Summing up the semester

Classes aren't over yet but some of my students have definitely checked out--and so have I. Yes, I'm still planning meaningful learning experiences for my final three (count 'em, THREE) classes, and yes, I'm still meeting with students to discuss their drafts, and yes, I'll devote a great deal of time and energy to administering and grading final exams next week, but mentally I'm already moving on to next semester.

So before it slips away, here's a rundown on this alternately middling, maddening, and muddling-through semester:

Student I'll miss the most come January: our wonderful English-major exchange student who's returning to Brazil next week. Aside from being the only male in an upper-level lit class, he brings a lot of energy and interesting perspective into discussions of literature.

Student I'll miss the least: who's that guy who used to sit in the front row in that one class? He's still on the roster although I haven't seen him since Midterm. How can I miss someone I never really saw enough to know?

Most surprising student: sat in my office literally trembling in panic over the first essay assignment, earned the highest grade in the class on the last essay assignment, and gained enough confidence to become a significant voice in class discussions. 

Harmonic convergence of texts: discussing Don DeLillo's White Noise in one class just before beginning Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake in another. (Is the fear of death an essential element of humanity? What makes us human, anyway?)

Text I've taught before that I now find disappointing: Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. The novel's flaws are much more visible now that I've read the two remaining novels in the trilogy, The Year of the Flood and Maddadam, which move away from science toward magic--and not in a good way. Okay, a worldwide epidemic wipes out the human race with the exception of a handful of plucky survivors, and three of those survivors--the only three women of childbearing age--are ex-girlfriends of one main character. What are the odds? And the plot twist involving the ability to communicate telepathically with pigs is just too ridiculous for words.

Text I've never taught before that I'll happily teach again: a tie--The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka and On the Verge by Eric Overmyer. Both deal with the way preconceptions shape understanding of the Other, and both employ language in a way that fills me with delight. Students liked them too, although some found Overmyer difficult.  
 
Best pedagogical tool: That prezi I made for the Sports Lit class (see it here) helped structure class discussions and activities from the first day of class to the last as I kept urging my students to take the next step up that learning ladder. Many of them made it, albeit kicking and screaming all the way.

Most thought-provoking question from a student: "If postmodernism is over, what do we call what writers are doing right now?" That question could inspire a whole new literature course!