On Libraries

I was just realizing what a feat of organization our library system is. First of all, there's the fact that millions of books have to be properly organized, coded, catalogued, and kept track of. But what amazes me more is that one can obtain a hold on a book from anywhere in the city's 20+ libraries and get it delivered to any other library for free or sent to them for $2. It's so cool. I can basically get any book I want and walk over to the Hilldale library after school to pick it up. In reality is isn't that profound of a concept, I mean, it's been like this for a long time. Nevertheless, it's never really occurred to me the beauty of the whole system.

While on the topic of books, I think that it's worth making an analysis of Mr. Hawking, the student teacher that recently took over our class for all of 4th quarter. No question, he's different from Meiner. Most people dislike him because they think he's not as interesting and he's more difficult. Granted, both of these things are true to an extent. But I think Hawking is getting some unfair criticism. First of all, I actually like his teaching style a little bit more in some ways, and I think I might even be learning better with him. Despite this, I still think Meiner is a better teacher. Part of the reason that Meiner is an effective teacher is because he has mastered what one might call "shock and awe" tactics. He is very forceful and direct in discussing the book, has a horde of odd mannerisms that keep one's attention, and he provides a lot of positive feedback in disscussions that encourage people to take risks in analyzing the literature. He keeps the class thoroughly amused with the rulers that he bangs on almost any surface, when he's trying to make a point. They often break, so he has a drawer entirely dedicated to spare rulers. These sorts of things, including the fact that he is simply a good teacher, make students universally like him. He also doesn't assign much homework: one's grade is based almost entirely off quizzes, essay tests, and occasional large essays. His quizzes are always kind of a joke in their simplicity though. This all combines to make a very good teacher, but he has a tendency of wasting a significant amount of time on useless things. But Hawking is remarkably different. He intially tried to adopt the odd mannerisms of Meiner, but it never really panned out because he wasn't being original. He's still funny in his own way though. We spend virtually the entire period doing really focused discussions, which can be exhausting, but productive. The largest change, however, is the quizzes and homework. He assigns lots of small 1-3 page essays (1-2 per week), and his quizzes are more like small essay tests. They ask questions that are almost fit for full-fleged essays, but there's usually 4 of them, so you really can only answer about 2/3 of a page for each. This is opposed to Meiner's pathetic 1-2 sentence questions. In the end, it boils down to the fact that the class is now significantly more difficult. I think I'm glad though, I learning a slightly more, and actually enjoying it somewhat. Hawking will be a really great teacher in a year or so though.