This will be a short vent, but I had to let it off my chest.
There is a student in my evening Submersion Textilology course that will always ask for me to repeat the very first question I ask (a little exercise to make sure the students actually do their reading for the day). His request for a repeat is astonishingly Old-Faithful-esque in its regularity. It is an invariable rule, like the tides going in and out, never a miscommunication.
It has come to the point where the other students are snickering and mocking him at the beginning of every class, with barely any attempt to conceal it. And the kid seems genuinely mortified that he has to ask for the repeat. I even experimented with giving the simplest, most straightforward of questions (on the order of "What is a basket?", enounciated loudly, clearly, and slowly), but even for those I see his hand raise, and I must carefully repress my vexation with cheerful compliance.
I wonder if he's putting me on. It's either that, or he has a powerful difficulty with processing verbally-conveyed information (and he is a native English speaker, btw). But in that case, what value is he getting from the lectures?
Do it back to him. If he asks you to repeat something, ask him "Could you repeat that?". Maybe he will take a hint.
ReplyDeleteBut you got to make it look like you are joking.
Put your daily question on the board/whiteboard/document camera so he can see it in writing. If he has a legitimate aural processing issue, this will help him out and save him embarrassment. If he is being a jerk, he will be outed as such. It's an easy & quick solution to either problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Doc Worm.
ReplyDeleteOr get in the habit of asking it, pausing and asking it before he asks--try to judge his lag.
As to value of the lecture--Aristotle's lecture notes give me a cue on spiraling and repeating info; of course, his students had to chisel their notes into rock Fred Flintstone-style, right?
You said the kid looks "mortified" that he has to ask for a repeat, so it sounds pretty clear he's not doing it just to be a jerk. I'm not sure why Crazyprof thinks that mocking him in front of the whole class is a solution. Why not shove him in a locker for good measure? Jeez, man.
ReplyDeleteThis is how he processes information. Every student does it differently. Have you ever had a student repeat, verbatim, an oral direction you had given? That is how they internalize the information and process it. This might be how your student processes your question, by asking for a repeat.
ReplyDeleteJust an idea.
Is there any chance he has a hearing deficit, and that his asking you to repeat the question also makes you turn your head toward him, so that he can read your lips as a supplement to understanding? Of course, if that's the case, he should tell you, but 20-something males are not given to admitting disabilities. I've had two students who were clearly, from the distance between their noses and the monitor, nearly blind, but both refused any accommodation (and, in fact, did fine without).
ReplyDeleteDoc Worm's idea would cover this possibility, too.
Like Doc Worm, I also suspect an aural processing condition. This is pretty much the way an acquaintance of mine, who has one, operates in the world.
ReplyDeleteIf he's not hearing you, you might consider speaking more plainly. Just because you have a PhD doesn't mean you're so smart that you can't help others. This student wants to learn, but you ridicule him instead.
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ReplyDeleteExcuse me, "Parent," but you ought to work on your reading comprehension. The instructor isn't ridiculing the student: the other students are. These other students clearly do understand the instructor, regardless of the instructor's educational achievements, who certainly writes clearly enough.
ReplyDeleteThis student's behavior may indicate a hearing problem, in which case the instructor may privately suggest to the student that he get his hearing tested. It may be some other perceptual disability, which also may be helped, if diagnosed by a competent professional (not the instructor, unless the instructor happens to have this expertise and a license to practice it).
It may also indicate a lack of maturity, or being socially maladjusted, all too common among college students today, sadly often because the lax upbringing they got from enabling parents. I once had a student who behaved similarly: the other students giggled at him, calling him, "Question Boy." I did my best to remind them that they shouldn't make fun of him, but his questions were frequent and very off-topic (unlike Misono's student, who apparently just needs to have everything repeated to him). I pulled my student aside once, and privately reminded him that although his questions were welcome, it would help everyone if he kept them on topic. This helped: it's amazing what a little compassion and humanity can do.
Say, rather than yell at us here about things you're logically and factually wrong about, because you're obviously spoiling for a fight with us, why don't you go do something useful, like join the tsunami relief effort?
Um, I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question?
ReplyDeleteI'd need more info to say anything with any certainty, but perhaps your student has some degree of OCD, considering that you mention this happens after the first (only the first?) question of the day. That could also explain why he seems mortified to have to as you to repeat, even though he is going to be humiliated by his "peers:" he just fucking has to ask...
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