The First Day of School

The "first day of school" - a phrase which strikes terror, anxiety, excitement, anticipation into many hearts each new semester. In my case, it was all of the above. I haven't been in a traditional classroom for a while, so the closer it got to class time, the more nervous I got. I arrived, early as usual, and took a seat. Some of the other students, who all knew each other, were discussing how one of them had not passed the class previously and was repeating it. That didn't bother me too much, these things happen. However, what did cause me some alarm was when he said he had dissed the prof's play and that's why he didn't pass. So, did this mean we weren't allowed to express an opinion contrary to the professor's in class? Are we to automatically enbrace as gospel every word that comes from the professor's mouth? I found this to be troubling, to say the least. I am reserving judgment until I have been in the class longer, after all, it was only the first day, and I get to know the prof better. Maybe that wasn't really the reason the student failed. It has been my experience that the best teachers foster open discussion and that they don't expect their students to always agree with them. We'll see which one this prof turns out to be.