“Freud created psychoanalysis to liberate his contemporaries from two oppressive forces: the practice of psychiatry and the practice of Christianity,” I say. “Take for instance the enjoinment to honor thy father and mother. Any analysis begins with a critical evaluation of the role of one’s parents in one’s life.”

“No,” N responds. “Honoring thy father and mother is crucial for the success of individual analysis. You need to honor them to make sure they are alive and in good health at the time when you finally manage to find the strength for analysis. Because a critical evaluation of a dead parent is next to impossible compared to that of a healthy, vigorous parent.”

I’ve lost touch with the young generation’s tastes in music and it was kind of shocking to discover that my students believe this is the best Spanish-language music video EVER:

They are now fighting a fierce battle to determine who will get to play it during their oral presentation.

So I put on this one to show them what good music videos are really like:

My video at least allows to start a discussion based on the images. And what is there to discuss about the mellifluous mewling in the first video?

Here is an example of why teaching methods are not transferable. I’m teaching very basic language courses this semester because I needed to be assigned something where I can be substituted by part-time instructors after I go on maternity leave. I’m using the syllabi prepared by these instructors because it wouldn’t be right to force them to spend the entire semester following my syllabus.

The syllabi are very well-prepared and meticulous but I have never had a harder time teaching than I do now. I’m struggling with Spanish 101 like I never struggled with teaching any graduate seminar. My colleagues placed activities and projects on their syllabi that work perfectly well for them but that are driving me to distraction. These are very experienced colleagues, and students love their activities and projects. But only when the projects are administered by the teachers who created them. For me, this is pure undiluted suffering.

If I were less experienced, I’d blame my colleagues for sticking me with clunky, confusing, unmanageable activities. I know, however, that the problem here resides entirely with me. This is not my teaching style, and nobody is really to blame.

From an NYTimes article:

United Nations weapons inspectors left Syria for Lebanon on Saturday as the Obama administration made an aggressive and coordinated push to justify a military intervention on the grounds that American credibility was at stake.

American . . . what was at stake? And since when do you improve your credibility by bombing people?

This isn’t foreign policy. This is a completely irresponsible and stupid approach that will cost us all very dearly. At this point, it feels like Obama is simply laughing in our faces.