A Bad Day...

This is going to be a blog that serves as a forum for me to vent, so if you have already lost interest in reading this...I understand. Here goes:

I was unable to get my students to participate. I asked questions. They said nothing. I asked more pointed questions. Nothing. I rephrased the question in such a way that gave them the answer. Nothing. Are you kidding me? I practically gave them the answer and they still wouldn't say a single word. What was I doing wrong? Was it because it was 9:30 in the morning? We're already halfway through the semester, that excuse has run its course. Waiting them out doesn't work. Yet they still have to participate. They still have to do SOMETHING. They can't all just sit there, right?

Look, I'm all for mixing things up to keep them interested. I'm always looking for new ways to get my message across. I don't want to bore them to death. But this has gotten ridiculous. Every day can't be like kindergarten. Is this what they are expecting? Do we have to play games, draw pictures, watch videos, and sing songs ever other class period to get these students to take an active role in their own education? It feels as if they don't care. Sometimes I think they just want me to give them instructions on how to write the papers and send them home after ten minutes of explanation.

I feel like the expect to get good grades by just showing up (assuming that they do show up), not having to write much at all, and sitting in their seats while lectures wash over them. Are they earning an education or are they dutifully following instructions? There seems to be some way that I can test this theory. Maybe I will. Maybe what I should do is give them a list of ridiculously arbitrary instructions and see how they react to them--a list that says they have to do the following to receive an A on their next paper: (1) Learn to play "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson on guitar. (2) Make a quart of fruit juice using the following pieces of fruit: strawberries, mango, honeydew melon, grapes, and pineapple juice. (3) Purchase the following: a bottle of Dijon mustard, a loaf of bread, a 1/2 pound of salami, and some cheddar cheese. Make a sandwich. (4) Read War and Peace summarize it in less than ten words. (5) Learn to sing a song in french. (6) Take up quilting.

Then what I'll tell them is: If you want to impress me with your ability to concisely follow instructions, then bring me my sandwich and juice drink, play for me "Cliffs of Dover," quilt your summary of War and Peace into a blanket, and sing a song in french. Do that and I'll be impressed. But if you want to pass the class, participate in discussion and learn to write an effective analysis of a text.

I'm hoping for the latter, but I'm holding out for my sandwich.