What DID the camel say when that straw broke its back?

I walk into my 3pm Advanced Composition class today, which is the same regular classroom as my 1:30 College Comp class, and see this:

I won't tell you what my Advanced Comp students said, but it was salty. A little backstory might be appropriate...

Every semester, one class has the "Bad Seed" dynamic. Ask any professor and she will nod, roll her eyes, groan, and exclaim, "Yes!" We get them every semester. Just one class in which the dynamic is rotten to the core, much like the Grinch's original heart before the Whos get to him. The dynamic varies, but always centers on some variation of "too smart for the room," "resent having to take this class," and "I don't care, you are wasting my time." Some semesters are milder than others, but just my luck, this semester, this particular class has a roiling, obvious, distaste for me, the subject, the work, you name it. I've actually ignored all smart-ass comments and all eye-rolling and all disgusted side comments. Until today.

Today, when I walked into the classroom and saw this (the second of such notes - the first was "Dr M for President (and) We LOVE College Comp! (heart symbol)" - and that was while I was sitting at the front desk meeting with students one on one. So, this class has no shame and isn't hiding the fact that they can't stand me or this class. So today, the proverbial straw broke the proverbial camel's back.

And what exactly did the camel say when this happened? Well, see for yourself:



Good evening, class. 

To the 13 students who read the not one, but TWO, emails I sent yesterday regarding our locations and class plans for the final four days of class - and who also likely read the syllabus (where this information may also be found), thank you for coming to the library and diligently working on your Project Three research today. I am sure that your hard work will pay off in excellent and well-researched essays.

And now, allow me to direct your attention to D2L and the last item in the Readings folder labeled "Visual Rhetoric created by 1:30 College Composition class." Please note that the construction of "We we're" is incorrect. The misuse of apostrophes is really quite rampant on our campus and I encourage each of you to seek out assistance to alleviate this problematic grammatical construction issue - the Writing Center's tutors are well-qualified to assist in such matters. Furthermore, there is a 15 minute rule on our campus, not 10, so you should be aware of your audience when making claims with evidence, particularly when your evidence is false - hurts your credibility. In addition, the use of the ever-popular and clearly heartfelt heart symbol should really be colored in for extra emphasis and appeal to the viewer's emotions.

Finally, I would like to ask that you disregard those two emails that I sent yesterday...and disregard the schedule listed on the syllabus. I know that our schedule has been set and in print since the semester started, but I find myself inspired and persuaded by this display of visual rhetoric acumen to change the final three classes into conference days.

Therefore, if you attended class today in the right place (due to having read both of my emails and having consulted the syllabus), or have a legitimate and verifiable excuse for your absence (read that, doctor's note, court appearance document, funeral program), then I encourage you to visit me in my office during our regular class time for the next three classes in order to receive more specific, personal, and one on one help with the development of Project Three. You may choose to bring me an outline, your first few pages, a resource that you would like help with analyzing - whatever you think would help you the most. I'm here to help you because you are putting in the time and the effort to complete this course.

The rest of you are free to do what you want with the time. Best of luck on Project Three - it is still due during our final exam time.

Best,

Dr. M