What the hell is it with you guys? When we have been doing these classroom consultations recently, some of you aren’t even trying to be consulted. It’s like you don’t think you should be consulted by anyone, let alone a classmate. First Ben decides to take a nap, not even wanting to really work on his paper (in his defense, he did seem really exhausted), Elana comes with a bunch of questions (basically a brainstorming session), Claire does about the same, and yesterday, Adam had a bunch of stuff that he had gotten back from Kirsten, but didn’t want to work on it with anyone yet. While I think Elana’s and Claire’s sessions were likely useful as maybe helping them get some direction from a new source, Adam had something, but his unwillingness to work on it was a problem. He kept saying “it’s nothing personal,� but how can it be anything but.
I honestly felt that I really was in the role of consultee with Adam yesterday. I let go of the idea that if I couldn’t see these issues, no one else will. I think we need to let go of the ego during our being consulted in class. The whole point is to give us a chance to be the student that we usually consult. It didn’t hurt that I already knew that my paper needed heavy revision and if Adam could help with some of these issues, it would help me in finishing it. To ignore this chance to really open ourselves to this is irresponsible.
While not every session I had with people in class seemed as wasteful as others, I still felt like others were being dismissive towards my suggestions and didn’t seem like they really wanted them in the first place. I know I also had a difficult time letting go of this notion, but I know I’ve been trying, and at least succeeding a little. I just want us to take the sessions a bit more seriously because it feels disrespectful to the person who may be trying to really help you with your work.