but what about the poor students who hate to read?

My first exam is coming up in the class I am teaching about all the living things in the ocean. Lately I have been getting a ton of complaints about what I am doing wrong, generally masked by statements of how great of a teacher I am and how much they are learning. Granted I did open myself up for this by asking for feedback on why the quiz score average had decreased by 2 points last week. This is one example sent this afternoon (emphasis is mine):

Okay, in terms of how much material there is to cover in class; it's just fine, but you could do a bit more for everyone by slowing down. It's not that the material is confusing, or what you are saying is confusing, it's just that all you have to do is read what is already written down on your power point lecture, where as we are listening and copying down the slide of notes. I abbriviate and don't write every single word. But, I do see most people struggling to write down everything, and combined with the speed at which you are reading it off, it becomes this mix of "confusion" for most of the students.

the student goes on to suggest a new lecture strategy:
when you come to a new slide; instead of reading it right away, give a 30 to 45 second gap to allow us to get a head start on writing down the material, and then slowly ease into it. for each point after that give a 10 second head start. This way we can take down what's important, and then pay more attention to what your saying.

and then how reading should be assigned:
Now, as far as the reading goes, for the first 2 weeks I read everything, but as it didn't start showing up on the quizes I saw no need. There is a whole lot of reading, and you've got to figure that most people hate to read. So maybe there is just specific areas that you want us to learn, like stuff the will be on tests and quizes and the final, because that weeds out all the other useless material and it knocks the reading down to seem more attainable.

...and the quizzes, let's not forget how unfair quizzes are:
As far as the quizes go. The first 2 were easy, I think I got an 8 and a 9 (out of 10), the last one I got a 5. (Could that be from not reading? maybe, but I also didn't study).

But this student is learning more than ever and truly is sympathetic to my role:
I hope this helps you out with getting an understanding from a students perspective. I know it must be hard being a teacher though, so know that you really are doing a wonderful job. i've learned alot more than I'd ever known about Marine Biology. Good luck with the rest of the semester. see you in class.

With such helpful feedback I have decided to start giving them the 40 question multiple choice exams a few days before I test them, same version. Then I do not even have to cause confusion with my talking/power point lecture business! I can just give them all the questions, have them look up the answers and memorize each multiple choice so the exam is a breeze! I mean, we really should be thinking about those poor students who are going nearsighted from all that useless reading...not to mention my voice from all this meaningless chatter.

Yeah, I think I have a plan there.

Look who's an OBcian now!

Yes, it is true, I have given up my mainland snobby ways and finally accompanied sage to OB. After 4 weeks of endlessly frustrating house hunting and stress-induced bickering, we have settled into a 400 sq. foot pink beach cottage. By beach, I mean it is a block from the sandstone rocky intertidal of ocean beach just south of the pier. Granted, it wouldn't be OB if you didn't have to descend a piss-covered stairwell to get to it but we are seriously considering parking ourselves at the top (on the cliff) with beach chairs, wine and cheese for the sunsets. We love it! We are just two blocks from Newport, the main drag, but it still feels like a completely residential neighborhood. I wanted to document for you all our transition from mainland to island.

Our Saturday started hung-over after a night of irish-style drinking and lease signing at the Harp with Leslie and Jai.
8am: Convene on the front lawn of 39th st, devise plan for stuff-transport via Uhaul.
8:15am: Kicks off effort with interpretive dance of grocery-shopping/pushing the cart, perhaps the most giddy form of acceptance I have seen of an imminent future of domestic bliss
8:25am: Make a list of stuff we need (the first of many over the next two days) and head out on a brief tour of our favorite b-fast places near the old house. "Restaurant" downtown was closed due to a death in the family so we ended up at Clayton's in Coronado

Back on 39th street, I pack my stuff up while sage pretended to help but really just plays with his guitar and the dogs. He thought donning that pink apron was going to fool me. It goes pretty fast, likely b/c my room on 39th is practically the same size as our new apartment, and soon we are all packed up in the Uhaul and coasting down the highway, towards the coast, belting out some who song.

Enter Narragansett beach cottage: With the help of Leslie and Jai we moved in very fast, navigating around Gary, a friend of the young hip landlord living in the other unit, who was apparently cajoled into doing last minute painting and calking around our place. He was very helpful later that afternoon when we discovered every drain in the place was backed up (due to a year's worth of hair and old pipes). Anyway, he made the calls and got a plumber who, within two days, had replaced most of our pipes. Here are some shots of us getting settled in:

The next day we moved in all sage's stuff, mostly to the garage save six instruments, a bunch of books, music and 4 pictures of music related people and places. We did the requisite trip to Ikea where we randomly ran into Leslie (who let us switch cars with her so we could fit our new couch and two new bookshelves) and then Gary and his lady. We also bought a big palm for the living room. The name of this plant ees Bruce, in case you were wondering. By the end of the day the place was starting to look great...and spacious. And it turns out that sage DOES have a gay side. We had been looking for it. He loves decorating and pretty much took care of every piece of ambiance you see below, except for the kitchen which was my firts time actually putting carolina's blue glass to use! I love the kitchen.

Not only is the place feeling more and more spacious every day, the garden area completely makes up for any shortcomings we might feel in the future. Raj (hip landlord) gave me full reign of the garden area with work bench in between our two units. It used to be covered in bansai trees. The garden patio has a built-in grill and nice lawn furniture and a fireplace. There is also an outdoor shower and these cute fuzzy purple flowers. Anyone know what ees the name of this flower?

It is now Monday afternoon and I have spent a full day working on writing my lecture, very unsuccessfully. This is due to 3 plumbers who were here since 10am. Apparently the 3rd was just a friend of the other one and came just to hang out, always a good choice when the work is being done in a 400 sq ft house while the tenent (me) is home and trying to read about cellular respiration. Maybe he heard we had beer. The two real plumbers were bickering all morning about which pipe or tool to use, then proceeded to pull the entire sink from our wall, spilling water all over our various bathroom items, yet unpacked, and a new rug. I had to vacate the madness for lunch and was delighted to experience OB during the mellow weekday. Walked around and bought some tolerable rolled tacos, made some keys. They were cleaning up when I returned and fighting about whether to use the vacuum or the broom. They settled on the vacuum. As they were leaving, in true CA fashion, the lead plumber gave me his card and told me to call if there were problems with the pipes or if I ever was interested in buying a house. Turns out, he is also a realtor.

So there you have it. We are now officially (gasp!) OBcians. The inscence is burning, the guest bed is ready and our doorstoop is a new shade of bright colonial red so come on over to Narragansett and have a beer!