Day One complete; mostly successful.
I started my freshman courses with the great Theodore Roethke poem "The Waking." Villanelles are nifty enough, and Roethke's is a gem. Sophomores were treated to "English Class can Save You Money," wherein I showed the remarkable power of the complaint letter to--drum roll--save you money. (It helps that I have an effective personal example from my struggle with an unnamed national restaurant chain.)
I have publicly stated my goal to learn all 142 students' first names by Friday. I tried it last year, and was pretty close to the mark. Everyone doubts it's possible, which is reason enough to try.
Tomorrow I'll go over handouts and rules and syllabi. Seems like a waste on the first day, when a we're-here-to-learn tone is essential from the first minute. I'll also show my sophomores some complaint letters gone wrong, which are even more fun than the ones that work.
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