consumerism | Dr. Janni Aragon

I have previously shopped on Boxing Day or the day after Christmas. It’s a good time to find bargains, but the upshot is that everyone is out shopping and it’s almost as chaotic as Black Friday. I tweeted on Twitter about how I would not be at the mall today. And, a few friends responded or retweeted. One thing that I noted today, though, is this dripping sense of condescension toward the hordes that were shopping.

Now, we can get into a debate about consumerism and that is fine and well. However, my issue here is more about people looking down at the people who are braving the crowds and saving money. I do have the luxury to buy the vast majority of my kids’ Christmas gifts prior to Christmas. I certainly do not think that today’s shoppers are misguided. I guess that I am reacting to tweets and posts on other social media platforms.

I previously blogged about Black Friday and Zombies, so perhaps here I am being somewhat hypocritical. That post was really about our need for “stuff” and I had just finished a YaLit book that included a Zombie who moaned, “Stuff,” so the comparison really worked. George Romero beat me to the comparison a generation ago! I know that when I drafted that previous post, I kept on thinking about how some shoppers have to shop on Black Friday in order to afford the gifts/items. One thing that I can tell you–collaborative consumption is making more sense. But, when I was a college student, I lived for the after Christmas sales.

Now, tomorrow we will work on our “something in and something out” rule. This does not include books. I know that we’ll have a bag or box to take to Women in Need or the Salvation Army. Happy Holidays!

After chatting with some other academics, I felt it was worth revisiting this post from 2010. Seth Godin posted a blog post http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/10/pushing-back-on-professors.html about how students need to push back-perhaps expect more from their mediocre college professors. I didn’t really take offense at the blog post. I don’t think Godin is speaking to me. My favorite part of my job, as a college professor, is the classroom–lecturing and engaging with students. I’m good with people–well, most people. Don’t believe the lies on RMP. The haters are gonna hate and motivate, and potatoes are going to potate. (OK, inside joke and perhaps a bad one).

I get what Godin is saying, but he’s making a big assumption about students. We get lots of unmotivated and perhaps barely mediocre students in our classroom. But, I do want to respond to parts of his blog. I really want to push back on the mediocre or barely mediocre students who come to class unprepared or only wanting to offer knee jerk commentary and not real engagement with the course materials. I wish that all of the students in my class came to class prepared and ready to discuss the readings, but this is not the case. It might be the time of day or the time of the term and the students just cannot give 70% to the class.

I have countless students who don’t bother to even come to class, pick up their work or attend their tutorials. Students need to remember that they are also responsible for engaging in their education. Professors are only part of the equation. A good class really includes good students or students who are there to learn. Students are responsible to and for a good class. If they give very little, they are going to get very little out of the class. I don’t have a wand to dispense information. Continue reading →

Dr. Janni Aragon

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Tag Archives: consumerism

Response to Pushing Back on Mediocre College Professors: Revisit

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