One of my high school friends visited Cupcake Cache the other day with his wife. They came from a small town near Orlando. Normally, I would have been at home correcting papers after classes, but Michael had a delivery to make, so I was in the store. I was really glad to be there and have the opportunity to meet his wife. Surprisingly, he made a funny remark about something I had posted on facebook about “dangling modifiers.” I remarked about the difficulty of the assignment in which I had to review the answer before teaching the concept in class. It was challenging to explain how to ferret out the “dangling modifiers” but not difficult for one to hear or see the grammar mistake in the sentence. Just assigning it the name “dangling modifier” meant you had to identify it and it was challenging. I remarked half kiddingly that I didn’t want my students to know I had to look up the answer. He remarked that he was surprised that I posted this on my facebook page and wasn’t I afraid one of my students might read the remark.

Hmm. Now, it was a long and not so good day which began with me leaving the house before 7 a.m. to drop my husband off at the store and then continue on to Saint Leo. It was the day after grades posted. I had students speaking to me about grades, turning in late assignments, etc. My mouth dropped open and I snapped back, “Well, my students don’t know also.” The truth was my facebook page is private for my friends to view and I certainly don’t befriend any of my freshman or sophomore students. But there are instructors who do and I know because I have noticed this on Facebook while perusing…often just bored and looking to spend some time entertaining myself. Personally, I am surprised and a little shocked at the instructors who do this and more often than not, I am shocked about the personal choice they make in who to befriend. So, I was thinking unless some of my students find me scintillating and so interesting that they are hacking my facebook site, which I seriously doubt…..there is no chance any of them are reading that remark.

I wonder when common sense went out of style. This semester, we are learning about writing rhetorically, logical fallacies, listening, reading, and thinking critically. I guess I am not in style because I don’t want to be friends with my students and I have no desire to be on Reddit. All I want is to facebook a little, and observe a little and I’m good!

About the Author
Mrs. Eve Dobbins has a BA in English Literature from SUNY Stony Brook. Her MA is in TESOL from the University of South Florida. She began her career as an ESOL tutor at Berlitz in New York. Ms. Dobbins is public school certified in multiple subjects and has taught all levels of public education. In addition to her experience in public education, she has taught ESOL strategies for elementary education teachers at the collegiate level. Ms. Dobbins also has teaching experience at multiple community colleges before accepting her current position at ST. Leo. Her experience does not stop at U.S schools, as she has also taught at different levels in South Korea, France, and most recently the United Arab Emirates. When not teaching, she enjoys baking cupcakes (she is owner of Cupcake Cache LLC in Tampa), reading, and writing a children’s book about desserts of different countries.