The New Semester

The new school year is underway. I had a bit of a slow start this year because it was hard to switch gears from vacation mode to professor mode in less than a day, but now I'm starting to get into the semester groove again. I love the beginning of the new school year -- the changing weather, fall wardrobe, new and returning students back on campus .... I also love that new school year buzz -- the energy of untapped potential, the excitement of young people enjoying the college journey, and even the anticipation of learning new things. That buzz usually disappears by midterm time, so I try to enjoy it while it lasts.

I'm particularly bothered by the Beloit College mindset list for the incoming freshmen (class of 2010). For someone who does research on post-communist Eastern Europe, the following points are especially troublesome:

• The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
• There has always been only one Germany.

It's always hard to be relevant to your students, but this is tough!