102-4. Our first month together

Dear students,

Four weeks of ENG 102 have passed already - time really flies!

I thought I would share some of my observations of our first month together. Of course I am so pleased that 54% of my students are back from previous semesters, but I'm also happy to have met all you newcomers. It seems by now we should all have settled in a bit.

WHAT HAS BEEN GOOD SO FAR

Blogging
I am delighted to report that as of this week, more than half of you have decided to keep a blog this semester. When I started this individual blogging project at the beginning of last semester, I never could have imagined it would come this far. With those of you who are blogging for the second consecutive semester, I really see changes in your approach - your writing is more mature, more thoughtful, and best of all, more personal. You seem to be developing a sense of yourself as writers in English and getting in touch with your audience. That is so wonderful to see. I can really feel that your motivation is not coming from the thought of extra credit, but rather from inside. That's a crucial shift.

Research papers
It seems to me that most of you have been able to find a topic that interests you on a personal level, and I consider that a real achievement from a teaching perspective. Some of you have even expressed genuine excitement to me about our course theme, as well as the conviction that our explorations of identity this semester will help you to make sense of your own identities.

Class discussions
On the whole, these have been impressive. I have heard some sophisticated analyses of our stories, texts and film. I would encourage you to keep striving to find a greater level of precision in your use of language - I'm sure that sometimes it is not the thought or understanding that is lacking, but simply the right words in English to put it into. I appreciate the courage it takes to try to express complex ideas in a foreign language, particularly in front of a group of your peers.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Class preparation
This has been variable. Some of you prepare regularly and thoroughly, but it doesn't seem like the majority, I'm afraid. I am concerned that when readings are assigned, the main strategy seems to be 'skimming'. The short stories and articles need to be read carefully. You most likely need to take notes, at least in the margins. And you need to check unfamiliar vocabulary in the dictionary. Having a vague sense of a text's meaning can actually be more confusing than helpful. I try not to overload you with reading, as I know you have lots to do for other classes. I try to make it fair and manageable. I do check SU Course statistics to see who is keeping up, which I must confess sometimes puts me in a very gloomy mood before our lessons if it is apparent that only a few people will be prepared. Thanks to Nazlı for reminding me that some students have purchased the Canon photocopy pack, so SU Course reports can be misleading. ;)

Timekeeping and classroom conduct
I was very, very tolerant of late arrivals in the first three weeks of the semester. This was to allow you to readjust to attending classes after the semester break and also taking into consideration the confusion of the add/drop period. But my previous students will surely attest to my insistence on punctuality. I want to start and finish the classes on time. I have seen students arriving to class 20 minutes late, and sometimes even more. This is surely not acceptable in anyone's eyes. We have very little time to spend together, and we need to be as focussed as possible. I want to tell you that I take punctuality into account when determining the final Class Participation grade.

The next point is about mobile phones. For the first time this semester, I have seen students openly texting in class, not seeming to care if I see them or not. Even after I ask politely for the mobiles to be put away, I see this sort of thing carrying on. My view on mobiles is simple: they have no place in our lessons. You are welcome to use them during the break. And if you are expecting a crucial call, simply inform me, and leave the classroom when the call comes in. Otherwise, your social lives and our lessons really do not complement one another. Thanks to Mehmet for pointing out that some students take notes on their phones; if this is the case, can you please just inform me so that I don't harass you. ;)

Finally, I want to mention social interaction. Many times I ask how people are, or I ask for your feedback or opinions on something, and I get absolutely no reply - everyone looks at the floor, and a terrible silence descends. I cannot tell you how awful this makes me feel. I'm a teacher, but I'm also a person. If I ask you a question, it's a genuine one. I do not want to perform my job mechanically; I actually value the relationships I build through teaching. I personally need to interact with my students. You know we English teachers do not follow a lecture format, and we really do want to see interaction, and that applies to student-student interaction as well. Must we always sit with our friends? Couldn't we try to get to know someone else in the class? Let's try to break this "go straight to the back row and sit as far away from the action as possible" mentality. I am really worried about this.

Thanks for your hard work and contributions so far, and let's keep this up.

Yours truly,
Sonja

3. Reality TV: the "death of morality"?

Photo of Salman Rushdie by kwc licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.

We had some interesting discussions this week about Salman Rushdie's article "Reality TV: a death of talent and the death of morality".

I particularly like Rushdie's idea that our societies have become "an inverted ethical universe". In other words, empty values such as wealth and fame are now at the top of the hierarchy for many people, and more traditional and fulfilling values such as family and happiness are at the bottom. His phrase is very relevant to the book I'm reading at the moment, Affluenza by Oliver James. The author's thesis is that Selfish Capitalism infects societies with a virus called Affluenza (affluence + influenza). Individuals who chase money and success tend to catch this virus and to suffer deep emotional distress as a result.

I was quite surprised (and rather disturbed) to hear what students had to say when I asked: What is the most important thing in your life? In each class, at least one boy immediately shouted out, "MONEY." Well, I hope it wasn't entirely serious, but I wonder. And how can money be the main value when students don't even earn their own money yet? I guess to be more precise, such students would have to say "MY FAMILY'S MONEY." A little bit sad, don't you think? And since Turkey has traditionally been such a family-oriented society, doesn't that show that Affluenza has arrived on these shores as well?

2. Class discussions on The enormous radio (1947)

Photo by Ian Hayhurst licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommerical No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License.

In today's one hour block we discussed the short story "The enormous radio" by John Cheever.

I was quite impressed with these discussions overall. Many students were well-prepared and had a lot to say. I wanted to share some particularly insightful interpretations I heard today.

As we know, the Westcotts shared a love of classical music, yet they didn't often mention this to their friends. Many students said that music is the only thing they share, since there has been a communication breakdown in their marriage, and Jim is always working. Several students also mentioned that classical music has a perfect rhythm - the Westcotts' marriage seems to have a perfect rhythm, but by the end of the story we have come to understand that this is just an illusion.

I was so pleased that some students picked up on the theme of the postwar American Dream: owning a big house in the suburbs, two children, economic security, the "perfect life". Here we can definitely see the irony of the story: the Westcotts have financial problems, Irene has stolen from her family and treated her friend badly, and moreover she has had an abortion, which Jim clearly did not agree with. The abortion is not really shocking to modern readers, but in 1947, when the story was published, abortion was illegal in America and shocking indeed. In other words, their family life is far from perfect. Cheever may even be criticizing the very concept of the American Dream as a naive illusion, always unattainable.

I think we need to be a bit careful about the cause and effect relationship in this story. The enormous radio doesn't actually cause the marriage problems; rather it reveals them. So is Cheever primarily criticizing the media? I'm not so sure. The problems existed long before the enormous radio arrived. I loved the way one student mentioned that the enormous radio represents postwar life, the new life. Irene's addiction to media and voyeurism are certainly themes in the story, but the overall theme is probably hypocrisy and the lie of upper middle class American life at that time.

Some students complained that there wasn't much 'action' in the film. Students had some difficulty overall defining the genre. We can describe this story's genre as realism with a touch of fantasy, or even as psychological realism since most of the action takes place in the internal lives of the characters.

There are dozens of very interesting interpretations of this story, and I encourage you to read some of them. You can find some short explanations here.

I hope some of you will write on your blogs about this story!