Tales from the Classroom IX: Going Blank
Posted on January 12, 2004 @ 3:15 pm
Typically, I lecture to my classes without the aid of prepared notes. Well, that’s not entirely true. I usually take in a half-page outline so I’ll be sure to hit certain key points, but otherwise, I find that I’m far more spontaneous–and in turn less boring–when I lecture extemporaneously. Of course, this without-a-net approach to teaching is not without its risks. For instance, while lecturing on the philosophical roots of American democracy this morning, the unthinkable happened.
I went blank.
We were discussing Thomas Hobbes’ writings on human nature, and I decided to share with the class his famous description of life in the state of nature as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” While I began the quote properly with the “solitary” and “poor” parts and knew it ended with “short,” I completely blanked on the stuff in the middle. Now, that’s not such a big deal in and of itself, but what was odd was the adjective that a little voice in the back of my head kept insisting I was leaving out: lemon-scented.
Yep, for some inexplicable reason, it was all I could do to keep from blurting out that Hobbes described the state of nature as “solitary, poor, lemon-scented, and short.” So, while my students sat there, pens at the ready, I was having a Jan Brady-esque internal dialogue with myself that went something like this:
“Say lemon-scented! It’s lemon-scented!”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not lemon-scented.”
“Yes, it is! It’s always been lemon-scented! Say it! SAY IT!”
“Never!”
Eventually, I managed to right myself and get back on course by prompting the students to finish the quote along with me (heh heh). When it was all said and done, I’m relatively certain that they were none the wiser to my brief memory lapse. Nevertheless, I can’t help but think how much more pleasant Hobbes’ state of nature would have been with a bit of lemony freshness to get rid of the musty odors that accompany a good old-fashioned “warre of all against all.”
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Tales from the Classroom |
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Have you ever lost an argument with that “voice” in the back of your head? I’d start worrying at that point or when the arguments take place aloud.
Lemon-scented. Interesting. I myself would’ve thought something about the Cult of Sivar…but, then Hobbes brings that sorta thing to mind…
Killboard
Number of Kitties Whacked.
Maverick…….37
Maniac………13
Hobbes………10
Very cool observations, good sir, throughout the blog. Have you considered re-opening verbosity or perhaps starting a new ‘zine? I think the Hardee’s post could perhaps spawn a whole series of articles about healthy fast food culminating in the epiphany that all food types, healthy or no, actually kill us slowly by causing us to use up our chi by digesting it and starvation is the only route to immortality.
JP: Thankfully, the voice in my head isn’t particularly skilled at rhetoric, whereas I’m a master debater.
Hey, why’s everyone snickering?
Evil Doug: Thanks for the kind words about ye olde blog! I’ve actually kicked around the idea of launching a new webzine (possibly taking advantage of the group blog format), but nothing is definite at the moment. Apparently, my department is a stickler on that whole dissertation thing, so I should probably get to work on that at some point.
Ha! Nice one. It seems the little voice in the back of your head is demanding that you return to the WWWW for some lemony freshness.
I’d say something directly out of AP3 concerning me being the cunning linguist if you’re the master debater, but I’ll resist.