August 30. “Button, have you heard of Beethoven?”

“No. Never. What or who was Beethoven?”

“Beethoven was a German composer and pianist.”

“Is this a quizzing session?”

“No. I asked you this question because most US students think Beethoven was a dog.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because Beethoven is a very common name for a dog. To students who will get their bachelor’s degree in 2014, Clint Eastwood, is a sensitive movie director, not Dirty Harry and John McEnroe stars in TV ads, not on a tennis court, Fergie is a pop singer, not a duchess and Yogoslavia never existed. Such details feature in BeloitCollege’s Mindset list which was first compiled in 1998 for the class of 2002 by Beloit humanities professor Tom McBride and former public affairs director, Ron Nief. It was intended as a reminder to faculty at the university that references quickly become dated but also quickly evolved to become a very popular annual list that gives a snapshot of how things have changed.”

“This is how you have slowly but surely educated me. Thank you.”