teaching

Today I asked a question of my class of over 100 students--what environmental issue do they worry about? When not very many replied, I then called on the back row to answer the question--first the person in the far corner and then the one next to him and so on for six people. To my surprise all but one had good answers. I've told them if they are taking this course, in environmental history, they have to care. Since they are all taking it to meet a requirement, that is a tall order. But it is a brand new course I am developing as I go along, and I can't do it if they just sit there passively. So we shall see how it works.