tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post1211372399985626720..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: Sometimes they are better than I am.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67288615126811825582012-03-28T20:37:01.095-04:002012-03-28T20:37:01.095-04:00Ha! I posted that image here once. Took some flak ...Ha! I posted that image here once. Took some flak for it, too. But that was sort of what I was going for when I posted this story: a sort of raising-the-bar for snowflakes proper.<br /><br />I feel bad for having made a blanket statement about soldiers. I've posted before about my work with military universities and how it differs from the rest of my students. What I should have said was &Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-35768481772283400332012-03-28T19:02:50.143-04:002012-03-28T19:02:50.143-04:00I have had quite a few ex-military (and some on ac...I have had quite a few ex-military (and some on active duty who get called up 2/3 of the way through the semester). To a one, they have been forthright, hardworking, and diligent. Some of them (a goodly number) have been women--at least one of whom had seen combat. <br /><br />AM, thank you for sharing this story. I hope this woman recovers and is able to complete the coursework. Her situation BurntChromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055976331443607569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11739185390240720202012-03-28T10:02:07.276-04:002012-03-28T10:02:07.276-04:00Okay, so this story checks out. Why, then, is it ...Okay, so this story checks out. Why, then, is it so important to keep insisting that you're still "right"?<br /><br />You're not right. The story checks out. There's no point to continuing to insist that women aren't really in combat. The end.Nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01988984668798231437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-53563186872442025772012-03-28T09:23:48.753-04:002012-03-28T09:23:48.753-04:00And, PP, I thank you for saying that. I truly wasn...And, PP, I thank you for saying that. I truly wasn't trying to go after you, but that thread had started to devolve in a way that often generates a fair amount of mail to me. Things work until they don't, and once any kind of heated language comes up, the discussion or the issue takes a back seat. That's when people become angry; that's when I start getting asked: "Aren'tCollege Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48223632544055658152012-03-28T09:01:17.604-04:002012-03-28T09:01:17.604-04:00For my part, I'm sorry for my reply, despite m...For my part, I'm sorry for my reply, despite my feeling at the time that I was simply giving back equally to what the CM community was receiving from AM. I guess I was, well, utterly flabbergasted at AM's replies and angered that AM had decided to move to throwing cuss words around - I've been a long time reader of RYS and CM and figured that AM had a wayyy thicker skin compared to Prof Poopieheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997969128824319914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-17275092185954899262012-03-28T08:04:39.798-04:002012-03-28T08:04:39.798-04:00My students are mostly military. A look back over ...My students are mostly military. A look back over my previous posts will uncover a lot of making fun of student writing and making fun of the administration, but almost nothing about the "flaky" attitudes so commonly reported on this blog. It really is the case that they usually just do their jobs and take their lumps without complaint.AdjunctSlavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17025851491072402087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-2183343206188773872012-03-28T07:14:05.974-04:002012-03-28T07:14:05.974-04:00@Anonymous - "problematic" doesn't m...@Anonymous - "problematic" doesn't mean "false." <br /><br />I'm well aware that women are participating in, injured and killed in combat - currently for OEF, the number seems to be around 35 American military women killed. In Iraq, total casualty estimates are around 400--in the 80s. Others estimate that somewhere between 2-3% of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan areAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41591020154605508732012-03-28T05:45:45.278-04:002012-03-28T05:45:45.278-04:00To be fair to Prof. Poopiehead, AM did start with ...To be fair to Prof. Poopiehead, AM did start with the vulgarity and name calling here. Doubting students' excuses is par for the course on this site, so we can hardly be blamed for being skeptical. Collectively, we've seen it all.Curmudgeon in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07524725236168917391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-51026847949835746292012-03-28T03:44:13.201-04:002012-03-28T03:44:13.201-04:00When it's fictionalized to the point that bull...When it's fictionalized to the point that bullshit detectors go crazy for the people who know what they're talking about, then the emotional impact is lost, "no really, trust me!" notwithstanding.<br /><br />As Grumpy Sergeant says, neither media blackout nor "fog of war" could make this more realistic. But as it's apparently largely made up, I won't belabor ComplexCoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14562467256716555408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-61492617941164296752012-03-28T00:42:27.052-04:002012-03-28T00:42:27.052-04:00A reader wishes to make this comment anonymously:
...<i>A reader wishes to make this comment anonymously:</i><br /><br />"For a soldier, her contributions were impressive. I scoured each one<br />for plagiarism, but they all came out clean. She just liked my course<br />and loved online learning."<br /><br />I have been a deployed soldier taking online courses. Really, it is<br />kind of insulting that good submissions from a soldier areCollege Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-71374786720031760732012-03-28T00:01:25.340-04:002012-03-28T00:01:25.340-04:00I've been with RYS and CM since 2007; no one w...I've been with RYS and CM since 2007; no one will chase me away. Especially when I've got Beaker Ben on my side. :)<br /><br />I suspect I could have written this better and more convincingly. At the time I constructed it (out of multiple emails) I was focusing on obscuring details but in that process I made it into something hard to swallow. <br /><br />Just take it at face value, guys.Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60194522139475249842012-03-27T23:28:30.578-04:002012-03-27T23:28:30.578-04:00Because some folks don't seem to understand wh...Because some folks don't seem to understand where my trigger finger is on this issue, we are RIGHT now at a point where community members are no longer conversing and are starting to snipe a bit. <br /><br />I don't think it's useful at this point. I've been chatting with a number of longtime RYS/CM folks about this, and people seem to want there to be a more clear delineation of College Miseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371354682300032653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-84189585524402414172012-03-27T23:10:13.829-04:002012-03-27T23:10:13.829-04:00PS - AM, if you've also been long-time RYS as ...PS - AM, if you've also been long-time RYS as well, then you'd also recall the posts where military/active-duty students spewed their own brand of flakery, including tall tales, to get out of assignments. Hence the [not-totally-out-of-the-blue...] skepticism of some here about the story.<br />If you want to use blunt language to get your point across in your rebuttal, I'll engage in Prof Poopieheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997969128824319914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-14156856904415063272012-03-27T23:08:49.659-04:002012-03-27T23:08:49.659-04:00PS - AM, if you've also been long-time RYS as ...PS - AM, if you've also been long-time RYS as well, then you'd also recall the posts where military/active-duty students spewed their own brand of flakery, including tall tales, to get out of assignments. Hence the [not-totally-out-of-the-blue...] skepticism of some here about the story.<br />If you want to use blunt language to get your point across in your rebuttal, I'll engage in Prof Poopieheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997969128824319914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-80088174591249056872012-03-27T23:07:41.919-04:002012-03-27T23:07:41.919-04:00AM, please don't worry about it. Your post is ...AM, please don't worry about it. Your post is great.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5212287831921530342012-03-27T23:06:56.081-04:002012-03-27T23:06:56.081-04:00One thing that is being taken on faith here should...One thing that is being taken on faith here should not be. Do not imagine for an instance that the media is given the necessary information to report an exact number of casualties on a given day. <br /><br />There is such a clusterfuck of death and injury during the long haul that official numbers of casualties, dates, locations, etc. cannot be trusted. The fog of war, my friends. It would be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-25753328814826126132012-03-27T22:57:15.720-04:002012-03-27T22:57:15.720-04:00AM, It's because we are a sad bunch of cynical...AM, It's because we are a sad bunch of cynical bastards. If Jesus Christ himself missed a Saturday morning class, we would demand a note from His Father saying that he was actually busy rising from the dead.<br /><br />I also wanted to comment that you should check to make sure the story was true. You clearly expressed your admiration for the student but didn't mention that you had Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44967977655050850942012-03-27T22:43:32.019-04:002012-03-27T22:43:32.019-04:00My experiences with military (and ex-military) stu...My experiences with military (and ex-military) students have been varied, but generally better than those with the average student, especially when it comes to taking responsibility (and also signing off emails appropriately; the "respectfully" or "very respectfully" is, in my experience, typical, and always nice to see). My most memorable case was a young man who'd Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-46092461248901525322012-03-27T22:16:29.124-04:002012-03-27T22:16:29.124-04:00ALSO I didn't change her gender. I thought it ...ALSO I didn't change her gender. I thought it would be too obvious.Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43861953710395882772012-03-27T22:15:23.011-04:002012-03-27T22:15:23.011-04:00You guys really suck sometimes.
I have been in to...You guys really suck sometimes.<br /><br />I have been in touch with multiple people about this situation. This is a thing that happened. But before those people got in contact with me, relaying official communication, the student contacted me first, and that impressed the hell out of me.<br /><br />Second, I work at a Blue Ribbon uni, and we have about 90% military students. I have a lot of Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-73338888739967995182012-03-27T21:51:15.156-04:002012-03-27T21:51:15.156-04:00Cog's point, AM, is that the story--as you pos...Cog's point, AM, is that the story--as you posted it, which, remember, is all we have to go on--stretches the boundaries of credulity. So, yes, I trust that you've obscured details, and yes, I trust that you feel sufficiently confident in this e-mail exchange's truthfulness to have posted it here and to hold the student up as an example for others, but no. the story you've posted Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-48298671886717707522012-03-27T21:36:03.953-04:002012-03-27T21:36:03.953-04:00I'm sorry to say that I, too, found myself thi...I'm sorry to say that I, too, found myself thinking along the skeptical lines of ComplexCog. I've been teaching active duty military personnel for years. I've learned that there is a blackout period when a soldier from the student's base is killed in action. This may not apply in this student's case, but she's almost too forthcoming to seem credible. Another thing I&#Surly Templehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05057191570792423261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-23133537090366240552012-03-27T21:29:00.465-04:002012-03-27T21:29:00.465-04:00Hey Cog, maybe you should trust that among the det...Hey Cog, maybe you should trust that among the details I changed were the exact number of people killed.Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-39279797184693363782012-03-27T20:24:29.282-04:002012-03-27T20:24:29.282-04:00My initial thought too was that the story was a li...My initial thought too was that the story was a lie concocted by a flaky student who pulled the pity card to excuse her late work. But then I chided myself for being too cynical and didn't say anything.Curmudgeon in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07524725236168917391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12909250746402050762012-03-27T19:56:02.678-04:002012-03-27T19:56:02.678-04:00Sorry to say it, but assuming you didn't obscu...Sorry to say it, but assuming you didn't obscure the timeline (i.e., you really got this today), I think she's flaking out on you. Eleven US or coalition deaths in one incident would be front-page news; and even eleven combined coalition/Afghan deaths will lead to a story -- and there are none showing up for my searches. The Defense Department announces deaths in Afghanistan quite quicklyComplexCoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14562467256716555408noreply@blogger.com