a little coffee

So we’ve just entered our third week of classes for the semester and it seems all is going pretty well so far, aside from a continuing battle with Gerald, one of the important leaders (so important he is never in his office when I go talk to him) in the foreign language department, also in charge of our schedules.  We all got new classes this semester (really, he just exchanged the foreign teacher’s schedules, none of the bothersome rescheduling) and I got second year English majors.  Yes!  Most of the classes are quite good.  Though big (around 50 students) they seem (mostly) interested in whatever I’m yammering on about that day and occasionally get some students to volunteer to speak their opinions.  If I call on them and make them talk, their English is pretty great.  Some classes are down right fun.  I get a kick out of making them laugh and they make me chuckle too.  I come out of those classes jazzed.

And then there’s others that make me sleepy.  One, in particular.  A class of 48 computer majors.  COMPUTER MAJORS.  What the crap?  Clearly, clearly, all of the students except eight don’t give a damn about what I have to say, don’t give a damn about English.  It’s not entirely their fault- they didn’t chose to study English (they picked computers, remember) but the university told them they had to take English.  Students have zero in what courses they take aside from general selecting of a major.  Why do most of the 48 insist on showing up  even if I encourage them not to if they don’t want to?  I think they show up for a game of “Watch the Monkey.”  Me being the monkey.  For reasons I’m still fuzzy on, the Doodles are fascinated by foreigners, in particular Americans (often, a Doodle replaces the general “foreigner” with “American” whenever these see non-Doodles) and I think they show up just to watch me bop around the podium until they get bored with me and either start talking to their classmates or take a nap.  I encourage naps.  That means I don’t have to deal with them.  

So, the question is, if I (we- the other four foreign teachers have this same problem) have classes of English majors of more than 40, in some cases more than 50 students, why the hell are we dicking around with these craptastic computer classes?  Why can’t we make the over-sized classes smaller and chuck the non-English majors?  Why make them take an Oral English class when their language skills aren’t developed enough to do what the course requires of them?  Exasperated sigh… I don’t know but I suspect “Watch the Monkey” is somehow involved.  Thursday Chris (who is in a similar predicament with art majors) and I will do battle with Gerald.  I’m fairly confident we’re going to lose, but I will not go gently.  I need my voice to be heard!  I am an American!