I did some impassioned stuff about how the title of an essay is the first thing a reader sees, and how that title could be evocative and informational, actually create interest in the text. Actually drive readers into that first paragraph, which is, really, all we can hope for.
I felt good. I felt strong. The class had not been great about this topic, and with our biggest essay coming up I wanted them to really consider my suggestions.
Of course I titled this group email "Titties."
This is the only email from a professor these students will ever read. Good teaching moment: you can send another email about the importance of revising. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't that part of "meeting them where they are"?
ReplyDeleteIt's okay. One time I was drawing on the board, and the diagram turned out just like a penis.
ReplyDeleteThere's some sort of corollary to Murphy's law that says that all kinds of diagrams, graphs, etc. will end up looking like (usually male) genitalia. I think the likelihood increases with decreasing age of students (at least down to somewhere c. 9-12 years old), so at least college proffies are a bit less liable to the problem.
DeleteYep. Been there, done that. But at least I could hastily erase the offending diagram, while we all got it out of our system with a good laugh. Email has that "immortalized in the cloud" thing going on.
DeleteCan't help noticing the irony that a cloud - a classic metaphor for impermanence - has become instead a kind of permanent record. Maybe the NSA wanted a nice reassuring name for it.
And, how many have pointed out that humans are social orgasms...
DeleteI'm with Chiltepin: wait as long as you dare, to take advantage of the increased likelihood that students will actually open the email, then send an "oops" email with mention of the need to proofread professional correspondence.
ReplyDeleteThe other reason for sending the "oops" email, with a corrected title and the original text below the correction: it's possible that the original email may be caught in spam filters or (less likely) that students may delete it on the assumption that your email address has been hijacked for commercial/malware-spreading purposes.
Send an email to apologize and ask the students to erase the embarrassing incident from their mammaries.
ReplyDelete...and please keep us abreast of the situation.
DeleteTitter.
DeleteOr you could pretend it was done on purpose - and call the students on their lack of attention...
ReplyDeleteI hated this approach in school, but I saw it done a number of times.
I think that you have proven well that the "title could be evocative and informational" and "actually create interest in the text."
ReplyDeleteYou now have an opportunity for a teaching moment about how the evocation and information might pertain to the subject matter, and the pros and cons of titles chosen to shock or trick the reader.
Okay, I am laughing too hard to type. I do think your title is an admirable example of precisely the point you were trying to teach them.
ReplyDelete