Tales from the Classroom VI: Sonic Assault
Posted on November 15, 2003 @ 9:53 am
As if yesterday’s lesson plan alone wasn’t enough to make teaching a challenge, about five minutes into my afternoon class someone from outside the building began blaring (on a car stereo?) Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” so loudly that I actually had to speak up in order to be heard over it. Now, I should note that this wasn’t just a few seconds of the song as a car drove past the building, but rather the entire three minutes and sixteen seconds–start to finish. Not surprisingly, we never covered that particular dilemma in any of my teaching seminars. Something tells me that Socrates himself couldn’t lead a fruitful discussion under such torturous conditions.
Then, as if the scenario wasn’t odd enough already, the sonic assault promptly ended when the song was over. It didn’t fade out as a car drove into the distance, and no other song began playing when the track finished. It just ceased, as if the listener had gotten his or her “Uptown Girl” fix and was now sated and ready to carry on with the day. At the risk of sounding paranoid, if I didn’t know better, I would think that someone was messing with me.
On a more positive note, at least it wasn’t “Just the Way You Are.”
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Tales from the Classroom |
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Hey! That’s a good song.
I don’t know about all that. Personally, I find most of Billy Joel’s music unbearable.