BitterSweetLife

This blog is becoming more and more mainstream. Before you panic, don’t worry—I’m not going to start regaling you with accounts of my serial dating exploits or invent “creative” new four-letter words to hurl at the President. (Neither tactic can be considered innovative any longer. Come to think of it, were they ever?) Rather, my posts seem to be evolving into more traditional blog fare: daily musings and observations, gloating over flattering coincidences, cursing life’s irony, etc. The contemplative tone that I aim for on BitterSweetLife takes more time to articulate than I have on my hands these days. I’m telling myself this may turn out to be a good thing. Who knows?

But, without more ado, on to today’s headlines.

Professor Tosses Students a Bone
Covert Amends for Horrific Exam?

This morning in my Old Testament Survey class, a couple dozen students perplexedly experienced the easiest in-class quiz ever. My professor, we’ll call him Prof. Green, has taunted us throughout the semester with weekly quizzes that you can never be fully ready for, due to his detailed questions and massive reading assignments. The best you can hope for is to go in “feeling good” about your prospects—and this subjective indicator doesn't always pay off.

Today, things were different. Anyone who had casually perused our reading could have aced the quiz, no sweat. Ten of ten; chalk ‘em up; money in the bank. This was shocking. I found myself smiling in bewilderment as I filled out the paperwork for my point allotment. It felt like welfare. What had come over Professor Green?

My only theory pertains to our exam two days ago, a truly horrific demonstration of the futility of modern study methods. Hours spent highlighting, memorizing outlines and theories, and reviewing texts left me with an apparent “C” knowledge of the material (a fate shared by most of the students, as judged by an impromptu “exit poll” outside the classroom). Apparently few of us knew what to study.

Somehow one feels that an academic curveball implies a level of moral obligation on the part of he who pitches it. Could Professor Green feel the weight of this unspoken dictate as well?