Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Observations from the First Week of School

  • Several students who wish to work on various issues related to the technical correctness of their writing (something we don't really discuss in class, though I'm happy to provide a reasonable amount of one-on-one help in comments and office hours, and/or to refer to the writing center) express this desire as wanting to improve their "grammer."  Sadly, I don't think they're joking.  
  • According to the official letter I received, one student has accommodations that include arriving late, leaving early, and/or leaving class for up to 15 minutes, without prior warning or explanation.  We don't, of course, get the diagnosis, just the accommodations.  I suspect the accommodations are, in fact, perfectly reasonable (or at least the best way to cope with the student's condition -- I suspect we're talking something along the lines of anxiety/panic attacks); if the student makes use of them (which hasn't happened so far), it won't be too disruptive most of the time given the hands-on, small-group-work focus of the class (and the fact that a number of students without accommodations behave this way already); and the student seems engaged, interested, and basically on top of things, if perhaps a bit needier/higher maintenance than average.  I'm also sure the letter was written in all earnestness/reasonableness, and I'm not at all sure I could have done it any better myself.  Still, I had to stifle the urge to laugh out loud when I read the document, which came perilously close to doubling as a parody of the genre ("this student may do anything at any time; pay no attention; it's an accommodation!").  
  • I don't remember ever having a student named Xavier before.  I now have three, of at least two different apparent ethnic backgrounds.  

9 comments:

  1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, featuring a sexy main character named Xander, came on the air in 1997. Your students' parents must have thought "Eh, Xander's a bit too weird, but . . . "

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    1. Possible. It might also explain the child naming/nicknaming practices of some younger colleagues. I'd wondered where "Xander" came from. Mystery solved.

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  2. Do the 3 Xaviers each pronounce their name differently?

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    1. I don't think so; at least nobody corrected my pronunciation, and I didn't notice any variations when we went around and introduced ourselves out loud. But it's still possible; one of the odd (to me) characteristics of the present generation of students is that they often don't correct my attempts to pronounce their names, even when I explicitly ask them to do so when I first call the roll. For all that many of them appear to want to attract lots of attention (or at least "likes") online, they seem, as a group, extraordinarily unwilling to assume even a modest, temporary spotlight in real life (there are, of course, exceptions, e.g. our favorite barbie-jeep-driving Texan). Many of them also seem to live in fear of making even a minor, perfectly understandable mistake in public, so maybe they're extending me the courtesy of not pointing out my mistake (even as I'm trying to model how we learn -- by asking for/accepting correction of minor mistakes with equanimity)? Hard to tell.

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  3. I've run into Xavier... well, not too much, but it's a very common Catholic name, so I saw it a bunch in college. Mostly as a middle name, but not always. I knew a Xander back then, too, well before Buffy.

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    1. I was thinking along the same lines -- that it's actually surprising I haven't met more Xaviers, given the strong representation of Hispanics (and others from traditionally-Catholic countries) in our student body. Maybe the popularity of that particular name varies by country, and there was a relevant shift in immigration patterns? I was pretty sure we haven't had a Pope Xavier anytime recently, but maybe there was a canonization, or an anniversary, or an especially-beloved archbishop, or something, during the relevant period?

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  4. Hmmm. The X-Men movie came out in 2000, so it can't be Professor X they're named after.

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    1. yeah, but the character in the comic dates back to about 1963 or so.

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    2. True. I'm not used to thinking of my student's parents as people who can read. Even comic books.

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