tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post3742476689205139315..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: I'm Not Merely Baffled. I'm Pissed Fucking Off.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-65061816280560846352012-04-03T10:04:44.777-04:002012-04-03T10:04:44.777-04:00It's the combination of an inability (or unwil...It's the combination of an inability (or unwillingness) to follow directions coupled with the grade grubbing that makes me appreciate how much patience I do possess. <br /><br />"dear fluffy Lord" = big smile.Great Lakes Gretahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101613060478193833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-53013814131452254882012-04-03T10:01:26.446-04:002012-04-03T10:01:26.446-04:00This nearly made me spit-take my beverage.This nearly made me spit-take my beverage.Great Lakes Gretahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101613060478193833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-66665202116704037602012-04-02T09:32:59.096-04:002012-04-02T09:32:59.096-04:00This term I met with a student who claimed that my...This term I met with a student who claimed that my insistence that students follow instructions given in the Course Outline "wasn't fair." When I asked for elaboration, he claimed that all students "only read the instructions right before the assignment is due." <br /><br />Later in the meeting he blamed his performance on his small dorm room.Lucy, Countess of Bedfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07181713706519539554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-77145986983672629652012-04-02T09:26:38.761-04:002012-04-02T09:26:38.761-04:00Oh dear fluffy Lord. I would have lost my shit *en...Oh dear fluffy Lord. I would have lost my shit *entirely*. Kudos to you for keeping your cool.<br /><br />The comp students who are failing or getting Ds in my class right now are doing so because they don't follow directions--when they do attempt the homework (10 points for a post, 5 points for 2 responses, but I've explicitly stated that they must do both responses to get the 5 points),BurntChromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055976331443607569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-86000604012284236842012-04-02T05:52:28.856-04:002012-04-02T05:52:28.856-04:00Sorry, I meant the above as a reply to Defunct Adj...Sorry, I meant the above as a reply to Defunct Adjunct. <br /><br />Hirram, this post reminds us all how much it sucks to deal with the group think mentality. "If we all act equally stupid, then we are right and the professor is wrong."<br /><br />Sorry kiddies, that is not how it works. Sigh. Sometime you just get a class full of stupids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-38609859388362479202012-04-02T05:18:01.589-04:002012-04-02T05:18:01.589-04:00I am following the suggestion of some on this boar...I am following the suggestion of some on this board, and writing only minimal comments on essays this semester. It is kind of wonderful. I tell them that if they want to rewrite their essay, they need to make an appointment with me to go over it. Otherwise, the are not allowed a rewrite. It has been working okay so far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3599848437509999182012-04-02T01:26:01.969-04:002012-04-02T01:26:01.969-04:00Or what I really wanted to say: "Your friend ...Or what I really wanted to say: "Your friend did better because she is smarter than you. She has not pointed this out because she knows you would take it badly. Treasure the time you have with her, because she is going to move on fairly soon, to someone who is a closer match to her talents and interests. And hey, have a good summer."Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-75771618189361501812012-04-02T00:33:26.554-04:002012-04-02T00:33:26.554-04:00My partner and I both teach at a university.
We&#...My partner and I both teach at a university.<br /><br />We're both of the opinion that an inability to follow instructions is possibly the single most significant contributor to poor student performance in our classes. Yes, some students are simply not academically talented enough to be in college (don't get me started about admission standards), some can't write their way out of a Defunct Adjuncthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12954331373226016090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-22368703877435200562012-04-01T23:23:46.228-04:002012-04-01T23:23:46.228-04:00I choose the path of least reistance. Want to turn...I choose the path of least reistance. Want to turn things in late? Sure! Don't want to follow the instructions? Not gonna argue with you! As I see it giving these kids all this rope leads to them hanging themselves not crawling out of the dark hole of ignorance. The late assignments never get turned in or are so terrible they barely pass, they don't know the material and fail the tests (Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653265363298375065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-28543130008829276442012-04-01T23:10:54.923-04:002012-04-01T23:10:54.923-04:00Why did you read them and then give them a grade h...Why did you read them and then give them a grade higher than F in the first place?The_Mythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10621186404597424842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-87329096028975327712012-04-01T23:01:05.505-04:002012-04-01T23:01:05.505-04:00Hah--that is what we need: more professors yelling...Hah--that is what we need: more professors yelling at students. Maybe then they'd shut the fuck up and do the fucking work.The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-52615524994255815642012-04-01T23:00:06.541-04:002012-04-01T23:00:06.541-04:00My blood pressure just shot up reading this becaus...My blood pressure just shot up reading this because we've all had these little shitty students in class. Instead of drinking my liver into oblivion, I want to shake them. "Never, never, never shake a student!"The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-54828096147204537342012-04-01T22:51:33.020-04:002012-04-01T22:51:33.020-04:00It's because of crap like this that syllabi be...It's because of crap like this that syllabi become longer and longer. It seems like every term, some snowy snowflake comes up with yet another creative way to do something this stupid that should be obvious to anyone with a brain stem. You know if you don't put it in the syllabus, some idiot chair or dean somewhere is going to say, "Well, it wasn't in the syllabus, so EnglishDochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12046114978214062491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43846578097567988772012-04-01T21:39:05.073-04:002012-04-01T21:39:05.073-04:00Hiram, if you kept your cool then my hat goes off ...Hiram, if you kept your cool then my hat goes off to you, because I would have blown. my. fucking. stack.Prof Poopieheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997969128824319914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-42820252363015585032012-04-01T21:10:25.324-04:002012-04-01T21:10:25.324-04:00P.S. To the maximum extent possible, I have conver...P.S. To the maximum extent possible, I have converted all class work and exams to multiple choice. I know, it's an inferior way to teach, but it's necessary for classes of 100, particularly when seemingly all of them want to argue about everything, because they claim that everything I do a "trick" question, a valid retort for which should be, "IT DOES REQUIRE INTELLIGENCE.&Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-40754928715050663992012-04-01T21:06:13.418-04:002012-04-01T21:06:13.418-04:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ7mau61sPghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ7mau61sPgMiddle-Aged and Morosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04046076243513948921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58943520809670606422012-04-01T21:04:41.829-04:002012-04-01T21:04:41.829-04:00Now you know why I have the following statements o...Now you know why I have the following statements on the syllabus, among many others:<br /><br />- Always show all work in all course assignments, especially in homework involving mathematical calculations, including the units. Not showing all work, with the correct units, will be cause for taking off points. <br /><br />- All students are required to keep all course materials for the duration of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-21218138458164043512012-04-01T20:59:31.125-04:002012-04-01T20:59:31.125-04:00It's shit like this that makes me loathe my jo...It's shit like this that makes me loathe my job. I get a fair amount of this "half-assed classroom lawyering" (nicely put, ahistoricality) and it has done two things. One, my syllabus is nearly airtight. Two, I have become really good at saying, "Follow directions or get no credit."<br /><br />I was working one-on-one with a student a few weeks back when she had a Great Lakes Gretahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08101613060478193833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-25107442270371532072012-04-01T20:40:33.012-04:002012-04-01T20:40:33.012-04:00Failing to read the assignment is one thing. Then...Failing to read the assignment is one thing. Then claiming that because you did not specify an EXACT penalty for EVERY POSSIBLE way they might have failed to read the assignment, you therefore can't deduct anything? "You didn't say making the assignment sheet into a paper airplane didn't count, so you have to give me a grade for it?" That's just not on.<br /><br />I Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34178409811082953652012-04-01T20:34:32.695-04:002012-04-01T20:34:32.695-04:00I can't think why.I can't think why.Merely Academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452389428113097744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-27984535955649488682012-04-01T09:38:58.090-04:002012-04-01T09:38:58.090-04:00Once, a student blew off most of the semester and ...Once, a student blew off most of the semester and finally appeared one night, just as I was leaving, during the penultimate week of the semester.<br /><br />I politely informed her that since she had not done any of the assignments, and we were well past the date on which she could still get credit for any of them, she should see whether she could get some sort of withdrawal. <br /><br />Well, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12583763201261950212012-04-01T03:59:07.309-04:002012-04-01T03:59:07.309-04:00I have zero sympathy (no pun intended) for people ...I have zero sympathy (no pun intended) for people who can't read the fucking manual (RTFM for you old timers). I can't even come up with a response for this situation beyond a series of expletives followed by zeroes followed by telling them to leave and come back when they grow a brain.InvertedSquarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04704558162599421719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-2721571839614773752012-03-31T23:20:05.009-04:002012-03-31T23:20:05.009-04:00When I first started teaching, I was astounded at ...When I first started teaching, I was astounded at how many people failed assignments, even the entire course, for not following directions. I remember so many teachers from grade school on up drilling into our brains how important it is to read directions carefully. We even had exercises on how to do it, underlining key words and phrases on standardized test questions (how many, except for, give Curmudgeon in Traininghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07524725236168917391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60057607139585036582012-03-31T22:51:16.463-04:002012-03-31T22:51:16.463-04:00Remember that episode of Star Trek where Mr. Peter...Remember that episode of Star Trek where Mr. Peterson from the Bob Newhart show goes all apeshit and starts screaming that he's going to kill everyone?<br /><br />DIE DIE ALL OF YOU DIE! <br /><br />Reading this just made me think of that for some reason.StellafromSparksburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17584701718285662953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-30714398600192445472012-03-31T22:45:40.505-04:002012-03-31T22:45:40.505-04:00Yeah, time to start handing out zeroes like candy....Yeah, time to start handing out zeroes like candy.<br /><br />This shit must end, not just to save your own sanity, but also the world. These people are too dumb to live.<br /><br />Best and brightest my ass.<br /><br />I used to give similar in-class assignment. "Give five examples of..." and I'd often get 3, with 2 repeated in different words. For instance, someone might say &The_Mythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10621186404597424842noreply@blogger.com