And finally...

I canceled my Thursday afternoon class and asked four students who are in the class but took foundations last semester to cover the Thursday night toleration class. They did a fine job with a difficult task (The Two Towns of Jasper was on the syllabus), but there are a bunch of young women, all freshmen, who are suite mates and friends who reportedly chatted during the entire video. Not a surprise, although with such intense subject matter you have to wonder what is going on in their heads. Then, the notes from one group's discussion were terrible. I sent them the following note:

I am in receipt of your group's notes from class on 3/1, when I could not be present. They are appalling, and that's putting it mildly. Although I don't believe your entire group is not putting in good effort, I do perceive that there are several members who are not taking class seriously. I am especially irritated that this was the behavior when I could not be there and your peers were doing me a favor, and on the night when The Two Towns of Jasper was shown -- a disturbing video on a very important topic. I advise you to shape up immediately. This class is not a joke.

What a challenging semester in every way. Good news, the Tuesday evening foundations class seems to have heeded my scolding and has shaped up nicely.