the "daughters of men" and apparently conceived a race of giants that complete nutcases think were actually Hercules and these other mythological gods and goddesses.

 

[nomadologist]

I used to be taught by this geezer who was convinced that people were farmed and kept underground and that leather was people's skin and not from cows at all. He also thought that tea was the ground up bones of people. I think he believed in gnomes as well.

Barking.

And you guys thought I was crazy!

 

[gek-opel]

No Gek for real!! I was talking to my dad, who is an inorganic chemist/network engineer/electrician AND (and this is the part I really don't get) Christian. He did mescaline one too many times I think, because he was telling me about his spiritual awakening, and he was talking about how much the Bible agreed with Greek mythology (because this would make me believe? I don't know) because in the Bible the "sons of God" came down to earth to reproduce with the "daughters of men" and apparently conceived a race of giants that complete nutcases think were actually Hercules and these other mythological gods and goddesses.

No less crazy than Noah's fucking ark to be fair.

 

[nomadologist]

I suppose not.

I just had a particularly strong reaction to the "faith" on display when he started talking about that shit.

 

[matt b]

i've just been handed an essay on gender identity that starts with a bullet pointed rundown of some irrelevant legislation obviously taken straight from google.

i wanted to rip it up in front of her. and then burn it.

instead i said it was shit and told her how to do it properly.

see i HAVE changed.

 

[nomadologist]

Hahaha...Wow some kids are really flagrant!!

 

[gek-opel]

My mother teaches/lectures in sociology and some of the shit I hear about the flagrant stupidity of some of her students literally beggars belief at times. I don't know how people have the patience to deal with that kind of piss-taking really.

 

[dHarry]

The topics were served up to me on a (last minute) platter, but there's always leeway in what you discuss. We covered Chicago house instead of Western Art music.... Now I've had "All Over My Face" in my head for 2 days.

"Is It All Over My Face" is NYC disco by Arthur Russell & friends from 1980 or something - disabuse yr students asap before this leaks and gets you fired!

Anyway, I tutored first year undergrad students in English Lit. for a year while doing a Masters. It was enjoyable but tough, given the yawning chasm separating the smart ones (excited at being introduced to gender/psychoanalytic/political ways of reading, narrative strategies, etc.) from the ones who could barely spell their own names. We ended up having to introduce a basic grammar course that year - basic English grammar, for native English speakers who had somehow made it to university without learning to put a full stop (period) at the end of a sentence! I'm trying to remember a few choice quotes from essays - here's one, on "The Role of the Witches in Macbeth": "The witches sold their sole [sic] to the devil" - wtf?!

Then years later (needing a qualification to get a job ) I went back to do an MSc in Multimedia and taught computer science undergrads about digital image and audio technology - a few students on their own initiative were paying me out of their own pockets for this tuition, yet I couldn't get the slightest reaction from them e.g. "OK, did you follow that, does it make sense, any questions?" - met with blank stares. Wierd.

But I would consider secondary teaching if/when the current cubicle-office IT drudgery hell got too much for me.

 

[STN]

My mother teaches/lectures in sociology and some of the shit I hear about the flagrant stupidity of some of her student literally beggars belief at times. I don't know how people have the patience to deal with that kind of piss-taking really.

snap; my mum once entered her classroom to find two students having a bitter argument about something. I think she felt that she'd finally gotten them to really care about sociology. Then she was asked to arbitrate on the question 'what would win a fight between a bear and a horse?' (don't want to derail, so if anyone cares, start a poll in the nature section and stick me down for 'bear').

 

[gek-opel]

snap; my mum once entered her classroom to find two students having a bitter argument about something. I think she felt that she'd finally gotten them to really care about sociology. Then she was asked to arbitrate on the question 'what would win a fight between a bear and a horse?' (don't want to derail, so if anyone cares, start a poll in the nature section and stick me down for 'bear').

Hahahaha... definitely a bear providing the horse wasn't a shire horse...

 

[nomadologist]

We all know I would choose the horse. Buh dump CHING.

 

[STN]

My mum said bear as well (assuming it's a face-to-face battle) but when she related the tale in the staffroom that afternoon one of her colleagues shrieked accusingly that 'you Americans always fetishise the bear', which is a bit bloody uncalled for, not to mention baffling.