Word: sectionalism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Sadly this “Party Girl” section quickly ends and jumps to the “Body-Conscious Babe.” Mere coincidence or subtle insinuation? Who knows, but every college girl worth her tequila salt has been in the position of the real-life “party girl” who says “I drank too much fruit punch and vodka, forgetting there is a lag between when you drink it and when it hits you. I spent the night hurling in my bathroom and my friends have photos of me leaning...
...section. We’ve all been there: trapped in some room in the upper reaches of Sever or William James, skimming our pristine, untouched sourcepacks while the TF makes his or her opening remarks (“So, who wants to start us off on Coleridge?...Anyone?”). I like to make a very broad summary statement early on that suggests I’ve done the reading, while not requiring me to advance an original argument. After the teaching fellow places a check mark next to my name, I’m in the clear...
...breed of section participant has recently surfaced, however. Pissed off to be in section like a chronic underachiever, yet highly prepared in Type A fashion, these monsters are appearing everywhere. Belligerent, annoyed, and often with piercingly loud voices, they’re creeping into classes from Post-Modernism to BS 54. They aren’t especially intelligent or insightful, but that in no way prevents them from engaging in section participation as though it were a full body contact sport...
...worst thing about these students is not that they have things to say about the material. I’m all for other people talking in section; it takes the pressure off of me. What’s unforgivable about these über-students is how blatantly rude they are—often directly (and needlessly) challenging the TF’s every word. Hostility toward TFs is not uncommon, but I’d venture that it has never manifested itself so openly before. This is pure viciousness, barely reigned in and often resulting in two or three...
...only will these assaults ruin the TF’s section, they’re bound to ruin yours as well. Any thoughts you may have had about venturing a counterargument will vanish once you see the carnage. And while section may be more entertaining with the addition of a good fight, the entertainment comes at the cost of education. The distracted TF frequently cannot cover much material because he or she spends the majority of the allotted time playing defense. The discussion deviates onto some tangent the über-students want to dissect, and the TF never manages...