Lynn: I also HATE that phrase. Because it seems like it comes mostly from the lips of insufferably smug people who are SURE they are right, even when they probably aren't.

And dangit, I forgot to wear lipstick again today. I set it out to put on when I went to brush my teeth after breakfast and then forgot it.

And Charles, on the whole position paper issue: this is a service class, meaning my opinion counts only 1/5 or so of what we should do. Given my druthers, I'd not have 'em. The AIM is for the students to research and provide supporting evidence and write a reasoned argument; what we get is half-baked opinions and citations from websites like TMZ. (I also have issues with the attendance policy and have already told the students I will not count them absent if they have H1N1 and do not come to class. I don't want to get sick).

The problem is, 18 to 20 year olds are, by and large, pretty ill-informed about the world but are exceptionally sure that they know just what's right. I remember being that age. I was going to make over the bad old world and it was going to be BETTER. But eventually you mature out of it. Or at least one hopes you do. But reading these papers - I just got done with one that makes me wonder if the guy in question sees me as a giant cow worthy of ridicule - there's really not a lot of LEARNING that goes on there.

(I suppose really what it is, is they just don't know how to do this. They're doing the sort of "look into the mirror of your soul" paper they were taught in high school and it is my unfortunate task to try to snap them out of that mindset by bleeding all over their papers and hoping at least a few will read my comments and take them to heart. But it's not pleasant.)

(interestingly, all of the papers so far that have said, "It is kind of ridiculous to ban birthday cupcakes in school; children need to learn that occasional treats are OK and we should not be setting our kids up to fear food" OR papers with reasonable research and evidence for their position have all come from my "non-traditional" (over 22 years of age) students.)

I used to give factual homework assignments: "Here are some genetics problems. Figure them out." or "Here is a name of an endangered species. Research it and write up where it lives, what its ecological role is, and why scientists think it became endangered." Personally, I think those worked better, but the general way of thinking is we have to "engage" students more, which apparently in some cases means allowing them further omphaloskepsis and allowing them to persist in whatever preconceived notions they have.

So, grr. I'm having to pace myself on these papers to keep from feeling a certain despair.

And I have to say - while I'm dishing about a class - I'm really not a fan of the textbook. It's issues-oriented, and likes to do things to "grab" people. So it's almost like every chapter, there's the question: "Are we screwed?" And the chapter answers: "Yes, yes we are." The one on diet and nutrition (with its pages of loving detail about Teh Diabeeetus and heart disease and BMI and its briefer mention of "oh yeah, if you're an anorexic you could die too") is the worst one, but the next one (global climate change) is not much more cheerful. I suppose perhaps the students are reflecting the book's general pessimistic tone in their papers and that's what I'm getting. I'll be happier once we move on to genetics.

I also pulled one of the big muscles in my upper back this morning. While trying to de-cow-if-y myself on the cross-country ski exerciser, I had an allergic coughing fit. Because of the position I was in (and because I was foolish enough and driven enough to keep going), I pulled a muscle. So now every movement hurts.

(OK, I take part of that back. It was probably actually a muscle cramp because it is considerably better now. Or the Advil I took kicked in and is doing a better job than it usually does.)

(and yeah, yeah, I know: but I go through periods of probably over-active self-consciousness about my body. Right now I do feel kind of like a giant cow. I wish I was one of those tiny women who looked so delicate and ethereal, like the fairy princesses in paintings, instead of looking like the peasant goatherd who clomped on the scene.)

And I'm still coughing. I guess the cold front that finally came through stirred up some pollen.

And, while I'm complaining: I tried to buy an electric kettle yesterday. Tried. I went to the Main Purveyor of Such Items in my town (a/k/a The Mart of Wal).

They had 15 varieties of coffeemakers, including 2 espresso makers. They had one electric tea kettle. Not one brand, nor one variety - ONE. One box on the shelf. And it looked like it had either been dropped or returned - the box was all bashed up and the stuff inside was kind of jumbled up. So I didn't buy it. And I didn't buy the tea and new-for-my-office tea mug I was thinking of buying either.

There's not really an Alternate Purveyor of Such Items in my town - I won't buy electrical items at the dollar stores, heard too many stories of stuff imported on the gray market that has dodgy safety features - so unless I drive to Sherman or mail order, I'm out of luck.

I guess I'll try ordering one off of Amazon. But somehow that incident just confirms something for me about The Mart of Wal: It's great if you're a mainline-taste sort of person. But if you want something even a bit unusual, forget it.