Dr. Biology looked me square in the eye, and announced that he had doubled-spaced the matching section for the visually impaired people in the class.
I matched his gaze and said, with a smile, "Thank you very much."
I had suggested this. It's true. When there are 50 or so single-spaced fill in the blank questions, they have a tendency to run together. Funny thing--after I mentioned this, others in the class admitted to having the same difficulty.
Dr. Biology is an accommodating and accessible instructor. He listens, but he wants us to listen, in kind.
I ask questions and try just about every technique known to mankind to remember these foreign concepts and words I can hardly pronounce. Apparently, this problem is widespread.
We get a weekly sermon on how to study, how important it is to learn the concepts and not just memorize the notes, and to please not put some BS answer in the blank if we do not know the answer. He always says it makes him mad if you guess and put some crap in the blank. I think it disgusts him, more than it angers him.
That's when he confessed he had put Inagaddadavida in the word bank on one of his tests and there were quite a few students who had chosen it as an answer.
I laughed out loud.
The traditional students had blank expressions. They didn't have a clue.
Dr. Biology went on the explain that Inagaddadavida was a song by Iron Butterfly. And I think that statement just confused them more.
He threw up his hands and said never mind. Class was over.
As I was gathering my books, the non-traditional student next to me confessed, "I've never heard of that. Who's Iron Butterfly? What was the name of that song?"
Dr. Biology offered up his final comment: "Inagaddadavida by Iron Butterfly. It's drug music from the 70's. When my brother came back from Vietnam, he brought me the album."
I hope his brother brought him lots of albums.
6 comments:
Hey what happened to my comment? Oh damn, anyway, I know the song you/he speak of not because I'm old enough to have gone to 'Nam but because it's sort of part of the hippie lexicon and is quite popular with boarding school students apt to adopt a sort of dead head rebellion thing while attending elite finishing schools.
Love the classroom stories. Keep 'em coming.
&*^%$. I REALLY don't like Dr. Biology. Your previous story about him made me angry, too, but this just pushes me over the edge. His subtle disrespect to you is incredible. The Consort has several non-trad students every semester, and he would never consider making snide comments like this guy. In fact, one semester he had a legally blind student in his class, so he'd make up a special test, in extra-large font, with extra spaces per question, and he corrected it with a Sharpie so the student could read his comments.
I hope you don't have to take another class with Dr. Biology. Blech.
Very funny. See, being a person of experience comes in handing for everyone.
And now I'm singing it, darn you...
I agree with Imperatrix. The professor's attitude jumped out at me too.
But, at least he has a sense of humor. That redeems him slightly.
Iron Butterfly ... indeed.
I don't know what to make of your prof. Funny, yes, but at your expense? It's not clear to me.
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