Please, Do Adjust Your Dial
Okay, who knows what I am referencing? Never mind. It's not important that you recognize it. Intertextuality is my game and is not for everyone. So, on with the show...
We all have at least one a semester – the student that we
want to just wring his/her little neck because he/she just can’t seem to get it.
Oh, that I could video myself delivering that
line so that you could come to grips with my frustration. They make us work
even harder because we think perhaps he/she isn't the only one not
understanding what we are trying to impart. Maybe we didn’t explain thoroughly.
Maybe we should have given more examples, perhaps even, have done the assignment for
them. After all, we already know what we mean/want.
Yeah. I’ve about lost it, so good luck understanding what I
mean, right now. Sometimes, I wish there was a direct portal through which
to channel information, one that had no filters on either end, just pure
information.
Never mind. We’d have heads exploding all over the place.
Anyway, here is my problem child this semester. Wait. Not
problem. My staticky channel for which I hope my last email found the
appropriate station. We have been emailing back-and-forth for a couple weeks on
the same subject: Research Topic Proposal. To protect the student’s identity,
the actual texts and authors the student is referencing have been omitted along with said student’s name
and dates. All other typos, including my own, remain.
From: Student
I am choosing the play _____ written by _____ for my
research topic. The play was written in ancient greek time and was written for
the greek people as a tragic story. The play is passionate and has lots of
emotions that the characters show. This play would be a good topic for my essay
that are related to the play we were assigned to discuss in our discussion
post.
I have to interject
here; I still have no idea what the student means by that last line.
From: Me
_____, please review the assignment description. _____ is
not an appropriate topic for this assignment. Get back to me asap with your
proposal.
CB
From: Student
The research project should be on a literary topic selected
from the works covered in the anthology for this course, does that mean that
the topic should be about the plays/poems that we have discussions about, like _____,
_____, or _____?
Okay, I get a little
pissy here, but come on already!
From: Me
_____, you obviously know the answer to your own question.
Let’s dissect your email, shall we:
"...research project...literary topic selected
from...works covered...for this course..."
You can do this, _____.
CB
From: Student
For my research topic I am choosing the play _____ by _____.
This play was a dramatic play that was performed mostly at the outside _____
theatre. _____ tells a straightforward story involving an unjust act, the
usurpation of _____’s throne by his brother, and _____’s quest to reestablish
justice by gaining his power back. Throughout the play the character _____
starts to have similar characteristics as the author. This is a good piece of
work that I think would be a good topic to write about discussing the works of
the poet _____.
Is this better? Am I supposed to talk about the author or
one of his plays?
First, did
I forget to mention at this is a creative project, not a research paper? And second, notice that once the names are removed, Student could be referring to any number of texts.
From: Me
_____,
What about "works covered" for this course do you
not understand? Although _____ is an author "covered", _____ is not a
covered text. If you wish to do works of _____ that are "covered" in
the course and include _____ as part of your project, that is one thing. But
using _____ as your primary focus is not an option.
CB
From: Student
No I do not understand, could you please give me examples of
topics I could choose for my research topic?
See, this is when all
I can think is that Student wants me to assign him/her the text and tell
him/her exactly what to do with it while I hold his/her hand. No. I will not. And I am not going to budge
on that one.
From: Me
_____,
Please review the reading lists for each module. These are
the texts you focus on for your project. If you wish to do something on _____,
for instance, you must focus mainly on his poetry that is assigned, as we don't
cover his drama; however, you can combine his poetry with his drama, as long as
the poetry on the reading list is the main focus of your project.
CB
From: Student
Ok then im going to choose to talk about _____ works which
are these:
Intentionally left
blank here; however, the student obviously copied the assigned reading list
including the page numbers and pasted the list into the email.
these are covered. Is this good?
From: Me
_____,
How do you plan to address the texts, and how do you plan to
present your research to the class?
CB
From: Student
I plan on talking about the meaning the author tries to
explain in each of her poems and then show how her works are connected to each
other and how her culture and background relate to them also. Can I do that or
are you wanting me to talk about the whole topic the _____?
I have given up.
From: Me
_____,
Please don't forget that this is a research project. Also,
how do you plan to present your information to the class?
CB
From: Student
By talking about the author and her works, is that fine
?
Why the hanging question mark? Can I ignore Student from now on? Obviously, he/she is just screwing with me.
From: Me
Oh, _____, you are a funny guy.
If you look at the Creative Research Project handout you
will find, "The project must be able to be circulated. Therefore, please
plan to put your work in a format that can be disseminated (i.e., server,
website, blog, jpeg, PDF, etc.)," which is how you present the
information. So, how do you plan on presenting the information to the class?
CB
Can I have a really big libation now? I’m gonna; 'cause there's no telling what I will find when I open my email in the morning. And to think, I actually like teaching, even when I have to turn my back to the class and beat my head on the board. Oh, that I could beat my head against some of the heads I'm trying to infiltrate. Yeah. No. Penetrate just sounds so very wrong.
Quote for the day: The single biggest problem with
communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw
Every semester I tell the Art History I students that they can choose any piece of work between the dates the we cover for their research paper: Prehistoric to Gothic AND that their topic must be approved, by me, before they begin writing.
ReplyDeleteEvery semester, a few ignore me...
I get papers about Van Gogh,Starry Night, to be specific. I love Van Gogh, but I think, maybe, he is a BIT after Gothic. Slightly. When did I approve this? Oh, yeah, I didn't.
One semester, a young woman decided to do her "research" about the painting over her grandmother's mantle. She did not know the artist who did it, when it was created, it COULD be Impressionism, but she was not completely sure ... but she assured me that it was art and an appropriate research topic. (That paper, of course, contained absolutely NO research) Really??
Her argument? She interviewed her Grandmother.
What I did not say but wanted to: "Unless your grandmother was born in the Gothic period, it still doesn't count."
What they don't tell you about diplomacy is that it hurts sometimes. You would rather not use it all - and it is painful to have to at times.
I forgot to mention that this is only one of about five different email chains between Student and me. This low number undoubtedly is because they haven't had to turn in much, yet. Oh, the end of the semester is going to be fanfrakkingtastic!
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