TEACHSOC: Re: That time of the year again ...

[Karen Loeb]

Hi Brian,   On the first day of class, I distribute the syllabus but I don't go over it until the second time the class meets. Instead, I tell students, since they probably don't have a good idea of what sociology is by way of introduction, I present (on a powerpoint) four individuals experiencing "personal troubles," i.e., a high school student starving herself in order to be thin and attractive; a person who loses their job and eventually becomes homeless; a man who commits suicide after losing a job and then I make the connection between these individuals' problems and "public issues." Last year one of my students brought up the phenomena of obesity being a problem in America (in contrast to the anorexic girl) and we had a wonderful discussion about how obesity is often a function of social class (NPR did a wonderful series on this last year). This introduction has worked really well for me.   Karen ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Webb To: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 8:06 AM Subject: TEACHSOC: That time of the year again ... Good Morning -   Believe it or not, our term opens next Tuesday, August 23rd.  And as usual, I am giving some thought to things I might do or say in those first couple of classes that will grab the students' attention and open their eyes to the facination of this "special kind of passion" known as sociology.   One thing I have learned is that those first few classes are crucial and can and often do 'set the tone' for the rest of the semester.  A word about my audience - I teach in a private Québec CEGEP with 1700 students.  This is a level of education after the end of High School, but before university.  All students go through the CEGEPs en route to university.  Our students are 16 - 18 years old, highly motivated, middle to upper class, urban, well travelled, multilingual and multicultural.  Any suggestions for things that you have found particularly effective for 'opening day'?    And one more thing - are there any other folks out there who are starting before Labour Day?  Misery likes company ...   Brian Webb [EMAIL PROTECTED]