Bardless
Having done my fair share of college-classing, there have been so many instances where I was so excited to take a class, but it only looked good on paper.
Having done my fair share of college-classing, there have been so many instances where I was so excited to take a class, but it only looked good on paper.
I could respect an instructor that insisted on not allowing Shakespeare to run out study of all other classic authors, or even to dwarf them – but to rule out the Bard entirely? Pffft. Sounds like a tin foil hat type that somehow got a license to teach … scrap that class and put the credits elsewhere, I say.
i don’t agree with the ‘overrated’ part, but not teaching shakespeare in such a class is probably a good idea. willie shakes is a big enough subject for a dedicated class, and that gives lesser lights more chance to shine. english lit is a pretty huge subject to shoehorn in to one class as it is.
The classes I remember are the ones that I was required to take and found out they were very enjoyable. Anthropology was one of those. Primitive religion – for as impossibly difficult as it was – was another.
Grey Wolf… (hello!)… agreed… one should NOT rule out The Bard or his contribution to the English language! Sometimes I think instructors are full of themselves…
anatman… when I worked on this toon, it was my thought that the instructor should say WHY he wasn’t going to teach Shakespeare in his class and “He’s overrated” was the shortest way to indicate this. Shakespeare would be a complete class, in and of itself.
Pete… when I transferred into a different high school in the 11th grade, all the “good’ classes were filled (the electives, that is) … and so I was forced to take the only science class available… biomedical science. This was not as bad as I thought it would be… and I maybe sorta enjoyed it… from the far reaches of the classroom’s back row.
I managed to get all the way through high school and to my junior year in college before having to take a real Biology class – and it was strictly for distribution requirements, so I took one called “Human Biology”. Never, EVER had to dissect ANYthing! Even in my Engineering High School, Biology was strictly an elective class.
It’s one thing to decide not to teach something, but to give such an explanation as “the bard is overrated” seems crass and unnecessary.
Actually, sounds like something Indy Rock Pete would say.
Brig… Hey! I tranferred high schools in 11th grade, too! From Apollo High, in Glendale, AZ to Garden Grove High, in Garden Grove, CA.
It wasn’t a nice for me. We moved after the first quarter, so I didn’t go a whole Junior year at Garden Grove. And because the P.E. requirements were different – in Arizona, two years marching band counted as one year of P.E., but not in California – I had to take P.E. in my Senior year at Garden Grove. I also lost out on taking Calculus in my Senior year because while Apollo offered it, Garden Grove did not. So not only did I miss out on Calculus, I also missed taking an advanced Writing course because I had to go to P.E. (Despite being in Marching Band, being an avid backpacker, and riding my 10-speed 50 miles a week.)
Still, it wasn’t all bad… Garden Grove had an absolute top notch marching band, symphonic orchestra, and jazz band. I was in the first two and we were among the best in the state. (As proven by the medals, awards, and sweepstakes that we took.) Best of all, the symphony and jazz bands cut a record. (This was in 1978.) I have a copy. So… yeah, pretty awesome despite a couple bumps.
Rich… we had to dissect a frog at the end of the course… with a partner. It wasn’t bad. But it warn’t fun either.
Alpha… When it’s “your show,” I guess you get to say what you want… but that means students can run away quickly if they want. I would.
Pete… Garden Grove! My friend lived in Garden Grove. She didn’t attend GGHS, she went to Irvine before she moved there. ANYhoo… It’s good that you were able to fit into band. You got to fit in with your people, who spoke the same language (band) … or did they?
Brig: Yah, we spoke the same language: Geek. My Senior year consisted of The top math class, Chemistry, Physics, Band, Civics… pretty much all the nerd classes, which I aced. And P.E., which I also aced but it’s not nerdy. They didn’t have a Chess Club, though, like Apollo High did. (And which I lettered in for two years.)
Garden Grove High was pretty cool with nerds, though. We had our own full size planetarium, massive theater complete with rising orchestra pit, and huge school pride in the band/music program.
We even had our own celebrity. Steve Martin graduated from Garden Grove about ten years before me. He and I had the same History teacher even.
Oh that would have been one of my favorite teachers ever. ‘The Bard’, who in no way deserves that title, specialized in writing for the masses. The lowest common denominator. Crass, mediocre, blasé material with about as much collective wit as a series of movies about sparkly vampires or werewolf cheerleaders. That it is now widely considered great literature is a testament to the horrific downfall of good taste.