Immediacy

so my unwritten (until now) goal is to blog within the first few hours after class...to capture my reactions before they become reflections and resolutions. i met that with the last entry. reading it now, i see that i captured the incident that i need at the beginning of every semester that reminds me to adjust my expectations. i'm still flummoxed that no more than 2 or 3 students vaguely recognized the hooded prisoner. and i'm wondering if i could really appreciate what reagan meant since i was only in college at the time.

but on the point of whether a student can get it, well it only takes one to make me feel good. this is what made me feel good at the end of last semester:

"The International Hotel story was one that touched me greatly. I had never heard about the struggle that Filipino Americans faced. What was even more heart wrenching to me was it was not that long ago, in fact my parents were both alive at this time. What happened to the Filipino Americans living in the International Hotel at this time was monstrous and disgusting."

this excerpt, a response to a final exam question, reminded me why I teach Filipino American studies--and it's not about academics. the film, the Fall of the I-Hotel--as dated and slow-paced as it is (probably cuz I've seen it a dozen times)--is still worth showing. when i told the student how this made me feel, he thanked me for a class that taught him some truly valuable lessons.

~:'-)