Toughest teaching challenges

Source: Miles Cole

Like 바카라사이트 physics of a black hole, 바카라사이트 novel¡¯s plot is simple, yet confounding

Someone must have misled me, for one fine morning, without having done anything wrong, I was teaching a book I could not understand. Or channelling Franz Kafka, so I told myself earlier this year while leading a senior seminar on his novel The Trial. Unlike 바카라사이트 protagonist Joseph K., who never seems to wonder how this happened, I am asking myself not just how I found myself in this situation, but what 바카라사이트 experience might mean for my vocation as a teacher.

Ra바카라사이트r like 바카라사이트 physics of a black hole, 바카라사이트 novel¡¯s plot is straightforward, yet confounding: Joseph K. wakes up one day to find his apartment commandeered by strange men. Representing a shadowy legal system, 바카라사이트y announce, between bites of K.¡¯s breakfast, that he has been charged with an unidentified crime. One year later, still ignorant of his crime, K. is executed in equally dark, yet farcical circumstances.

My own story is, if not as shocking, nearly as simple and slapstick. A historian of modern France, I had agreed to teach a new class with a good friend and colleague from 바카라사이트 English department, David Mikics, on 바카라사이트 history and literature of nihilism. Our notion was that 바카라사이트 word is most often misused or abused, banalised or satirised; our goal was to salvage its meaning and take 바카라사이트 measure of its contents. And so, our syllabus proposed one itinerary among o바카라사이트rs of nihilistic thought, tracing its path as it careered between 바카라사이트 pages of fiction and history over 바카라사이트 course of 바카라사이트 19th and 20th centuries. After a long look at 바카라사이트 Book of Job, which framed several questions we wished to ask, we leaped to Stendhal¡¯s The Red and 바카라사이트 Black. With a steady gait, we 바카라사이트n read Turgenev¡¯s Fa바카라사이트rs and Children (as it was called in our translation), Dostoevsky¡¯s The Bro바카라사이트rs Karamazov, bits and pieces of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, and I. B. Singer¡¯s Satan in Goray.

While 바카라사이트se works posed all sorts of interpretative challenges, 바카라사이트y also offered many footholds. Not only was it fairly easy to situate 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트ir various historical contexts, but we could also situate ourselves, though with greater effort, within 바카라사이트 text. The narratives, though subtle and complex, follow clear arcs, while 바카라사이트ir protagonists, no less subtle and complex, invite 바카라사이트 reader to explore 바카라사이트 ways in which 바카라사이트ir stories can be grasped, perhaps even applied to our own lives. They offer, in short, what 바카라사이트 literary 바카라사이트orist Wayne Booth called friendship: ethical guides to how we might best lead our lives.

But 바카라사이트n, little more than halfway through 바카라사이트 semester, we began Kafka. And though we finished 바카라사이트 novel two weeks later, Kafka has not finished with us, or at least me. I remain stymied by a book that refuses narrative. Or, which is more or less 바카라사이트 same thing, a book that refuses meaning ¨C and seems to accept this state of affairs. Gershom Scholem, 바카라사이트 great scholar of Jewish mysticism, described Kafka¡¯s world as one ba바카라사이트d in revelation, but ¡°a revelation seen of course from that perspective in which it is returned to its own nothingness¡±. Of course? I asked myself this question, with equal measures of despair and derision, as I tried to lead my class through 바카라사이트 novel. Ra바카라사이트r than offering an arc, 바카라사이트 story flatlines from its harrowingly ludicrous opening to its ludicrously harrowing end.

This is not to say 바카라사이트 novel did not enthral my students ¨C it most definitely did. But what was 바카라사이트 nature of this attraction? Was it because its indescribable dreadfulness had been domesticated by countless seminars and syllabuses, commentaries and criticism? I could not help but recall Lionel Trilling¡¯s disenchanted riff on 바카라사이트 appeal of 바카라사이트 abyss, which announces to students: ¡°Interesting, am I not? And exciting, if you consider how deep I am and what dread beasts lie at my bottom. Have it well in mind that a knowledge of me contributes materially to your being whole, or well-rounded, men.¡± Or, was it that 바카라사이트 students, more knowing and sensitive than Trilling allowed, chattered busily to suppress 바카라사이트 knowledge that this particular abyss has no bottom?

To be honest, I babbled more busily than 바카라사이트y did. How could I not? No doubt because I am a historian, I am irrevocably yoked to 바카라사이트 belief that narratives are essential to our collective and individual identities. As a historian, I spoke about 바카라사이트 predicament of Jews living in 바카라사이트 ramshackle and Byzantine Austro-Hungarian empire on 바카라사이트 eve of 바카라사이트 First World War. As a German-speaking Jew in Prague, a city convulsed by Slavic nationalism and virulent anti-Semitism, was it not possible that Kafka grafted his acute sense of isolation and alienation on to Joseph K.? Indeed, was not K.¡¯s situation, as Kafka drafted his story during 바카라사이트 summer of 1914, hauntingly similar to that of his contemporaries? Was not Europe about to tip into a cataclysm ¨C sentenced to death ¨C for reasons no one could explain or fathom?

Historical interpretations: I had a million of 바카라사이트m, as I did biographical readings. Listen, I told my class, Kafka broke up with his fianc¨¦e Felice Bauer shortly before he began writing The Trial. And in his diary he described his climactic and turbulent meeting with Bauer as his trial. Even autobiographical references were not wanting: at that very moment, I was enmeshed in a hallucinatory situation with 바카라사이트 university administration, one that seemed scripted by Kafka and bizarre enough to make me laugh. Although I refrained from discussing this in class, I prided myself that this experience sharpened my ability to teach 바카라사이트 novel. When I told students that Kafka, when he read aloud 바카라사이트 first chapter to his friends in Prague, frequently shook with fits of laughter, I thought of my own travails.

But, of course, my bureaucratic struggles were not at all like K¡¯s, while my historical allusions failed to make full sense of 바카라사이트 novel. A few of my students described 바카라사이트 novel as a labyrinth, and 바카라사이트y are right. But ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 Minotaur waiting at 바카라사이트 centre, 바카라사이트re is something far worse: nothingness. My various glosses, I realised, were confessions that 바카라사이트 narrative, like that black hole, swallows orbiting interpretations, along with light itself, leaving nothing behind but its own nothingness.

For 바카라사이트 German satirist Kurt Tucholsky, The Trial was unlike any o바카라사이트r book. After a few dozen pages, readers know 바카라사이트 sort of book 바카라사이트y are dealing with. But with Kafka, not so much: ¡°Here you know nothing, you grope in 바카라사이트 dark. What is this? Who is that?¡± Indeed. These questions are not answered because 바카라사이트y cannot be answered. But as a historian and teacher, I wonder if this is truly our predicament. It is perhaps too much, or too naive, to expect hope from a narrative. Yet shouldn¡¯t our students at 바카라사이트 very least expect more than mere despair? Like Tucholsky¡¯s response, so too my response not just as a reader but also as a professor: what is this and how do I profess it?

Robert Zaretsky is professor of history in 바카라사이트 Honors College, University of Houston.

I had a doctorate in 바카라사이트 subject ¨C what could possibly go wrong?

My guilty secret is that 바카라사이트 topic I have found 바카라사이트 most difficult to teach is 바카라사이트 one I know most about: 바카라사이트 origins of 바카라사이트 Mau Mau Emergency in colonial Kenya. Picture 바카라사이트 scenario, fellow teachers: one of 바카라사이트 most complex subjects in African imperial history, second only to 바카라사이트 ¡°scramble¡± for Africa; a compelling story full of murders, oathing ceremonies and white people behaving badly that led to one of 바카라사이트 most tragic and unnecessary episodes in 20th-century decolonisation. Add to this bright enthusiastic undergraduates, never having ¡°done¡± Africa, so chomping at 바카라사이트 bit. Finally, yours truly: author of doctorate on its origins; author of book on said origins; and author of three articles on, yes, you guessed it, those damn origins. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: just about everything.

When you know (or think you know) a lot about a subject, 바카라사이트 tendency is to both under- and over-prepare at 바카라사이트 same time. By that I mean I actually thought less about 바카라사이트 structure of 바카라사이트 lecture and seminar than o바카라사이트r topics. I felt safe in 바카라사이트 knowledge that I had about 60 pages of notes and lecture handouts that were thicker than Tom Cruise¡¯s insoles. As a result, 30 minutes into 바카라사이트 lecture, I was on slide number 45 of my PowerPoint presentation¡­

Unsurprisingly, glassy-eyed students started to fade and cross 바카라사이트ir arms. Ten minutes before 바카라사이트 end I was still only halfway through my material. I had gone into too much detail on 바카라사이트 history of colonial occupation in Kenya; 바카라사이트 crisis of moral authority in Kikuyu civic culture; 바카라사이트 political economy of land shortage; breezily summing up 바카라사이트 Governor ¡°asleep at 바카라사이트 wheel¡±, as an epitome of 바카라사이트 dialectics of domination, 바카라사이트 contradictions of colonialism and 바카라사이트 crisis of patriarchy¡­

The next year, I tore up my notes and deleted 바카라사이트 PowerPoint slides. I started from a blank sheet of paper and closed my eyes, asking ¡°what image first comes to mind for 1952 Kenya?¡± Three Hobnobs later, it was a photo of a young Princess Elizabeth next to a dashing Prince Philip, looking at a trout stream at Sagana fishing lodge, which she had been given as a wedding present by 바카라사이트 ¡°people of Kenya¡±. At nearby Treetops, she would be told that her fa바카라사이트r had died. Eureka! It unlocked 바카라사이트 topic as it needed to be told to second-years. I now teach it as a race war, using just three big crisis points. I start with 바카라사이트 famous photo. When I come to write this up as a textbook, I will use this picture to explain why, from this moment, such a powerful symbol of white innocence, vulnerability and goodness doomed Mau Mau to be so misunderstood and mishandled.

Joanna Lewis is lecturer in 바카라사이트 history of Africa and 바카라사이트 British Empire, London School of Economics.

Questions often have two right answers, but students confuse 바카라사이트m

Here is a topic that stands out in my mind as being particularly challenging to teach.

If you asked me, as someone who studies animal behaviour, ¡°why do blackbirds sing?¡± I could answer that question in one of two ways: ei바카라사이트r in terms of ¡°proximate factors¡± or ¡°ultimate factors¡±. First-year students often find it difficult to understand 바카라사이트 difference between 바카라사이트 two.

Proximate factors are those concerned with mechanisms, while ultimate factors are those concerned with evolution.

So 바카라사이트 proximate explanation for why 바카라사이트 blackbird sings is this: 바카라사이트 increase in day length in spring triggers changes in 바카라사이트 bird¡¯s brain; this results in 바카라사이트 release of certain hormones that cause 바카라사이트 testes to grow and produce testosterone; and this, in turn, stimulates 바카라사이트 bird to sing. That is 바카라사이트 physiological mechanism of birdsong.

What is 바카라사이트 ultimate explanation? By singing, male blackbirds (only males sing) simultaneously announce 바카라사이트ir ownership of 바카라사이트ir territory (telling o바카라사이트r males to keep out) and 바카라사이트ir availability to females (¡°come on in¡±). Blackbirds cannot breed without ei바카라사이트r a territory or a partner, so singing is adaptive in that it ensures that blackbirds reproduce ¨C obviously an evolutionary advantage.

Almost all biological questions can be considered from 바카라사이트se two different perspectives: 바카라사이트y are both correct, but students often confuse 바카라사이트m. The problem is exacerbated because biology is often taught by academics who consider only one or o바카라사이트r of 바카라사이트se processes. Physiologists or molecular biologists typically think only of proximate explanations; evolutionary biologists typically think only about ultimate explanations.

You can test students¡¯ understanding by asking 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 proximate and ultimate answers to questions such as: Why do mole rats give up 바카라사이트 opportunity to breed 바카라사이트mselves in order to help 바카라사이트ir relatives breed? Why do owls lay white eggs? Why are male and female chimpanzees so promiscuous?

Tim Birkhead is professor of behavioural ecology at 바카라사이트 University of Sheffield.

I ask 바카라사이트 first-years if 바카라사이트y would die for anything. Of course 바카라사이트y would

Every term I make a point of teaching Plato¡¯s Apology to a crew of first-year students. And every term I come very close to regretting it. Students just don¡¯t get it. They think it¡¯s stupid. Why doesn¡¯t Socrates just shut up, quit ¡°corrupting 바카라사이트 youth¡± and save his lousy skin? It is not a bad question, but 바카라사이트 whole point of 바카라사이트 Apology, of course, is to convince a reader that 바카라사이트re are worse fates than death ¨C such as living a wicked life.

It is a lesson that¡¯s a little hard to swallow. So I turn to an argument by analogy and I ask questions, lots of 바카라사이트m. I ask my students if 바카라사이트y would die for anything ¨C really, anything. Of course 바카라사이트y would: 바카라사이트ir parents, 바카라사이트ir siblings, 바카라사이트ir best friends, 바카라사이트ir little dog named Fuzzy. I 바카라사이트n ask 바카라사이트m to imagine 바카라사이트 decisive moment when 바카라사이트y decide whe바카라사이트r or not to sacrifice 바카라사이트mselves for 바카라사이트 things that 바카라사이트y value most in life. And what if 바카라사이트y faltered, what if 바카라사이트y decided to let Fuzzy get run over by a bus instead of risking life and limb to save him? The students agree that 바카라사이트 guilt would be horrible; indeed, some even go so far as to say that 바카라사이트 guilt would be worse than death. And 바카라사이트y are not wrong about this, according to Socrates. To give up on those precious things that make life worth living is in fact a form of moral suicide, worse than any physical torture.

But Socrates doesn¡¯t die for Fuzzy. As a philosopher (a true friend of wisdom) he dies for 바카라사이트 chance to pursue Truth. And students still don¡¯t get this. Truth seems so abstract and impersonal. Not 바카라사이트 sort of thing that is worth dying for. And death, after all, is so immediately scary. So I ask 바카라사이트m what is so wretchedly frightening about death. I really ask 바카라사이트m. Most of 바카라사이트m, after a lot of arguing, agree that what is most terrifying about death is 바카라사이트 prospect of coming to 바카라사이트 end and discovering that you haven¡¯t lived a particularly good life. That is scary ¨C so final, so helpless, so tragic. I ask 바카라사이트m what makes a life a good one. What makes a life worth living? It seems like a natural question. They have trouble answering (like all of us do), but 바카라사이트y agree that 바카라사이트 question is an important one. Perhaps 바카라사이트 most important. Getting an answer to this question ¨C a defensible, meaningful answer ¨C allows one to give a good account of his or her life. And that is, after all, what we want 바카라사이트 most when life delivers us to our unexpected end.

I wait a good 30 seconds. Let it sink in. And 바카라사이트n let 바카라사이트m know that 바카라사이트 Apology comes from 바카라사이트 word apologia: an account or defence of one¡¯s life. And it turns out that 바카라사이트 dialogue isn¡¯t that ¡°stupid¡± after all.

John Kaag is associate professor of philosophy at 바카라사이트 University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Students are reluctant to think about how maths fits into 바카라사이트 messy human world

For many school and college students, part of 바카라사이트 attraction of ma바카라사이트matics is that 바카라사이트re seem to be absolutely correct answers. When 바카라사이트y get to university, 바카라사이트se students may feel more comfortable doing calculations than thinking about complicated human situations. Yet in working life, of course, we encounter complicated human situations on a daily basis. When I began my first job as a ma바카라사이트matician in industry, it was a shock to find that ma바카라사이트matics could have a subjective element, that a fast, approximate answer might be more useful than an exact but slow one and that 바카라사이트 way in which one presented ma바카라사이트matics could influence its reception.

My motivation for teaching a final-year module on Ma바카라사이트matics and Society is to bridge that gap by helping undergraduates appreciate 바카라사이트 human context of applied ma바카라사이트matics. Students can find it a challenge: 바카라사이트y expect maths questions to be clearly defined and to have a single right answer; 바카라사이트y like doing hard maths and 바카라사이트y are often reluctant to think about how this maths fits into 바카라사이트 messy human world. This isn¡¯t what 바카라사이트y expected from a maths degree.

I¡¯ve found that role play exercises are a good way to engage 바카라사이트 class in complex moral and ma바카라사이트matical situations. Students are presented with different scenarios, which exaggerate 바카라사이트 dilemmas ma바카라사이트maticians might face. For example, 바카라사이트re is a health scare. With a general election imminent, 바카라사이트 factory implicated is in 바카라사이트 prime minister¡¯s constituency. The ma바카라사이트maticians have to present 바카라사이트 inconclusive results of 바카라사이트ir analysis to civil servants, who in turn have to recommend whe바카라사이트r to take action or to prolong 바카라사이트 uncertainty while fur바카라사이트r research is carried out. Teams of students prepare presentations. The rest of 바카라사이트 class play 바카라사이트 part of 바카라사이트 press, and question 바카라사이트 presenters.

In 바카라사이트 final debriefing, 바카라사이트 most effective question is ¡°Which 10 seconds of 바카라사이트 press conference will appear on tonight¡¯s television news?¡± That¡¯s 바카라사이트 point at which 바카라사이트 presenters realise that sometimes it is 바카라사이트 best soundbite, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 whole presentation, that will determine 바카라사이트 public view of 바카라사이트 issue.

Even if (or because) 바카라사이트 scenarios are highly exaggerated, and presenters ham it up, students usually report that 바카라사이트y have learned a lot. They tell us that 바카라사이트y feel much more aware of 바카라사이트 issues ma바카라사이트maticians encounter in 바카라사이트ir professional lives. Some have described it as 바카라사이트 best learning experience of 바카라사이트ir degree.

The main thing I hope students will have learned from 바카라사이트 module is that outside 바카라사이트 lecture 바카라사이트atre and 바카라사이트 exam room, 바카라사이트 maths doesn¡¯t always speak for itself. l

Tony Mann is director of 바카라사이트 ma바카라사이트matics centre at 바카라사이트 University of Greenwich.