Word: mendelsohn
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...Everett I. Mendelsohn, professor of this semester's Historical Study A-18, "Science and Society in the 20th Century," recognizes this mode of communication. "The word had gotten out that I was good. You know, the e-mail jargon...
...Mendelsohn also experiences the drawbacks of teaching in Sanders. "It's a real difficulty that you're on a stage so you're not level with even the people in the front. The lights make it so you can't see any faces," he says. To make the classroom more intimate, Mendelsohn acknowledges he actually takes time before lecture to make deals with people in various corners of Sanders; they promise to answer if he asks a question. Mendelsohn denies that lecture-enhancing drama is out of the ordinary for professors...
...When in doubt, perform. This rationale has led some professors to employ theatrical techniques to stimulate the audience. "I do give a good lecture. I like to tell a good historical tale," says Mendelsohn. "Sure, the material could be magnificent, but if I were dull, they wouldn't come...
...significant amount of time off-stage to ensure all runs smoothly. Hankins, who reports at least five or six hours go into every hour lecture, says he doesn't want students to be bored, all the while cautioning that his course is not meant to be entertainment. Mendelsohn also undergoes a ritual of extensive preparation. He denies any stage fright before a lecture, but says he takes the lecture prep a step further to ensure that he feels truly energized when he faces the crowd. "I always take a half an hour before to get hyped...
...While these two students epitomize the heinous fallout of a monster class, the small-scale implications of negligible student-teacher relations can prove just as detrimental to the student. Mendelsohn himself admits that the distance between him and his students in his Core course is glaring. "Someone will walk though the Yard and smile at me and I'll have no idea that they are in my class," he recalls...