There is No Perfect Class
I frothed myself into a tizzy last night, as today is the first day of classes and I was, at 5 p.m., still without two syllabi. Then there was flogging of the "why didn't I do more of this over break?" and "why do I decide to teach new courses?" and "why don't I teach things in my old, familiar specialties instead of stuff that I'm learning?"
By 10 p.m., however, lulled into a false sense of security by the first episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles*, I simply started plugging in secondary readings, firmed up my last few films for one class, and the online readings for the other. Why? Because eventually I get worn down by trying to pick the perfect readings and pair them with the perfect primary texts while devising the perfect assignment for the students while devising the perfect schedule. Bitch, please. It's a good thing that the semester begins, or else I'd still be trying to read more, watch more, in hopes of making the classes perfect. So: No, Virginia, there is no perfect class.
*I went into that show with great trepidation and very low expectations. Or, in the way that we express it in this household: "Pleeez don't let this super-suck. It's going to suck, right? I mean what are the chances this isn't going to suck?" But I was much heartened by the casting of Summer Glau, also known as River Tam from The Whedon's unnecessarily-benighted series Firefly. Do you ever have a series that you think is really dumb at the time (who the hell is interested in a sci-fi western?!!), and then later figure out that it's brilliant and you were too blind to see it? Yeah, well.
And for the record, I'd link all of this stuff, but dammit, it's the first day of class and I don't know what I'm going to wear!!
By 10 p.m., however, lulled into a false sense of security by the first episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles*, I simply started plugging in secondary readings, firmed up my last few films for one class, and the online readings for the other. Why? Because eventually I get worn down by trying to pick the perfect readings and pair them with the perfect primary texts while devising the perfect assignment for the students while devising the perfect schedule. Bitch, please. It's a good thing that the semester begins, or else I'd still be trying to read more, watch more, in hopes of making the classes perfect. So: No, Virginia, there is no perfect class.
*I went into that show with great trepidation and very low expectations. Or, in the way that we express it in this household: "Pleeez don't let this super-suck. It's going to suck, right? I mean what are the chances this isn't going to suck?" But I was much heartened by the casting of Summer Glau, also known as River Tam from The Whedon's unnecessarily-benighted series Firefly. Do you ever have a series that you think is really dumb at the time (who the hell is interested in a sci-fi western?!!), and then later figure out that it's brilliant and you were too blind to see it? Yeah, well.
And for the record, I'd link all of this stuff, but dammit, it's the first day of class and I don't know what I'm going to wear!!
posted by kfluff at 8:55 AM
3 Comments:
So, was The Sarah Connor Chronicles any good?
Good luck on your first day back!
Really, truly, not half bad! We'll see what the future holds...aside from artifically intelligent governors of California, that is.
I was worried about SCC too but, hey, so far it's pretty good. I'm not sure how long they can string it out; after all, how many terminators can there be? Can they seriously encounter a new deadly threat every episode? Still, I'm excited about it. Wasn't the scene where the Chicano gang members act out 9/ll just surreal?
And, on the subject of sci-fi television, I couldn't agree with you more about /Firefly/. I never watched on network because the very concept weirded me out but some insistant friends who know me better than I know myself basically forced me to watch it and ... long story short, it broke my heart to see it end.
Still, I can't help thinking, can Summer Glau actually act or is her only skill playing someone with a lobotomy?
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