Grading the professor

Today I am taking a final exam in the college class that Ann and I enrolled last winter. SOCI 2990. MC 01 "Sociology of Love and Relationships" said the Catalogue. Designed and taught by Professor Mike Hendricks PhD. Mike may be better known to you readers as "Mike at Night" from his Friday columns in the McCook Daily Gazette.

Mike had hyped this course in several of his columns. Over the years both Ann and I had occasionally been less than thrilled reading his columns on unrequited love, broken relationships, love, love, love and wondered what in the world he was teaching those college kids. To find out we signed up for the class, Ann for no credit (meaning she didn't have to take any of the exams) and I in quest of college credits, exams, homework and all.

Honestly it has been a fun ride. We found Professor Mike to be sincere, well prepared, well educated and a popular teacher. Other students, that I asked, stated that they liked him and expressed very favorable opinions of what and how he teaches. I'm not into "skuzzy" and had to learn to overlook the unshaven face, stringy hair and casual clothing -- all my prior college experience had been in a more formal setting. But then my fellow students sometimes showed wearing flip flops, tattered clothing with holes in odd places, hats worn backwards, in the classroom no less, and the tattoos!

No matter the outside appearance, the teacher came to teach and the students to learn. Grades are given for participation in class discussions and it looked to me that all did participate. College is about challenging students to think and from the ideas presented by Professor Mike and judging from the responses given by all us students, indeed thinking was taking place.

The course had never been taught before at McCook Community College and in my opinion the subject matter was not really well organized but then it is still a work in progress. The two text books chosen by the Professor Mike addressed the subject well but we didn't really get into the content of either text to a great extent. Much of what was presented came from Professor Mike's archives or from his own life experience but most likely the professors who wrote the text books used the same sources. Notably any reference to the Bible was missing but then it is only a compendium of over 5,000 years of life experience.

The divorce rate in the USofA is currently well over 50 percent so evidently a lot of people are making choices that don't work out well. In America the ideal is to fall deeply and madly in love, get married and live happily ever after. Current statistics rather well demonstrate that there is a problem with that fairy tale. In introducing the course, Professor Mike stated that "If I can save one person from the mistakes I've made and point them in the direction of unconditional love, bliss, intimacy, ecstasy, happiness, fulfillment and friendship that will last a lifetime, I will have done my duty." (Mike at Night column Sept 13, 2008).

To Professor Mike's credit, again my opinion, he stayed clear of the subject of homosexuality and focused on man woman relationships. He did point out that in all societies world around; the rate of persons professing to be homosexual runs a constant 6 to 8 percent of the total population.

The professor also stated that he was raised in a strong Christian family but didn't stress religion as a force for good in the marriage relationship. I suppose that is the politically correct way to teach but that isn't how I feel about it in my heart.

In my generation speaking of sex in a classroom of both men and women was a non-player. Boy has that changed! We had several sessions with considerable discussion about the role of sexual intercourse in the dating game and in the marriage relationship. The language may have been graphic but the discussion tasteful. Professor Mike is of the opinion that teaching abstinence before marriage is a failure but Ann and I argued the other way. Professor Mike emphasized that 20 percent of unmarried women have children out of wedlock but I prefer a positive spin on the 80 percent who don't get pregnant before marriage. It was emphasized that an unmarried mother is a recipe for future poverty. In America today a vast majority of men in prison come from single parent families! Actions have consequences!

A wise Jewish man that I used to fly with told me that it is easy to dislike a man that you don't know but once you get to know him you learn to like him. Yes both Ann and I grew to like Professor Mike and have great respect for his understanding of his chosen field of sociology. Personally I lump sociology and psychology together under the label of psychobabble but what do I know as I near fifty years of loving and being married to the same woman? Mike's goal of helping our wonderful fellow MCC students to make better choices in a life partner is an admirable pursuit and both Ann and I wish him great success.

That is the way I saw it.