Thereâs a little bit of irony in the title of my blog but also a little bit of despair, as you can see from many of my postings, about the sad fact that teaching is not always as joyful as it should be. Yet, this is exactly what it is when it works well, joyful indeed, so this time Iâm celebrating.
Iâve just marked 26 longish papers (2,500 words, standard conference measure) on villainy and heroism for my segment of the Cultural Studies module within the MA in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory. Itâs been tough, because as usual I had very little time (just two days, more papers and exams coming in next Monday…) but itâs also been a pleasure, which is rare. In the best cases, Iâve even learned, which is the highest praise a teacher can give a student. Well done!!
The problem is that I canât apply any of the strategies that have worked well for this class to other classes, as the success of these strategies does not depend on my teaching but on the studentsâ willingness to learn. It is true that we, teachers, work at a higher standard when our teaching is received with interest but, if this is the key, then itâs not my merit at all but the studentsâ. Theyâve listened patiently and theyâve applied very well what I lectured on to their own papers, choosing to focus on a variety of very interesting texts. Again, all of it is their merit. Iâm the same teacher, with my well-known limitations, in all my subjects but, then, some work beautifully (at least for me!) and some donât. The difference, thatâs the inevitable conclusion, are the students.
This particular class has no common denominator, which is peculiar, except that theyâre all in the same MA. They come from very different BAs and from a variety of countries; only 5 have the UAB âLicenciaturaâ taught by practically the same teachers that teach in the MA. Iâd say theyâre exceptional if it werenât because itâs the fourth time I see this exceptionality. Perhaps the MA is exceptional in that it attracts plenty of intellectual energy focused on reading, though no teacher can say whether this will turn out to be the last flare of the dying pre-Bologna system or a constant stream that will survive the mounting ravages on education.
I feel, itâs odd to say, well used by this class. Theyâve made the most of me, as a resource funded with public money and, of course, by their own money, and I think that this is what all students need: an awareness that we, teachers, are resources they should exploit for their own intellectual growth. Students who cheat, who donât work, who donât care are simply wasting the resources others could use better but also, and this is where they show that they donât deserve a university education, they are not making enough of the possibilities offered to them.
Anyway, today Iâm satisfied. Thanks, students!