You don’t have to be weird like Robin Williams
I’m in San Luis Obispo, the most annoying to spell place in America. School sent me here to attend a teaching workshop for engineers at Cal Poly. What is a teaching workshop for engineers? Great question. A teaching workshop for engineers is a type of prison where people who are good at intonating their voice spend three days trying to convince engineering professors to look up from their Power Point presentations. Oh it’s not even that bad–I happen to strongly believe in all this bullshit and appreciate what these people are trying to do–but why do these things need to descend into self parody so quickly? Why is someone ever insisting on receiving my attention to tell me that “getting [students] to remember is hard, but how many kids know every word to the rap music?” Jesus!
At least I get to observe myself teaching on tape (or rather, I will so when I muster the courage to put my pride where my mouth is and watch it) and at least S.L.O. is a lovely place to visit. I am staying with Tom the Historian, from cruise, and tonight he baked beets and pork tenderloin while the central coast breeze circulated through his antique apartment.
Also, cruise was no fluke: that dude drinks like no tenured professor I know.
September 10th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
So at first I was really confused about why you would be in SLO, and I was finding it really ironic that I just mentioned it to you in an email and now you’re talking about it. But then I remembered about Cal Poly, and it all makes sense now.
My brother is going to work there, maybe? :shrug: