Something I Wish I’d Asked (My College Students), by David Carlin

By David Carlin, The Catholic Thing, Feb. 5, 2021

David Carlin is a retired professor of sociology and philosophy at the Community College of Rhode Island, and the author of The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America.

It is now nearly three years since I retired from teaching after a half-century or so in the trade.  People sometimes ask me if I miss it.  Yes, in a way.  Teaching college students is a great privilege.  I mean, where else can you find a captive audience that listens to you when you drone on for an hour or more?  Your spouse won’t do that, or your children, or your best friends.  Maybe your priest-confessor will do so, but only if you have a long and very interesting list of sins.

And besides, they pay you for your droning.

But I must admit that there is much to be said for retirement – especially if you like to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning, and like to have plenty of time for reading and writing, and like to take (pre-COVID) trips with your wife in Europe and the America. …