A lot of scattered thoughts running through my head, so have at thee:
1. First three weeks are extremely important for establishing a learning environment. Listening to my students discuss their various classes moves that idea from theory to evidence—albeit anecdotal. One of my classes this semester ranks as the most difficult in my no-longer-brief history of teaching. The students are learning to a point, but that point doesn’t rise to the standard of acceptability in my book and clearly doesn’t satisfy my desire to have them leave feeling fulfilled. Consider it the perfect storm of new strategies, early absences, an instructor who gave too much time on task with less than perfect instruction, and a student base with varied expectations which were largely different from the reality of the situation as it unfolded on the ground. I’m looking forward to the growth opportunities available from the end of semester letter.
2. Took one of the franchise boys to see The Winter Soldier today. Upon second showing I am convinced that there is quite a bit of storytelling going on between Col. Fury and Black Widow. She has ridiculous daddy issues and this movie is about her learning that one of the two people she trusts above all else doesn’t necessarily trust her or feel about her as she does about him. There is a lot of story there, and given the number of short films that exist between the movies, it is likely I’m missing some of the nuance. I enjoy this budding relationship.