News Flash: Predatory Awareness is ONE THOUSAND years old.
On the day the first written assignment was due in my introductory class, one of my 75 students approached nervously as the rest of the class filed out. He was young, about 17, and dressed very carefully in deceptively expensive clothing designed to make him look like a vagrant. He was accompanied by a friend, a similarly shaggy 17 year old white guy who dealt with his nervousness over approaching the professor by quickly cycling through a series of postures designed to make him look like a gangsta rappa.
Guy #1: Professor Predatory Awareness, um…my printer wasn’t working so good. I’m not sure you can read what I wrote. Can I show you and you can tell me if it’s ok?
Me: Sure—just fish it out of the pile and I’ll take a look.
There ensued thirty seconds of Guy#1 frantically fumbling through the pile of papers. Clearly I was making him nervous. I turned to his friend.
Me: How did you find the assignment?
Guy #2: (Usher two step, 50cent crotch grab, Snoop Dogg head tilt, ball cap removed and replaced with lightening speed). Yo, it was cool, you know—like in high school yo—they never ask us what we think…so, you know.
Guy #1: Here is is, Mrs…I mean Professor….here.
I look at the assignment, it was legible, but the print had some strange lines through the letters.
Me: This looks fine, though your printer was doing some weird things. Did you use a Dot Matrix printer?
Guy # 1: What? I…what?
Guy#2: Dude! That’s sick, I totally don’t know what she’s talking about!
Guy # 1: I don’t remember what kind of professor—I mean printer I have.
Me: That’s fine, this looks fine, I’ll have no problem reading it. I’ll see you guys next week.
As they are walking away I can hear them mumbling.
Guy # 2: A dot what? Dude, what was she talking about?
It’s official. I am ANCIENT*. University freshmen have never heard of dot matrix printers. My quarter century is weighing heavily on me.
*I recognize I’m really young, especially to be doing what I do…however I still remember learning how to type on a typewriter in high school. I think that gives me some cred? Right?
Sigh…
4:56:57 PM 
|
