Here are some of the email messages I received in response to our discussion of the Academic Code of Honor and student disengagement on Monday, 21 February:

It was so refreshing to see a professor so dedicated to the learning of his students; someone who is passionate about teaching. Your lecture the other day was the most influential lectures of my education. I now look at being in your class as a privilege, and look forward to the rest of the year with you.

I appreciate your concern for your students to truly learn the information instead of just trying to get the grade. By you bringing up this point, it brought me back to reality and made me think about what my intentions for studying truly are. Thanks for taking the time to bring these topics up. It made me realize some things that I hadn't really thought about.

When you expressed your concern for the lack of engagement in the course it made me realize that it is important that I take advantage of all the opportunities I have to increase my understanding of the material. . .It made a big impression on me that you cared enough about your students to take an entire class to hear our opinions.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate what you said Monday in class. While it is disappointing to know that a portion of the "exceptional students" here at Notre Dame consider cheating an appropriate action, I hope that those who heard your lecture realize that it is unacceptable and destructive to the community and educational merit of Notre Dame and change their actions and mentality accordingly. I too have noticed that there are noticeable handful students who also at least seem disengaged with their classes, not just in Economics, but in other classes as well. While I cannot say that I am completely innocent from this fault, one of the major things that I learned from experience last semester is that if you do stay engaged in what you are learning by doing assigned readings and listening and offering to discussions on the subjects, you not only truly absorb the material (instead of only memorizing facts before a test), but the class itself becomes drastically more interesting. Your words about what makes Notre Dame an elite university and different from the average school epitomized why we can still say that is--at least the faculty strives to uphold our excellence and expects it back from the students. I believe that I speak on behalf of many of the students in my class when I say that we are busy, and the days go by faster than we want, and there are times when we are, in a sense, paddling as fast as we can to stay on top of the homework and tests that can, and do pile up. For this, I ask for a small forgiveness that some of us don't attend office hours or study extra economics books what time we do have. I realized during your lecture that I hadn't really considered office hours as a time to simply discuss things in general; I thought of them much more as a place to take specific questions. I know now what should have been obvious-- that you don't to just have a question to ask professor something. Also, there is a bit of an intimidation factor that I think prevents many of us, myself included, from speaking up in class. That is something that each of us will have to overcome personally. There are many other things I recognized as needing to do a little differently, and I hope that others did as well. The only statement I heard during Monday's class that I oppose completely is the one that came from the student who said that it was a waste of class time to talk about the subject at hand rather than the next lecture topics of economics. Her statement alone, I believe, is the reason why you needed to give that lecture in the first place. I applaud you for reminding my class of the reason most of us are at this school and offering your suggestions for achieving the education we have been preparing all our lives to receive. I think it is a message that more than just the students in Economics 101 need to hear, but if it makes even a slight difference to them, I believe it was entirely worthwhile. Thank you for caring, and I hope more people will begin to do the same.

I think this is an epidemic all over campus; having been here 3 years, I've noticed that many people here are less concerned with a real, quality education than getting the grades. I think society has had a major impact in this attitude; it is nearly impossible to find a good job in today's work environment without a 4 year degree. Because of that, more people are attending college out of necessity, rather than a real desire to learn. Because of the increased number of students attending 4 year colleges, the competition for the good jobs has reached a cut-throat level. Society has told students today that the most important thing is getting a good job and making a lot of money; high schools motivate students to attend college by insisting that what they really want, high-paying jobs, they cannot attain without a college degree. As a result, I do think college has become merely a stepping stone to many of today's students. And how do you get a good job? By getting good grades while you're at college; it used to be enough to simply have a college degree to get a decent job in the real world. This is insufficient today and students now focus exclusively on the grades that they receive in college. I will confess that at times I have found myself too worried about what grade I was getting in a particular class and as a result I lost track of the bigger picture. Parental pressure is another major factor that contributes to the exorbitant importance of grades; Notre Dame is obviously an expensive institution and I think many parents may unwittingly place the majority of their concerns on 'getting their money's worth,' which they equate with success on exams, papers, etc in the form of good grades, rather than actual learning. I know that is the pressure that I feel most from my parents. I am not attempting to justify any of this apathy or disengagement. I've come to the realization as my time here is dwindling that the grades I receive are of secondary importance.

I think you raised some excellent points in class, highlighting student's ridiculous nature when it comes to getting the grades, and not worrying about learning at all. Unfortunately, some people will always be like that, but I think that by talking to us today, you opened many kids eyes as to why they are here- not to get the grades and the diploma, but to learn, and most importantly who we are.

Upon hearing your thoughts about student disengagement in class today, I was reminded of an article I read by Mark Edmundson, a professor of English at the Univ. of Virginia. In this article, entitled "On the Uses of a Liberal Education," Edmundson examines the brand of apathy towards learning that plagues our economics class. I hope that, if you choose to read it (I have added the link to the end of this message,) you may find that Edmundson can shed some light on this issue. Edmunson points to consumerism as the downfall for modern students. That is, we are shoppers looking for the most convenient way to gain from our purchases. We shop for classes, require disproportionate facilities etc. Anyways, I'll let you read it for yourself, if you want: http://www.student.virginia.edu/~decweb/lite/

I just wanted you to know that what you had to say in class today struck a chord with me. The behavior of a disengaged student as you described in class partly fits me, although I would never have considered myself as such in the past. I don't miss class, I attend my discussion sections, but I do nothing beyond what is traditionally expected of a student. Thank you for your honesty in this matter. I mean to ammend my behavior and my attitude. Please don't give up on us.

Hello there! I just wanted to drop you an e-mail to let you know that I have observed the problems of disengagement that you spoke of today in many of my classes. . .That said, I did have one small problem with today's lecture, which was that it dwelled entirely on this issue of disengagement. I come to class to learn about economics, and I pay a lot of money in order to do so. I felt today's discussion could have been shorter and I really wish I would have learned something about economics today. Hopefully we, as a class, will be able to move on to more relevant topics. I definitely plan on attending your office hours in the near future.

I got into a huge debate with some fellow dorm-mates following the lecture, and was surprisingly disturbed at how many among the student body are here "for the degree." It is really sad that that is what college has come to, especially at a place like this, where the opportunities are as good as anywhere in the country. I strongly encourage you to not only bring this up in your classes, but to the faculty board as well, because I see this as an epidemic among students here (not all, but a good amount). I feel this is something that needs to be addressed, because as you saw, it definitely can affect the learning environment at this university. I appreciate you taking the strong position you did in front of your students, and feel that type of conversation needs to exist in more classes here, because students need to learn that the purpose of college is not to get a high GPA or simply graduate, it is to learn how to learn, and to engage in intelligent conversation. I think too many students here just run through the motions. You would be an incredible spokesman on this topic, and I encourage you to bring it to a higher scale.

I have to say that it was quite encouraging to hear the positive attitudes of several of my fellow students. With that said, I can now see that I am not alone on my academic endeavors. There ARE indeed others out there who want to learn, and this has given me a renewed sense of encouragement. To be quite honest, I was beginning to believe that I couldn't "hack it" here and that I was becoming a bad student who doesn't study enough. But now that I see what a caring professor you are, what a passion you have for learning, and how many students there are that truly want to gain an enriching learning experience from our short time at ND, I have been "recharged" again and it feels great! I feel like I've been uplifted and I'm ready to tackle school to the best of my ability. I want to take advantage of my years here at ND because I know they're going to be the best years of my life. Time goes by fast and we have to realize that we have no time to waste! I thank you for your encouragement, you have truly given me that push that I needed to be the great student that I once was and that I know I can still be! I thought for awhile there that I was "burnt out" and couldn't do this anymore; but now I feel refreshed and ready to push through the rest of this semester because it's still not too late to make this semester a good one!

You have reached more of us than you think, and I am deeply sorry that as a whole we have not been able to reciprocate the energy you so obviously put into what you do. Such passion and care should be taken by more of our professors here at Notre Dame and quite truthfully, everywhere else. Please continue loving what you do and loving Notre Dame. . .I hope that this proves to be a turning point in all of our Irish educations. Thank you sincerely.

As one of the many students who you shot down in class, I would like to tell you that perhaps you are focusing too much on the masses, who dwell in life and not on people like myself who are actively engaged and interested. I believe that I am not alone. From the comments I've heard and read, people seem to love this class. Perhaps participartion is difficult since it requires talking in front of such a large audience, but your talk has helped us overcome such idiotic fears.

Because we have a huge class and TAs, I never thought that it would be appropriate (forgive me- haha) to attend the Professor's office hours without specific, pressing questions in mind. However, now that you have essentially invited us in a most direct manner, I will pay a visit at some point to discuss some thoughts on economics.

Of all the things you said when talking about disengagement and cheating, one thing impressed me the most. I was shocked and surprised to hear that office hours are not to ask questions, but to talk with the professor about anything. I like this idea because i would enjoy to hear more about what you think and i would like if you reflected on what i thought about the world in general. i will definitely be stopping by office hours to have intellectual conversations. Thank you for being a caring professor, i will be a caring student.

While it’s about 4 years too late for me, I do appreciate your attempts at changing the mindset of the students in your class.  With the help of a little more self-confidence and years more experience I have been able to overcome the snickers and sneers of the freshman in the class and gone ahead and asked the questions that have been on my mind, and have been questioned as to the motives of my inquiries by other students outside class.  It is a phenomenon that another professor of mine refers to as the “Notre Dame Mask”, where the majority of the class sits in their seats without any expression of interest or curiosity.  In the process of doing some research in some more academically centered journals, I developed my own ideas about what the major difference between a freshman and a senior is.  Maturity and life experience obviously play a huge role in the development of a student over the years, but I think the biggest part of the development of any student who truly succeeds during his or her college years is the evolution of his or her view of the role of the teacher.  Understanding that a college professor takes on a completely different role than a high school teacher is paramount to a students development. A student enters college with the understanding that the role of a teacher is to develop a students mind through the passing of knowledge. In this scenario the teacher is a question-answerer.  In the occasion that a student doesn’t understand a concept, he or she asks the teacher a question to which the teacher replies with an answer. A college professor, though they all hold the capacity to answer questions, should not necessarily be a question-answerer. At the beginning of the semester, one of my professors wrote on the board a list of goals for the class. The list contained only one goal: “to become more sophisticated thinkers”, which should be the very essence of the college experience. In the process of fulfilling this goal I’ve come to the conclusion that college professors are question-askers. When I look back at my four years here I realize that the best professors I’ve had have been the ones who didn’t reply to my questions with an answer but rather those who replied with questions of their own. Developing into a sophisticated thinker is not achieved by having the answers given to you but rather by having the path shown to you. It is here that I think you have done a wonderful job to this point.  On every occasion I’ve approached you, you have listened to my questions and helped me to understand by posing more directed and specific questions back at me.  Looking back it’s hard to imagine being in the shoes of these freshman as I have one foot in the real world already, but I can definitely see that they, much as I once did and probably still do, need a little guidance.

I've been giving Monday's class quite a bit of thought over the last few days. I can honestly say it was probably the most uncomfortable class I ever sat in but at the same time it sparked so much thought. I've been at college just over a semester, and already I've gotten into this rut where some days I just don't want to get out of bed and classes feel like such a chore. It seems that the focus anymore is to just get through class to the next weekend or break, without bothering to give a crap about the material unless it'll be on the next exam. Your lecture and discussion with us Monday really made me rethink where I was headed. I realized just how well-rounded I am becoming by going to this university, regardless of what career path I choose. I've gained more knowledge and different outlooks on life here in a semester and a half than in four years of high school. From here on out, I want to try and be more enthusiastic about my education instead of just let all the opportunities pass by. I will never have these resources again in my life once I graduate. Thank God I realized that my freshman year. I look forward to coming to your office hours in the near future if for no other reason than the fact that you are indeed my most fascinating and most approachable professor. The two knuckleheads I sit by agree with me on this. We can talk about economics, exams, Bruno's Pizza, you know, whatever. Thanks again for the push in the right direction.

I was really not impressed by the response of the students towards your class. Personally I can say that I feel honored to be part of your class. I think that a teacher should not only teach what he knows in terms of the material covered in class but also he ahould teach values which will be much more helpful to everyone. I find your class to be one of the few classes that follows this.