At 12:39 PM 2/14/2007, SA wrote:
> [Marsha]
> > I wonder if you remember the contrarian students
> > in the back of Phædrus's.
>
> Which contrarian students in the back?
SA,
I should have written: I wonder if you remember
the contrarian students in the back of Phædrus's
classroom. See below. I consider the failing
students to be contrarian because they don't buy into the insane system.
------
``I've wondered too,'' Phædrus had said, and in a
puzzled voice had added, ``I think maybe it's
because every teacher tends to grade up students
who resemble him the most. If your own writing
shows neat penmanship you regard that more
important in a student than if it doesn't. If you
use big words you're going to like students who write with big words.''
``Sure. What's wrong with that?'' DeWeese had said.
``Well, there's something whacky here,'' Phædrus
had said, ``because the students I like the most,
the ones I really feel a sense of identity with, are all failing!''
DeWeese had completely broken up with laughter at
this and left Phædrus feeling miffed. He had seen
it as a kind of scientific phenomenon that might
offer clues leading to new understanding, and DeWeese had just laughed.
At first he thought DeWeese was just laughing at
his unintended insult to himself. But that didn't
fit because DeWeese wasn't a derogatory kind of
person at all. Later he saw it was a kind of
supertruth laugh. The best students always are
flunking. Every good teacher knows that. It was a
kind of laughter that destroys tensions produced
by impossible situations and Phædrus could have
used some of it because at this time he was taking things way too seriously.
(ZMM, Chapter 12)
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