It's been a while since I brought everyone up to date on the progress of my Ecological Development course, because I've been busy. So have the students. After our spring break I subjected them to the dreaded oral exam, which actually isn't so bad. I tried to engage them less in an adversarial role and more as a quiet conversation between two people on science. Some students took to it easily -- the more outgoing ones -- others were noticeably nervous, which was OK, and I hope they learned that it isn't that terrifying to have a discussion with a mentor.