The Guide to Teaching
 |
First Day of Classes
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 02:03:23 -0500
From: "Melissa A. Butler" <drmab@tctc.com>
Another useful ploy for the first day of class is to discover the first
thing your students remember about politics. Not only is this a good
ice-breaker which lets lots of students feel that they have something
meaningful to them as well as substantively linked to the course, it can
also be a helpful reminder to the instructor of just how young the students
are, how much explanation an example may require. (Last year for the first
time I found myself explaining to an inquisitive student that Senator McCarthy
didn't have a change of heart between the early 50s and late 60s--there
were TWO Senator McCarthys!!!) It can also be a good way of helping to
integrate non- traditional age students into the class.
On the other hand--it does become frustrating for the instructor--as the
Kennedy assassination gives way to the end of the Vietnam War to the Nixon resignation
speech to Ollie North being sworn in during the Iran-Contra hearings!!!
Melissa Butler
Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
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Teaching Politics is published by William J. Ball (ball@tcnj.edu)
