Suddenly, a naked guy

.....Over time, teachers grow old, they lose touch with students and their youthful interests and concerns. That’s obvious. Students walk around with iPods and don’t know where Iraq is. They watch American Idol and think that punctuation is optional.
.....They’re not like us.
.....Gosh, these kids, I don’t know what they’re about anymore.

.....I figured I’d make an effort to figure 'em out. I went to YouTube and typed in the names of our two colleges, thinking that I’d find stuff that “the kids like” and that “the kids are doing” these days.
.....I started with our lovely college to the south. Here’s some of what I found:

SADDLEBACK COLLEGE VIDEOS:

1. Saddleback College Commercial
.....(To watch the video, click on the pretty blue words.)
.....My guess is that a student produced this three and a half minute promotion of SC. Not sure. Highlights:
.....• An official-sounding person (a counselor?) says: “The goal of Saddleback College first and foremost is for the students.”
.....Evidently, good grammar is not a goal of the college.
.....• One student is interviewed. He is utterly unprepared to speak. He says that SC is “a cheap alternative” to four-year universities.
.....OK. He decides to list the college’s virtues, reasons to attend SC, and so, naturally, he refers to—the “game room.” We see kids playing pool. We hear balls banging together. “Crack.”
.....• Soon, the kid’s tapped out, reasonwise. Then he thinks of something. He says, “It’s a very broad range of topics and ethnicities….”
.....What is?

2. Saddleback Commercial
.....This one really looks like it was made by a student for a class. The kid must’ve gotten a C or D. Up here at IVC, we’d give ‘im an F.

3. Saddleback College Transfer Day: University of Hawaii
.....43 seconds of alleged Polynesian dancing, out between the SC Library and Math. Short and sweet. Nice noisy drumming.
.....OK, if this is what the kids are doing, I’m all for it. And educational, too!



4. Saddleback Cheerleading Camp
.....Surely this will be good! —But no. Sappy music, long shots, no editing. Forgetaboudit.

5. Beltane Anthro 13 Saddleback College
.....I’m guessing this has something to do with somebody’s Anthropology class. It’s two minutes of a woman laughing while students (?) perform some sort of fertility ritual involving sections of pipe (that shoot water), a game of grab-ass, and a doll (I think), tossed into the air.

6. Beltane Anthro 13 Saddleback College (2)
.....Another Anthro effort, I think, this time 39 seconds long. Students stand around waiting for something. Rudimentary drumming is heard. Suddenly, a naked guy covered in paint jumps out of a bag and immediately runs away.

.....Sheesh.
.....OK, it’s time to type in “Irvine Valley College.” Here’s some of what I found:

IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE VIDEOS:

1. Irvine Valley Upload Recycling
.....4:46. Pretty good, for what it is. The host is good. Learn all there is to know about recycling at IVC.
.....One problem though: nobody wants to know this much about recycling at IVC. Poor Tony. On and on he goes. “No car batteries,” he says.

2. IVC Math with Rich Zucker
.....I’m gonna end with this one. It's an attempt to promote math instruction at IVC, starring Rich Zucker.
.....Not bad, I guess, but the target audience seems to be, well, dummies. See for yourself:



.....You don't suppose that Rich understands these kids, do you?
.....Nah. Just remember: "p" means "pencil."

Now I am Six

It happens.

Friday was spent with family at the Griffith Observatory, where we pondered the origins of the universe.

Later dinner at La Luz del Dia on Olvera Street, where we pondered rice and beans, chile rellenos, salsa, fresh handmade corn tortillas.

Washington U to honor Phyllis Schlafly

In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Is Phyllis Schlafly Worthy of an Honorary Doctorate?:

.....Most of the graduating seniors at Washington University in St. Louis weren’t even born when Phyllis Schlafly led the successful campaign in the 1970s to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment. But they will get to learn about her at commencement ceremonies next week when the university awards her a doctorate of humane letters.
.....Some at the university find the choice offensive, given Schlafly’s career. She turned her opposition to the ERA into a national organization called the Eagle Forum through which she has campaigned against gender bias laws, Title IX, the teaching of evolution, and immigration reforms designed to expand the pool of foreign scientific talent allowed into the United States.
.....Schlafly continues to write columns in print and online, and to speak on college campuses nationwide — frequently setting off controversy with her open call for legal distinctions between the rights of men and women. At Bates College last year, for example, Schlafly called for bans on women holding the positions of firefighter, soldier and construction worker and argued that a woman cannot be raped by her husband. “By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape,” she said, according to an article in The Sun Journal.
…..
.....Mary Ann Dzuback, director of women’s and gender studies at Washington University, and an associate professor of education and history, said that professors were stunned and angered to learn of the planned honor last week. “The university has completely disregarded the concerns about anybody who cares about full and equal rights for women, who cares about the intellectual quality of feminist debate, and who cares about women’s desire to enter the work force,” Dzuback said….