January 16

I flew out the door in a rush this morning only to find the Griswold cloaked with a thick coat of wintry frost. Frost isn't a big deal usually, but this limo wannabe has more glass than the Crystal Cathedral. Despite this, I made it to class on time, and I was surprised to find that my students had taken up a generous collection to help with our gas expenses! That was very kind of them, and of course, they all get As for the semester. Thanks so much!

This class is part of the Freshman Learning Community experience we have at Indiana University Kokomo, and that means that this group of about 40 students takes 4 classes together--2 in the fall and 2 in the spring. There are three of us who teach the course, and this semester we are offering a course in public speaking and another on special topics in the humanities, the latter of which deals with issues such as immigration, the impact of emergent communication technologies on society, and various issues relating to persuasion and social influence. Good stuff, all of it.

We started the semester in the humanities course by reading through Stephen Bloom's excellent ethnographic account of the immigration issue in Postville, Iowa. His book, entitled, Postville: A clash of cultures, tells the true story of what happened when a group of Hasidic Jews invaded the sleepy town of Postville to found the largest Kosher meat processing plant in the country. Since the book was written in 2001, Hispanics have entered the mix and now outnumber both the original locals and the Jews. It's an interesting read, and rather than just discussing the book in class, I gave students the task of putting on a play illustrating the key themes in Bloom's narrative. With roughly 40 students and a limited time frame for putting it on, this was a daunting task. Thankfully, one of our students, Zach, stepped up and provided some timely and much needed organizational leadership. Within a few minutes, the class was divided into groups dealing with plot drafting, character development, and stage management, among others. It was fun to watch Zach help his classmates take ownership of the project, and several other leaders also emerged throughout the class period. Sometimes my most effective teaching occurs when I'm out of the way. :)

Today finds Myla being her normal, happy self. I like to make her smile and sometimes giggle by holding her up in the air and saying, "My" (swooping her to the right), "la" (swooping her to the left and pausing for effect), and then dropping her a few inches on "pop!" It's an interesting experiment in finding that fine line between fun and fear--the same cognitive process used in designing a theme park thrill ride, I guess.

Thanks to Karla, my colleague, for the Japanese seasonings she brought back from her recent trip to Hawaii. The red pepper mixture has me thinking of things to pan sear, and there is enough Wasabi powder to make several milkshakes. Every work environment should have a Karla, but most aren't that blessed.