Search results
"category:/school"
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1
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NaBloPoMo: In one ear...
It never ceases to amaze me what my students don't remember. I expect them not to remember the things I teach them. Cynical? Maybe, but it's based on experience. I also expect that they won't remember when things are due, which is why I constantly remind ... |
Nov 25, 2008 |
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2
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NaBloPoMo: I couldn't help myself
Maybe it was the pinchy boots I was wearing. Maybe it was the headache from grading papers. Whatever it was, I couldn't help myself. We were talking about the Civil Rights Movement in class yesterday and I wanted to get my students thinking about whether ... |
Nov 20, 2008 |
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3
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NaBloPoMo: Are you calling me fat? Redux
We were talking about Communism in class yesterday and I got the students talking about freedom of speech. I asked if freedom of speech was always protected, or if the government would consider certain speech incendiary (which, of course, it does). One of ... |
Nov 13, 2008 |
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4
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It's like getting a Dear John letter. Only not.
Dear Professor, I'm sorry I didn't email you sooner. I had an injury/accident/fina... |
Oct 8, 2008 |
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5
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Man, we are a messed up bunch
Here's a fun trick. Get a group of academics together in a room. Doesn't matter what department they're in. History, Sociology, Econ, Statistics, Engineering... get a good mix. Talk to them for awhile. Move around the room and watch them interact with one ... |
Sep 30, 2008 |
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6
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Gulp
Yesterday I was talking to my students about two women in American history who argued that marriage was nothing more than an economic arrangement. I wanted to get the kids talking about their opinions on it, and what I discovered floored me. Marriage is ... |
Sep 25, 2008 |
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7
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Mad Skillz
There are days, man, there are days when I yearn (YEARN!) for an 8 to 5 job. Days when the sheer enormity of my dissertation comes crushing down on me like a pile of bricks, days when the project seems so profoundly undoable, days when I want nothing more ... |
Aug 14, 2008 |
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8
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A funny thing happened...
Ever since I started graduate school, I couldn't wait to get out. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed myself; on the contrary, I've felt more comfortable professionally in graduate school than anywhere else. But I was always eager to reach the final ... |
Apr 23, 2008 |
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9
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The Cold War and Fatherhood
In my class yesterday, we finished up our discussion of the 1950s and how the Cold War and the threat of Communism affected Americans. I asked my students why, in their opinion, Americans at large and the US government in particular was so worried about ... |
Apr 2, 2008 |
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10
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Feeling the distance
I've said before, here, that graduate school is a very lonely experience. But it's not just the work that brings solitude. It's also, for me, the incredible distance from friends and family. When I think about the last four and a half years that we've ... |
Mar 3, 2008 |
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11
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Teaching history in The South
I'm teaching the second half of the US history survey again this semester, and I started out by talking about the end of the Civil War. I asked the students, "who was President during the Civil War?" And the answer came back, "Jefferson Davis." ... ..... ... |
Jan 18, 2008 |
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12
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NaBloPoMo: What else don't they know?
Every year, I write about the Beloit College Mindset List and every year I remark on how little the new batch of college kids have experienced. This year, for example, marked the first post-Cold War class. These students have never known the Soviet Uni... |
Nov 6, 2007 |
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13
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Crazy busy
I have thirty-two messages on my machine. Messages from good, friendly people whose calls I really need to return. But the honest truth is that I've been so crazy busy lately, there just isn't enough time. I've been meaning to call my brother back for,... |
Sep 25, 2007 |
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14
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I think I'll stay where I am
After a few other history bloggers did this career test, I thought I'd give it a whirl myself. Here, for your enjoyment, are my top twenty most suitable careers: Historian Political Aide Professor Archivist Corporate Trainer ESL Teacher Writer Resear... |
Sep 17, 2007 |
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15
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That's the problem with living on the east coast
Jon Stewart doesn't come on until 11:00. How can I be expected to teach the next day (let alone make it to an early meeting) when I have to stay up until midnight every night watching the Stewart/Colbert hour? Clearly I need to move to the west coast, ... |
Sep 11, 2007 |
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16
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"I said, I'm HARD OF HEARING!"
On the first day of class, I told my students that I'm deaf in one ear. I figured that was better than winding up with a repeat of this situation. And I told them that if I ever heard them incorrectly, or didn't hear them at all, they should simply rep... |
Sep 7, 2007 |
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17
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Teaching
When I was living at home, my mom would come home from teaching and collapse on the couch. She'd take a nap for a couple of hours, then get up and go on with the day. She'd go to bed early-ish, then get up in the middle of the night to grade. And I nev... |
Sep 6, 2007 |
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18
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Students questions, part 392
Sitting in my office hours this morning, a girl popped her head in to ask me where room 101 was. I told her it was up one floor. She then asked, "is it on the second floor or the third?" |
Aug 28, 2007 |
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19
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Class of 2011
Each year Beloit College releases a list of facts intended to help professors relate to the incoming class of college students. The Beloit College Mindset List for the class of 2011 was recently released and, in honor of my first day teaching my very o... |
Aug 23, 2007 |
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20
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Pre-semester musings
Me: "I wonder what my students will be like this semester?" John (behind the wheel): "I bet they'll be bad drivers." |
Aug 21, 2007 |