yikes

So, some of my colleagues got funding to bring three artists to campus this fall and I assigned my students to attend one of the three performances. Tonight was the final one - Adelina Anthony, performance artist, doing her show: La Angry Xicana. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to suggest that they be sure that they wanted to choose this of the three shows, but half way through when she was doing a graphic bit about sex and I was looking at the short blond hair of my oh so returned missionary student two rows ahead of me, I thought, hmmm. I mean I know I am supposed to be all about pushing boundaries and helping youth explore their identities but I am not good at it which is why I became a linguist. There are no provocative movies to show, no problematic texts to discuss. Call me a coward. I remember when a new book came out for teaching third year Russian that had a theme for each chapter and had clearly decided to move beyond the traditional topics of 'home' 'education' etc. and so this book had a sex chapter and I just couldn't do it. There aren't many people I want to discuss sex with and my students are nowhere near the short list.