Wednesday was the first day of class for me. Across my two on-campus Comp IIs, I knew there were a number of holdovers from Comp I in the fall. One of these was Chris. Chris had attended every single day in the fall, thus receiving the perfect-attendee “Fabulous Prize” of a Pez dispenser. He also wore the exact same hat every day, which I suppose could have earned the hat a prize as well. That hat even adorned his head when I happened to run into Chris at the Nelson-Atkins over break. He warned me that day that he’d see me in class.
Imagine my surprise when, in my first class, there sat Chris with a different hat. I spoke to him, referring to last semester and related matters. He looked back as if I were speaking Albanian.
Imagine my even greater surprise when, as I read over the class list, “Chris” answered to a completely different name. Only in the second class did the real Chris appear, still wearing his accustomed hat. The other guy certainly looks like Chris, despite the wrong headwear.
In reflecting on that–and perhaps forcing a meaning on it–it occurred to me that we sometimes see our students on first glance and draw conclusions about them. As it plays out, I should expect that not-Chris will not be a great deal like the actual Chris. How unfair would it be for me to set my expectation of him based on somebody he might very well never meet.
Our students deserve the opportunity to create their own personalities, free from whatever presuppositions we might bring to the classroom. We probably all know that, but it’s easier to know it than to actually live it.
Happy semester.