Presentations

At the end of each quarter, my students give presentations - BECAUSE I AM MEAN. I put them in groups of 4-5, assign them a psychiatric diagnosis, and require them to provide an overview of that disorder, including: its history, symptoms, treatments, and current research. Students receive a few class periods during which they can work on their presentation and have several weeks to collaborate. They are to present to the class for 20-30 minutes. In general, the assignment was created to balance out their grades. Apparently my tests are difficult. The presentations are designed to allow students another avenue in which they may shine.

This afternoon, a group of five men presented regarding schizophrenia. This particular compilation of men is an interesting one:
- a guy in his early 20s who is chronically late to class with a cup of coffee in his hands, but who is engaged and outgoing most of the time. I can always call on him, which is great.
- a guy in his late teens who is often found outside in the quad before class playing hacky sack. He participates in class regularly, and appears thoughtful. He is also a sweet guy. I often wonder if he takes his time to speak because he is formulating his thoughts, or because he is high.
- a guy in his early 40s whom entered school after owning a bar for many years. Started off the quarter wanting to be a Pre-Law student. Now, he thinks that is not the road for him. He often skips, but stares at me intensely when he is in class. He is often agitated when guy number two speaks.He makes me nervous when I lecture, as I suspect having a female instructor who is younger than him is an issue for him.
- a man in his late teens who rarely comes to class, but when he does he always has a girl (maybe his sister? His girlfriend?) in tow. He started off the quarter doing well, but as time progresses, his performance dwindles. He came to class the other day in a military uniform.
- A man in his early to late 50s who is present every day, organized, motivated to do well. He is totally stressed out about being back in school, but doing beautifully. Due to some of his comments in class, I suspect he was a hippie.

The group emailed me this morning and requested I come to class early to let them in so they could become familiar with the audiovisual system and complete a brief run through. Because I am not THAT mean, I obliged. Rumor in the hall was that the group met at 10 a.m. to refine their presentation (class was at 3) and had been hard at it all afternoon.

I was surprised by how nervous each group member appeared to be. Their reactions were opposite of what I anticipated. With that said, I will say I was pleased to see them a little stressed out - to see them taking the assignment seriously. In general, the presentation was fine. Although there were parts that were painfully boring, the men presented some quality information. I took notes and was generally satisfied with the explanation of schizophrenia they provided to the class.

After 40 minutes, the group concluded their presentation. I returned exams and dismissed class early. The men in the group stood there chatting. They seemed utterly pleased with their performance. Although they did a fine job, I was surprised by how blown away they were by themselves. As they complimented each other, I began to smirk. I chuckled once they spoke about how they were surprised regarding how much they learned from one another. It was nice to see students so excited about their abilities and new-found knowledge.

Yet...they kept going on...and on....and on....Although I was proud enough of them, I eventually couldn't handle it anymore. I said something to the effect of, "You guys did a great job. You seem surprised by this". One of them replied, "We were all just so nervous. Doing a presentation like this is a lot of work, you know". I replied, "Indeed, I do. I typically give three or more lectures per day". He replied, "I was thinking about that. I don't know how you do it. They're not even all the same class".

Shit if I know, kid. I just do it.