xaara | (no subject)

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college

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Am I a terrible person for snickering to myself every time my poetry professor says "epitaph" when she means "epigraph" and not stepping in to correct her because I like the idea of writing poems about things you find on headstones?

I am, aren't I. I am going to the one hundred and twenty-third circle of Hell, the one reserved for those who obsess over the OED and love it when their professors make spelling mistakes on the chalkboard. And for the people who know how to spell "daguerreotype." Long story.

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heeehee! SO curious that she wouldn't know the difference! you would think that someone else would at least correct her.

and you must tell us this "long story." i'm already fascinated! ;)

Well, I think the confusion was brought on at least in part by another girl's mistake (which I also found amusing and did not correct--I am going to be such a terrible teacher someday :P ), so the professor's not alone.

The daguerreotype story isn't actually all that fascinating, but I can sum it up for you: it was a chilly day in Madison and we were all sitting in the History of American Education lecture when the professor decided to demonstrate connectionism to the class. Apparently, this "connectionism" business was a theory of education wherein good behavior (i.e. giving the right answer) was rewarded while bad behavior (giving the incorrect answer) was punished. This theory was tested in a variety of unfair ways, such as grouping students based on their spelling ability.

"Spell 'daguerreotype,'" the professor said to a student who had volunteered to participate in the demonstration.

"Ask for the definition," said a boy sitting behind me.

"Language of origin," I suggested.

A girl three seats over said, "Make him use it in a sentence."

The student rolled his eyes at us and spelled, "D-A-G-E-R-R-O-T-Y-P-E." (I think. I'm not positive that's how he spelled it, but it was something that made sense phonetically but was incorrect.)

"Oh my goodness," said the professor, "how could you be so stupid? Seriously, even the kids a year younger than you can spell that." He turned to another boy and pointed at him. "Spell 'cat,'" he said.

"C-A-T," said the kid.

"Excellent work," the professor said. "You're clearly a very smart child. You get to sit all the way at the head of the class and," here he threw a piece of candy up into the lecture audience, "you get a mint."

We all laughed, and the lesson continued. When the bell rang, I stood and packed my things, and then, because I couldn't resist any longer, said, "D-A-G-U-E-R-R-E-O-T-Y-P-E," and fled.

fascinating story! i actually had never heard that word before, "daguerreotype," so i had to look up the definition. you learn something new every day! :)

and, something about your professor really turns me off.

Well, I went through a phase where I was obsessed with the history of photography, mostly inspired by this fantastic book of photographs by Edward R. Curtis called The North American Indian. My parents had a copy when I was eight or nine, and I'd spend hours just flipping through it, staring at the pictures until my eyes hurt. Mom was of course very careful to present the images as viewpoints interpreted by someone ignorant of the cultures he was documenting; Curtis definitely saw the American Indians as primitive and framed them as such. And there is that problem with the photos. But laying aside the political, they're just beautiful art. (The photos are actually online here (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/ienhtml/curthome.html).)

He's actually a decent professor--very smart, entertaining lecturer--but I dunno. I feel like I've learned a lot from him, but he's not one of the professors I can just sit back and love.

But we love you.

Aw. Thanks. :)

(Also: just as I read this, my radiators turned on. I am extra-special loved today. *shivers*)

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