First day
January 8, 2010emily
I met my spring semester students for the first time today and, as I’ve done for the past six and a half years, I had them fill out index cards with relevant (and irrelevant) information. The relevant contact information is obvious. The irrelevant information… well, it helps me learn all their names on the first day. I usually ask them to tell me what their favorite movies are, but this semester I decided to change it up a bit. I went with “what’s something unique about you?” and I emphasized that we’re all unique snowflakes in one way or another, so saying “there’s nothing unique about me” wasn’t an option. And wow, the answers I got to that question!
One of my students will be two inches taller next semester because she’s having surgery to correct two 45-degree angles in her spine. Zoiks!
One of my students can crack his knuckles an infinite number of times (and yes, he demonstrated).
One of my students has a fingerprint that’s neither swirls nor lines, but rather a series of dots.
One of my students is deaf in one ear (holla!).
One of my students is training for a half Ironman. When I asked her what got her into that, she said, “I was doing lots of triathlons and I got bored with that.”
One of my students is only seventeen.
One of my students was ranked #5 in the nation in three-pointers per basketball game, but he doesn’t play college ball.
What a great way to start the semester!
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Posted on January 10th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
That is a great conversation starter!
And, by the way, if I had a nickel for every boring triathlon I’d completed… Why didn’t I think of half-Ironmans before???