Our blue books were scooped up from the edge of the desk, ready to be handed back to everybody. Dr. Jimenez dragged his feet up and down the auditorium, returning everyone's U.S. Government exams in the order he stacked them in his pile. I ended up being the last person to get their test back. When Jimenez slammed the test with his stubby hand on my desk, I gave him a look of concern. He encouraged me, “Don’t look at me like that. You did good!”
I felt relieved up until I opened up my blue book to the first page. That's when I noticed that I had gotten a seventy. Why was he smiling at me after he returned my exam? Even though I passed last week’s exam, I still could’ve gotten a better grade. I put an extensive amount of detail on each essay question and all I got was a seventy.
Jimenez told the class when he wrote the grade averages on the dusty chalkboard, "There was one A, two Bs, five Cs, six Ds, and eight Fs. You obviously need to make more of an effort in preparing for my tests if you want to pass this class. Otherwise, why did you even bother wasting your time and money with my class?"
We’ve only been in class for a month and almost half of the students who enrolled have either dropped out or quit showing up. Everybody in the class found his methods of teaching hard to follow. He spoke at a staccato pace and it was hard to keep up with what he was saying. Luckily, Jerry and I exchanged notes after every lecture. As we walked out together after class last Tuesday, I asked him, "Were you able to get everything down that Jimenez wants us to go over for Thursday's test?"
I felt relieved up until I opened up my blue book to the first page. That's when I noticed that I had gotten a seventy. Why was he smiling at me after he returned my exam? Even though I passed last week’s exam, I still could’ve gotten a better grade. I put an extensive amount of detail on each essay question and all I got was a seventy.
Jimenez told the class when he wrote the grade averages on the dusty chalkboard, "There was one A, two Bs, five Cs, six Ds, and eight Fs. You obviously need to make more of an effort in preparing for my tests if you want to pass this class. Otherwise, why did you even bother wasting your time and money with my class?"
We’ve only been in class for a month and almost half of the students who enrolled have either dropped out or quit showing up. Everybody in the class found his methods of teaching hard to follow. He spoke at a staccato pace and it was hard to keep up with what he was saying. Luckily, Jerry and I exchanged notes after every lecture. As we walked out together after class last Tuesday, I asked him, "Were you able to get everything down that Jimenez wants us to go over for Thursday's test?"
"I got as much down as could. It's hard to keep up with him," Jerry replied as he pulled his gray notebook out of his black Columbia backpack and showed me his notes.
"I tried too, but all I could get was a half page," I showed Jerry my notes as I had kept it on the page I had written them on.
"He's never available outside of class since he's also a small-town cop."
"Oh well! All we can hope for is to do our best."
Jimenez's fast-paced lectures weren't the only thing everybody complained about. He would write a key term on the board in a scrawl so illegible I could barely read it. During that day's lecture, I whispered into Jerry's ear, "What's that that he wrote on the board?"
"It looks like he wrote down criminal prosecution," he quietly responded.
"I shouldn't have to hear any whispering," Jimenez barked at us as he was getting ready to take a sip from his green coffee mug.
Jesus! He can't even tolerate whispering. Boy, this professor's really a jerk.
That wasn't the only time Jimenez got on somebody for breaking one of his class policies. The previous class during his lecture on the Supreme Court, he heard a tapping sound coming from one of the students. He profusely asked, "What's going on? Is someone texting? I hope no one's texting. You know my policies."
A guy wearing a red baseball cap several rows up from Jerry and I suddenly looked up and quickly put his iPhone back into his left shorts pocket before Jimenez could catch him. There was no escaping Captain Jimenez's ire.
"I tried too, but all I could get was a half page," I showed Jerry my notes as I had kept it on the page I had written them on.
"He's never available outside of class since he's also a small-town cop."
"Oh well! All we can hope for is to do our best."
Jimenez's fast-paced lectures weren't the only thing everybody complained about. He would write a key term on the board in a scrawl so illegible I could barely read it. During that day's lecture, I whispered into Jerry's ear, "What's that that he wrote on the board?"
"It looks like he wrote down criminal prosecution," he quietly responded.
"I shouldn't have to hear any whispering," Jimenez barked at us as he was getting ready to take a sip from his green coffee mug.
Jesus! He can't even tolerate whispering. Boy, this professor's really a jerk.
That wasn't the only time Jimenez got on somebody for breaking one of his class policies. The previous class during his lecture on the Supreme Court, he heard a tapping sound coming from one of the students. He profusely asked, "What's going on? Is someone texting? I hope no one's texting. You know my policies."
A guy wearing a red baseball cap several rows up from Jerry and I suddenly looked up and quickly put his iPhone back into his left shorts pocket before Jimenez could catch him. There was no escaping Captain Jimenez's ire.
Glad I never had a teacher like this! Good job in making him out to be such a jerk. Just this sentence alone, "There was one A, two Bs, five Cs, six Ds, and eight Fs. You obviously need to make more of an effort in preparing for my tests if you want to pass this class. Otherwise, why did you even bother wasting your time and money with my class?" let the reader know what a tough teacher he is.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used action and dialogue to describe Jimenez. You showed him more than told him, good jo. Still, I would have enjoyed more description about his appearance. Was he tall or short? Dark haired or blond? Was he balding? Did he have any distinctive facial features? Was he thin or chubby? What did his voice sound like? What kind of clothing did he wear? Paint a picture of him with your words.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the combination of both actions and dialogue to establish the character. Seeing him not only from the narrator's perspective, but also Jerry's really helped solidify how hard the professor was
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amber. You have done a good job describing the professor's behavior through the narrator, however it would also be good to add some information on what the guy looks like or more on his body language.
ReplyDeleteGreat description of the professor! His response when giving the test back with his stubby hand gave me the immediate impression that he was very structured and stern. I could see the action occuring. I agree with Amber about the combo of action and dialogue.
ReplyDeleteHi Kurt, I also thought you did a great job with the character sketch. But do use a few more specific visual details to set his appearance and reinforce the setting of the scene. dw
ReplyDelete