While enjoying my week-end beverage and crossword puzzle, I was approached by an acquaintance who has a child enrolled in the BizSkule where I teach.Her child had serious concerns about one of our faculty. Her concerns: he writes on a blackboard -- with chalk; he has an accent, so she can't possibly understand what he's saying; he doesn't post his notes to the internet. Why are we letting "these people" teach our children?
And, finally, what could *I* do about it?
Not a %#*%# thing. Gtfo of my office. Buh bye! This annoys the CRAP out of me. Literally. I need to go bathe now.
ReplyDeleteSuggest to him that his kid transfer to a school with a home ec major? Anyone who can't deal with "those people" speaking in their danged foreign accents probably won't do too well in BizNiz.
ReplyDeleteI'd go back to chalk in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteThis student needs to learn the meaning of two words: "flexible" and "homework."
Word. I liked chalkboards. When the chalk was used up, it was just gone. Whiteboards are fine except that those plastic, toxic markers last about a week and then end up in landfills forever.
DeleteWhile I abhor the xenophobia in the comment about "these people," what's the deal with chalk? I have written boards full of notes and my students even use the chalkboards (sometimes for legit reasons and sometimes not). Two of my kids (and I use that word purposely, rather than the word "students") dared each other to eat the chalk in the classroom last year. One of them actually attempted to do so, then wanted to be excused to rinse out his mouth (at least I think that's what he was requesting; I couldn't understand him). Then again, maybe I just made the point that they don't know what the chalk board is for.
ReplyDeleteNow... for the xenophobia: is your colleague's accent so marked that understanding is actually obscured or is this acquaintance simply being irrational?
As the OP, I wondered afterwards if the child was simply grabbing anything to build an excuse for a lackluster performance. I kept repeating, "Go talk to him. Go to office hours. Ask for help." I pointed out that students are expected to take notes from a blackboard as well as powerpoints, that many professors don't post notes (I never did before this current position), and that many more people in the world "have accents" than don't (assuming that *we* don't have accents -- jk).
DeleteWhen my siblings and I were little kids and encountered non-native English speakers for the first time, our dad had no patience for our childish snickering at "funny" accents. He looked at us with disgust and asked us how many foreign languages we happened to speak. Shut us right the f*** up, that's for sure.
DeleteAt my school, a few of the rooms still have ONLY chalkboards...no whiteboard, no smart boards. (Every room has a projection screen, though, so don't worry -- we can still PowerPoint!!!)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer the chalkboard. You don't have to worry about the markers drying up. You don't get high from the fumes. You don't have the problem of an overly-sensitive smart board making a big mess out of whatever you write. With all of those methods, you're doing the same thing: putting words up for students to write down. What difference does it make if they're written in chalk or marker or pixels?
My response in two words:
ReplyDeleteTough titty.
I wonder if mother and daughter gather to wear white sheets and burn crosses. Sorry, but as soon as I hear "these people", I get pissed.
ReplyDeleteTell the mother to have her adult kid adapt. Perhaps reading the material an extra time, sitting at the front of the room, or not texting during class would help. He's an adult (if in bizskule) and needs to act like one if he expects to actually succeed in business.
ReplyDeleteWhat, exactly, did she expect you would do??? I'm still puzzled a few days after reading this. ;o)
ReplyDelete