Student "edition" found at {csi dot journalspace dot com}.

Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

On Tuesday last week, the first of only two days of classes then, I gave my Computer Architecture class their next problem set, due the next week.

Yesterday, one day from the deadline I set, one of the students (who never showed up for any of the lecture sessions I gave during the early part of the term) approached me in the cafeteria to ask me if he could borrow the textbook to photocopy for the problem set.

First of all, it is bad form to show lack of resourcefulness to the teacher, when I know that there are several other copies out there - in the library, in the bookstores, with the older students - that the student could have turned to early in the week before turning to the teacher in desperation.

Second, it's the timing of the request. *If* there was no other way to get the book *and* I was approached right after the problem set was given, I would have given credit to the student wanting to use the holidays to do the work I assigned.

The student may think the teacher is only out to help them learn under any circumstance, but there are limits to spoonfeeding, such as the size of the spoon, the amount of feed on the spoon, the frequency of the feeding and how close it actually is to the student's hand for him to use himself.

@@ In other news, the brother president, who is the one who will be facilitating the faculty retreat on the weekend, just passed around a survey form to be able to gear the topics as close to what the faculty are concerned about at this point.

What did I write down as my main concerns? After all, it was anonymous - somewhat.

I mean, they can probably trace my handwriting if they really wanted.

Anyway, the first "concern" I wrote is choosing obedience to superiors over my own happiness and the priority of teaching.

There's being too judgmental of the performance of my students and my co-teachers.

Session 1893 has to decide whether to say "your problem is" and "I told you so". Class dismissed.