This would NEVER happen in the US

OH  MY GOODNESS.  

Several times now, the class has instructed the lecturer on when an assignment is due, like on Monday, the lecturer asked, “when is your coursework on divorce due?”  And the answer was Friday.  The class all said, “Monday,” and he didn’t flinch.  It’s dumbfounding to me, but I’ve gotten used to that one.

Today, our Pentateuch lecturer was explaining how she wanted to handle two assignments:  an overview of a book in the Pentateuch, and an exegesis of a predetermined passage.  I will say right off that she doesn’t have the best command of 50+ people in the classroom, but the class totally ran all over her.  It was stunning – the class was telling her how to make the assignments (she didn’t want everyone doing Genesis, for example, and people were arguing against being assigned a book, etc).  

After class, I was trying to explain how and why I was so flabbergasted, and why I kept saying, “this would NEVER happen in the US!”  They said that they were paying for the class, so it should be run the way they want it to.  I said that the lecturer is in charge, and they need to respect her wishes.  They reiterated they are paying, and they should get what they want.  I said that sounded like a spoiled child.  I wasn’t trying to be harsh, but I’m still trying to wrap my mind around telling the lecturer what’s what.  I’m all for proposing a more pleasing alternative and negotiating for it, but wow.

Fortunately, no one seemed offended by the “spoiled child” allusion, and laughed at how aghast I was at how things played out.  As Jackson has been reminding me constantly, “this is Africa.”