During the summer time they do major construction on campus. For the most part it's has no effect on us summer students. Until today that is. The construction workers accidental busted some pipe in a building near our dorms, which has affected the AC in our building ALL DAY.
It's blazing hot on campus. I swear i saw a bird struggling to breathe yesterday, it was so hot. I emptied my water bottle near him so he would hopefully find the water and not die of thirst. It's not only hot here, but it's humid. Humidity does not make you want to play in the sun,you just want to escape it.
I walked into my dorm after work and thought i was going crazy. When you have AC you expect the cool air to hit you in the face and welcome you. The old navy in town has the AC hooked up o the door. Me and my mom fight over who can open the door every time we get there, just so we can feel the rush of cool air that greets you. I was expecting that moment today when i walked into my dorm. A cool breeze from the hear. Instead I walked in and it was the same degrees inside as it was outside. I stepped in, stepped out, stepped in, stepped out and finally concluded that i was not suffering from a disorder but that it was really MotherF*cking hot in my Motherf*cking dorm.
Luckily i don't have class tomorrow so my restless night of sleep will not affect my note taking abilities in the morning. It may affect my book shelving ability but i don't do much book shelving these days ( i just find a book i want to read, and read it. for 3 hours a day)
In other totally related news I'm beginning to feel really sorry for my sociology professor. The summer school crowd is a very different group of kids. We either have to be here or want to be here. And the two extremes are very bad. I think my sociology class falls into the group of people who have to be here because no one (including me) says anything for 2 hours.
My professor is working his ass off up on stage to engage us, inspire us, makes us laugh...SOMETHING. Yet all we do for 2 hours and 15 minutes is stare off as our desperate professor bombs in front of a hard crowd. It's so painful to watch, that even I want to say something in class to drown out the sound of crickets.
I'm beginning to think being a professor is like being an improv actor or something. The stage is yours and hopefully with a good crowd you will get the feedback you need to keep the act going. If not, you are literally standing up in front of a bunch people hoping that someone will crack a smile or show some interest. He's a funny guy, but the combination of an early class (8 am ) and a bunch of students who have to take this class (rather than those who want to) is not working in his favor.
He shouldn't have told us on Monday that the class was going to be extremely easy. I think in his attempt to win us over, he pretty much said that the test were going to be easy, the homework was going to be easy, and there is no way you can make less than a B in this class. I guess he was assuming that telling us it would be an easy class, would make us want to participate in discussion. Instead because we know we can't fail the class, we don't really see any reason to participate. Which is making this the most boring class of all time.
Even I cannot keep my eyes open for this one. Without anyone talking (including me, I know) it is sort of hard to pay attention. Besides him being funny, the class is almost unbearable. I must note that our nonparticipation is not all of our fault. We don't really have anything to ask or feed off of (rule number one for improv). He wants us to be engaged but he isn't posing any questions that make us think. He didn't even assign us a book until yesterday.
I am hoping next week will be a little better. I can't bear 3 more weeks of awkward silence and desperation from my professor. Being in his class is like watching a sinking ship go down. It's just bad.
Time for me to sweat out the next few hours in my hot room. I'm hoping the AC will come on while i am sleeping, if i can even get to sleep in this humidity.
3 comments:
well, darling, i feel for your sociology professor. and you have NO IDEA the red rage and hatred we sad improv-actor teachers build up for our students because of it.
YOU can save this sinking ship. say something. for the love of god and all that's good in this world - say something! anything! do it for sufjan stevens. he'd want you to. it's like pouring your waterbottle near the struggling-to-breathe bird.
consider it your great act of charity, your Good Deed for the summer.
and you never know: you might provoke something. the one thing about being That Guy who talks in class is YOU get to choose what you talk about. ask some really weird, provocative question. or something.
i know how much you hate talking in class, but seriously: when everyone is silent, it is truly CRUEL to do this to a professor. moreover, to the professor: you all look like assholes.
also: nice on the reading books for 3 hours at the job thing. well done, indeed!ofm
I can back up frogboots here. As an MA student teaching during the summer I can attest that it is rough. Your analogy was right on. It is exactly like an improv performer trying to hold on to the crowd. One of my best jokes failed the other day -- must be the summer students. No other possibility.
Man, humidity sucks! If I were you I would've gone crazy in the dorm...possibly ending up on the evening news for stabbing some innocent bystanders in my heat-induced haze. Hope your ac is back on now.
I feel for you and your bombing prof. That is the only thing that can induce me to talk in class--painful pity. It's unbearable. But you know, as a sociology professor...he really should know better...It's like physician heal thine own social situation.
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