I went the 1st time for my
class on the Globalization - it's in the
Geography department - yesterday.
After sorting things out at the work, and some getting lost on the campus (while checking out the sights ;), I found my way to this meeting room that served as a classroom.
The Prof was rather surprised w/ who the f I am, where from, n stuff like that (he did not check his mail that day, otherwise he would have know all these answers) when I walked in at the middle of the class where there were 8 people, including the Prof, sitting at the meeting table discussing a chapter from
The Globalization Syndrome, by J.H. Mittelman. Bit later, during the class break, the Prof tried hard to discourage me from taking on the course... he was too concerned w/ my educational background (non-social science/art), and the fact that it is already a week 3 of the semester. After he realized that I'm not budging at all, he asked me if after all the warnings he gave me I am still wiling to take the risk of struggling and not doing well for the class. - My answer: sure!
So last night I wrote him a decent email explaining a bit more of why do I think I can cope with the class, and sharing one opinion in relation to the point from the discussion on the book. As it was just my 1st class, and in a way at the time, I was just a passer by, I took on the role of listening, observing, and I kept my mouth shut. According to his reply this morning, seems that I got his initial opinion changed a bit - well guess he couldn't really reply in any different manner. Though, I hope I am right, that his judgment moved from the initial impression. If the Prof at the beginning has the opinion that you will fail, or at best yet you will struggle just for a pass, and he at the same time leaves the 1st impressions of the highly opinionated, full of himself type of a person (well not as much as yours truly, but close), then naturally you start to question his open mindedness, his ability to change his initial impressions (i.e. if this Prof thinks that I cannot do well in this subject, even when later in semester I'm kicking ass, will he - as all teachers should/must/do - allow his first impressions to be wrong, will he allow himself to be wrong, and change his mind in order to give me a grade I objectively deserve (relative to the other students in the class who have, from his pt of view, favorable (educational) background).
Sure, If I was not to do the class I wouldn't have a chance to change my own initial opinions of him either... it will be a fun semester.
...!
Ps: in the way of an Academic F..
ellow, I'll give credit where the credit is due. The point on changing the impression/belief according to the evidence at hand I am making in this post, came as the lesson I 1st learned from my friend Ray during our discussion - if I am not mistaken - on judgements people have, and
judgmental people (those who verbalise their judgements). Ray shared with me the story of his first
impressions of me. We first met at
The University of Melbourne back in the early 2002 (back then as you can imagine I was even ....
hmmm). He described his impression as something along the lines of young, fullish, playful, crazy. Kind of a person Ray, a well experienced, mature guy would have little to share with. And if Ray left his initial impression to stay as
the truth - as the
only truth - then we would have never become friends that we are today. Though, luckily for me, Ray took a scientific approach and put his initial impression of 2002 version of yours truly as a
hypothesis. And as they say, the rest is history... :)
