Beloit College’s Mindset List for the incoming Class of 2014 is both comic and tragic. It makes me happy to learn that, born in 1992, “a quarter of the freshmen class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority unless it involves real aliens from another planet.” But it makes me sad that, for most of them, “Beethoven has always been a dog,” and that “they first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.” Teachers, take note. The pitcher is empty. Say that to the kids in class, and they’ll probably tell you where to go for the cheapest beer in town.
Paul Stephen Lim.com
BEING A PERSONAL MEMOIR IN FLUX
17 August 2010: Incoming Class of Tabula Rasa
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So enroll them in Music Appreciation and Art History! At 18 in 1963 I was just as empty. But teacher/mentors aimed me and I managed to graduate with a partially filled pitcher. I still find I use my basic art history training in specific ways on a daily basis!
Yes, good teachers/mentors are absolutely crucial. I was greatly distressed recently when one of the tenure-track faculty members in the English Department’s creative writing staff at KU openly revealed that she did not know who Medea was. I’m happy to report that she’s no longer with us. I mean the faculty member. Thankfully, Medea is still with us. That doesn’t sound right either, but you know what I mean.