Finally, the semester is essentially over. Two weeks ago I gave my last class, last week was the final for my Physics 408b class, and yesterday, the students on my Physics 151 class sat their final exam, and except for the final assignment of class grades, which we’ll do on Friday, everything is done. Done Done Done. I can start getting on with more Physics! More on that later.
There’s always one thing or other which is unusual about the events surrounding the final exam for the big (151) class. Last year, one guy -who was always firmly in contact with his sense of humour all through the semester- arrived at the exam room and walked straight up to the front desk and firmly and wordlessly presented me with an apple! He then went and sat down, ready to take the exam. Such dead-pan conjuring up of the classic image is just funny, and he knew it. Picture above. By the way, does anyone know the origin of the student-giving-teacher-an-apple
motif? I don’t actually know.
This year, the unusual event was a bit sad. One student was just overcome by the whole event, and ran out of the exam after forty-five minutes and threw up just outside! I won’t show you any pictures of that, you’ll be pleased to know, but I’m happy to report that it was not gory. He’d only had water that morning. Poor guy just could not get himself settled. I let him sit outside for a bit, to get some fresh air, and reassured him that I’d give him extra time. He eventually went back in, but half an hour later he was back outside again….. He was unable to finish the exam. He kept saying that he was frustrated because he really wanted to finish it because he could see that it was a very do-able exam….but his stomach seemed to think otherwise. Poor guy!
But the main memory from every year -but especially so this year it seems- is the number of students who came up after the final and told me what felt like a heart-felt “thanks for the class this semester”. A number of them said that they really had a great semester because of my class. It’s touching to be told that, I’m happy to admit. And it really makes a difference to hear that, as it encourages one to keep the course fresh every year, knowing that a significant number of students really care, and enjoy it. They are first year students, so this can really help positively launch their four years of learning.
Yesterday was the day of the last of the final exams for everyone, and so it is particularly noticeable that most of my colleagues that I meet are smiling a lot, and there’s a been a fair amount of “was that your last one?”… “yessssss!” for the last few days actually. You’ll forgive us, I hope. A lot of us love teaching, of course, but it is really a good feeling to come to the end of a block of teaching and have everything all done for another year. And it is often the case -as it is with me- that the teaching is holding up progress on several other things, so it is nice to be able to put it on the side for a while.
Rather nicely, the GASP (Graduate Association of Students in Physics - good acronym, right?) people, with perfect timing, organized a barbecue at the end of the day, which lots of our graduate students, staff, and some of the faculty attended.
(Click the small ones for slightly bigger:)
Now, on with Physics!
-cvj
May 11th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Ya interesting thought and historical wondering.
[…snip… -cvj]
May 11th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Is it coming from here:
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/bing-crosby-an-apple-for-the-teacher-lyrics.html
May 11th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
I saw you at the barbecue and was going to say hello, but I apparently waited too long; by the time there was a break in the conversation at the table I was sitting at and I decided to take the opportunity to talk to you, you’d already left. Oh well.
As far as the apple question, apparently someone’s asked that before…and not gotten a really definitive answer. The practice certainly predates the Bing Crosby song Robert mentions, though–the word “apple-polisher” came from the practice and goes back as far as the 1920s, so the practice itself has been around at least that long; the Bing Crosby song dates from 1939.
May 11th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Jeff:- Sorry. Had to dash off to a dinner arrangement. Only got to smell the tasty fumes of the barbecue and take a few pictures and say hello to some. Catch you at some other event?
-cvj
May 11th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Checking and grading the work of the students can be a lot of work too.
May 12th, 2006 at 8:37 am
I believe your student with the “apple offerings” is playing the role of an “Apple-Polisher.” This British expression was first recorded in the late 1920’s. An apple-polisher is a student who seeks favors by toadying or who engages in sycophancy.
May 12th, 2006 at 10:05 am
According to one of Dave Feldman’s Imponderables books (I can’t remember which one!) the tradition of students giving apples to teachers dates back to the nineteenth century. Schoolteachers in the little farm towns were often paid in kind: sacks of potatoes, apples and so forth.
The Imponderables series is really good for answering these sort of questions. The problem comes when you have to hunt through a shelf of these books to find the one answer you know is there. . . .
May 12th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Looking at what the site that jeff pointed us to says:
You know…I like this tradition! A few spare ipods, PowerBooks, etc? Yeah!
-cvj
May 12th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Surprising… Sounds like you would rather have a student who polishes cyber-apples than a student who polishes real-apples.
May 12th, 2006 at 10:43 am
Well, I refer you to the “poorly paid teachers” part of the extract!
-cvj
May 12th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
it is always rewarding when students thank you. it is a great feeling! and it’s true, it gives you a lot of energy. good job!