Welcome to juniorprof

Seven ways to figure out whether you're a junior prof:

1. You spend a lot of time avoiding committee meetings
2. You've hidden from a student by diving under the desk
3. Achieving a personal life is on your list of things To Do
4. You still haven't given up on the idea of Free Food
5. Your real expertise lies in exploring the local happy hour scene
6. You're always working on your "Book"
7. You spend more than 8 hours a day contemplating alternate career plans

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Winning Back the Class

So every juniorprof has a moment (or two or three) where the classroom encounter fails to produce that rosy meeting of the minds. The realities of being stared at for an hour or more crash into the misty-eyed expectations of erudite conversation and we look woefully out at the questioning (or sleeping) faces of our young audiences. On the one hand, this experience means that we will all have a fondness for Kafka. On the other hand, those of us whose graduate schools failed to include an acting class need simpler approaches to the all-important: How to Win Back the Class.

Some Strategies for Winning Back the Class (which need some work, please share!)

1. Bring Cookies
2. Group Work
3. Invent Stand-up Routines
4. Make liberal use of Youtube clips
5. Reference Family Guy or The Office
6. Read Books entitled "Conversation Starters"
7. Practice Public Self-Disclosure
8. Invite Public Self-Disclosure
9. Revisit the Big Questions
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 8:59 AM

    Ask them what they think about some current event or pop culture phenomenon, then use rhetoric to convince them that said topic is relevant to the class. Students like giving their opinions on things they're familiar with, which (unfortunately) is not usually the assigned reading.

    Examples:
    "So, what did you think of American Idol last night? [answers here] Speaking of democracy in action...."

    "So, did you hear about Britney Spears? [answers here] Speaking of gender roles in America...

    Etc.

    ReplyDelete
  2. juniorprofApril 10, 2009 at 2:15 PM

    Does that require us to watch American Idol?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 4:08 PM

    Think of it as an excuse to watch American Idol. You know you want to.

    ReplyDelete

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