1.
Last year, I taught a student who seemed like a smart kid who had some issues. I feel as though he was over-medicated, under-motivated, and socially awkward. I also feel that, in many ways, he had a wider view of things than other students. All the same, he struggled through my class as he struggled through many other classes, and by the end of the year it was of great concern whether or not he would pass the requisite classes and graduate.
During that second semester, the student came to the idea that he should perhaps enter into the military and one of the other faculty members encouraged him. In some respects, I agreed that the structure and order would be of great benefit to this particular student. On the other hand, and as the aforementioned faculty member said so... delicately.., "if you enlist now, you are getting sand in your boots."
It became an interesting dilemma to me thinking about the situation where this particular student was close to passing my class, but perhaps fell a little short. The ethical question that arose was both fascinating and disturbing: "Do I pass this student, who is marginally undeserving, so that he can go into the army and have a decent chance of getting killed (I am not certain that they give you Ritalin there if you say you need it), or do I fail him, because that is the grade he earned, which is potentially ruinous, but may ultimately save his life."
In the end, I didn't have to make the decision because he came through and brought his grade up to an appropriate and non-borderline level.
As I am walking up from my classroom today, I walk past this brand-new bright-blue, BMW (it rhymes! I am so ecstatic) while simultaneously walking past one of the deans. Sad to say, BMWs aren't uncommon on the campus, and the dean and I are taking about other things, but still standing next to it. A few minutes go by and another faculty member shouts something to the dean, and I don't quite understand what it is. The dean says "OK," then turns to me and then proceeds to tell me that the BMW is the student who barely passed my low-level math class last year. He just finished some sort of milestone in the army, earned his $40,000, and promptly bought a car.
2.
There is a breezeway that separates my building from a set of faculty apartments. I live on the third floor and, luckily, the breezeway is blessed with windows running the full length on both sides. Some of the windows have screens over them, and some do not, just like some of the windows are sometimes opened and sometimes closed.
I was walking through the breezeway to a friend's apartment an afternoon this weekend, and when I arrived, he asked if I got attacked by the bird. Frankly, I didn't know what he was talking about and I said as much. He explained that a bird had flown in through one of the open windows and couldn't get out (bird intelligence appears up for debate).
Later, I make a quick run back to my apartment, and lo and behold, there is a bird sitting there (I believe it to be a mourning dove). As soon as I entered the breezeway, the bird become frightened and started flying around, banging against the glass. I decided that I should try and get it out of there, since it was obviously having trouble, so once it settled down, I tried to slowly move in behind it. It took flight again, and after we had repeated the process several times, it eventually became stuck in-between a window and a screen. After some effort, I eventually settled its wings with my hands, and carried it over to the ledge.
The dove sat there for quite some time, and after I while I feared that it was hurt (either because it had been banging against the windows and been stuck several times, or that I had somehow hurt it). So after my fourth or fifth time checking on it, I moved in close for visual inspection, and it took off, singing as it went.
3.
In case you hadn't heard, my Jayhawks are in the Final Four.
