As his house starts falling apart in every imaginable way, Professor X grabs first one, then two jobs teaching English 101 and 102-composition and literature-at a small private college and a local community college. This is the story of what he learns about his struggling pupils, about the college system-a business more bent on its own financial targets than the wellbeing of its students-about the classics he rediscovers, and about himself. --from publisher description.

The adjunct -- Writing hell -- Revelation -- Compare and contrast -- The four stages of a plot -- Community college -- Remediation -- The good stuff -- The pain -- College as Eden -- Grade inflation temptation -- The textbooks -- An introduction to the research paper -- Life editing -- Resonance -- The writing workshop -- Do your job, professor! -- Grading the teacher -- On borrowing liberally from other people's work -- The college bubble -- Nobody move.