When I taught last Wednesday night my class finally bloomed. For almost four weeks they sat and stared at me like I was talking in a foreign language. But Wednesday they opened up and we had a wonderful discussion. They finally came alive!
The interesting thing about all of this is that I have a non-trad who is the only one, prior to Wednesday, who would say anything. And this guy was fairly hit and miss when he would comment. Even then, he would come to class with this disinterested look and sit at his desk in ways that seem anatomically impossible to do. In other words, he's usually more horizontal than vertical. In addition, his eyes were usually half closed, but at least I knew that he was listening because he would be quick to comment if I said something that struck him in one way or the other. Although I never liked the smirk on his face or the way that he came off as being above anything I had to teach, oddly, I appreciated his input when I couldn't get anyone else to make a comment.
Where all of this is leading is that Wednesday my "smirky," disinterested, commenting, non-trad was absent. I don't know if his absence had anything to do with my class opening up, but I have a feeling that he's been sucking all of the energy out of my class. Another class period or two might prove my theory. If this is the case, I haven't got a clue about how to handle the situation.
