tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post6054549207912458009..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: In Which Bella Wonders If She Has It All WrongUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-43949023395815263452013-10-10T20:25:23.959-04:002013-10-10T20:25:23.959-04:00Yep. So, you know, assign more and give reading q...Yep. So, you know, assign more and give reading quizzes -- let 'em hang by their own rope! Here's a calculus you can use: 20 pages = 1 hour of reading for my 7-year-old. 2 hours outside of class for every 1 hour in class = 40-60 pages per class session, or a minimum of 80-120 pages a week. Expect at least that! Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-37811602158755242262013-10-10T09:14:41.336-04:002013-10-10T09:14:41.336-04:00Peter- you said it perfectly. I am finding it har...Peter- you said it perfectly. I am finding it harder and harder to go through the motions because there is no integrity or rigor. But as I look around, I am the only one here who is miserable, other colleagues have averages in the 80s and are happy. Others give no papers- because students can't write and they feel no obligation to teach them that particular skill. What we call education Academic Charlotte Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617435890922621735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-58725685115385642862013-10-10T08:38:05.326-04:002013-10-10T08:38:05.326-04:00Oh Frog! I so much appreciate that and you! It&...Oh Frog! I so much appreciate that and you! It's just that I feel like I AM doing something wrong, being WAAAAY to limited in the readings I give them. I feel like I should be publically flogged, sometimes. Like if someone got ahold of my reading and assignment schedule and published it, I'd be shamed and humiliated. It's that simplified, really.<br /><br />And the schmucks Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15686242633678466958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-67428170600197219682013-10-10T00:25:12.198-04:002013-10-10T00:25:12.198-04:00I lurve both your ideas, Gary.I lurve both your ideas, Gary.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02906546940408742913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-39293535825871305312013-10-10T00:20:19.294-04:002013-10-10T00:20:19.294-04:00I've done something like this in a hybrid clas...I've done something like this in a hybrid class, but made everyone stay in the classroom (attendance being mandatory). I had the ones who came in prepared move to one section of the room, where we discussed the readings. Those who hadn't read prior to class could use the time for reading, but couldn't join the discussion or even take notes on it. They were disbelieving and Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02906546940408742913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-47391625331428838232013-10-10T00:10:05.868-04:002013-10-10T00:10:05.868-04:00Words of wisdom, Surly: "Lazy students with s...Words of wisdom, Surly: "Lazy students with shitty study habits don't need gimmicks, they need consequences." Yes yes yes yes yes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02906546940408742913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-56582022882627843212013-10-09T21:07:59.166-04:002013-10-09T21:07:59.166-04:00Well, I'm not Stella, but that's what I me...Well, I'm not Stella, but that's what I meant. You are doing nothing wrong. Cal sucks. Continue with the standards. The end.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-75021493758522544332013-10-09T17:43:35.231-04:002013-10-09T17:43:35.231-04:00The next time someone encourages professors to do ...The next time someone encourages professors to do fun things like go outside for class discussions, I wish someone would raise their hand and ask the speaker if he could give his presentation outside. Only do it if you have tenure.<br /><br />To "meet them where they are" I guess you'll just have to change your entire lesson plan and incorporate Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Oscar, and Big Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00331203839723194193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18499160032765365992013-10-09T13:55:01.177-04:002013-10-09T13:55:01.177-04:00And this really pissed me off (not you; the fact t...And this really pissed me off (not you; the fact that you were made to watch something so inane). It's not like, in the employment arena, bosses are being told to meet their employees where they are. This coddling shit must STOP!The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12741543305748364162013-10-09T13:50:21.916-04:002013-10-09T13:50:21.916-04:00*idiots!*idiots!The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12846316583202880502013-10-09T13:49:43.296-04:002013-10-09T13:49:43.296-04:00Meeting them where they're at? Good to know it...Meeting them where they're at? Good to know it's OK for me to also show up drunk to class now.<br /><br />You're not a failure for making them do what they're supposed to do. If your class is about reading and writing and they're expected to know how to read and write after taking your class, playing games in the quad or watching birds outdoors isn't doing them a service. The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-39853445726634379512013-10-09T12:58:49.137-04:002013-10-09T12:58:49.137-04:00I appreciate all the support, everyone. BUT, I alt...I appreciate all the support, everyone. BUT, I alternate between feeling like I did in the middle of the night (when I wrote this post) and feeling like I am a complete failure for asking so little of them for a college course.<br /><br />I keep expecting someone like Stella to chime in and say HELL YES you have it all wrong. You are dumbing it down too much. Stop taking it so easy and give them Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15686242633678466958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82313627783415230192013-10-09T11:59:32.347-04:002013-10-09T11:59:32.347-04:00I do it to even the playing field because I know p...I do it to even the playing field because I know people cheat. I gave a review sheet for the first exam and that didn't work (means in the 60s) because they don't know how to study. Academic Charlotte Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06617435890922621735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-20632503650703434592013-10-09T11:43:37.686-04:002013-10-09T11:43:37.686-04:00The trick is to get them to continue from that poi...The trick is to get them to continue from that point. There are a fair number of students who stop once they have any words at all on the page. They don't edit. They don't revise. They don't do the work.introvert.profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09042783611716432247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-42489972011243278512013-10-09T10:55:36.040-04:002013-10-09T10:55:36.040-04:00But you know, there is something I like about this...But you know, there is something I like about this: "I for one plan to continue to focus on helping my students where they need it most----just to feel comfortable putting words---any words at all, onto a page."Compound Calicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059155949950433688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-40906649382014118392013-10-09T10:54:53.660-04:002013-10-09T10:54:53.660-04:00Not me.Not me.Compound Calicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059155949950433688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-61175370247780045732013-10-09T10:54:18.143-04:002013-10-09T10:54:18.143-04:00Haha....not to worry.Haha....not to worry.Compound Calicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00059155949950433688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-10089367625744108132013-10-09T10:47:52.284-04:002013-10-09T10:47:52.284-04:00I am so sorry to have implicated Cal. I don't ...I am so sorry to have implicated Cal. I don't know what I was thinking! Cal, I hope you can forgive me! Cool Cal is a very different guy-----not truly cool like our Compound Calico. Cool Cal is a legend in his own mind.Bellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15686242633678466958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-51421321250911558752013-10-09T10:09:20.785-04:002013-10-09T10:09:20.785-04:00Lazy students with shitty study habits don't n...Lazy students with shitty study habits don't need gimmicks, they need consequences. I'm always happy to meet them "where they are", but we're meeting there so I can help them get where they NEED to be in order to pass the course. Until they buck up and do the work, they'll keep getting failing grades. Cool Cal is engaging in cynical pandering, and whether or not he Surly Templehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05057191570792423261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-57423551839907408132013-10-09T10:05:11.105-04:002013-10-09T10:05:11.105-04:00That's because if you let them use notecards o...That's because if you let them use notecards or their books, they don't prepare carefully. They then waste time looking up information instead of organizing and constructing their answers. I never give open-book tests or essays for just these reasons. I DO, however, give them study guides with review questions that are designed to help them focus their approach to the material. This Surly Templehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05057191570792423261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-53778537143203855112013-10-09T09:53:00.370-04:002013-10-09T09:53:00.370-04:00I think I understand your dilemma completely, and ...I think I understand your dilemma completely, and I don't have a solution.<br /><br />It is one thing if a handful of students in the class are not doing the work; then you can just fail them. But increasingly, in my fresh/sophomore classes (gen-ed), it is the vast majority of them. Don't come to class (or do whatever they do while they sit there), don't do the homework, don't Peter Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00754472537710161295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-64142775040095347892013-10-09T09:43:31.456-04:002013-10-09T09:43:31.456-04:00No. No, you are not doing something wrong. But C...No. No, you are not doing something wrong. But Cal is, unless he is a PE teacher.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3347144568221617502013-10-09T09:34:23.319-04:002013-10-09T09:34:23.319-04:00Do you really teach with Cal from the blog? He sou...Do you really teach with Cal from the blog? He sounds like a d-bag.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-74397698322150600502013-10-09T09:07:24.102-04:002013-10-09T09:07:24.102-04:00Two answers. One is that you are not asking anythi...Two answers. One is that you are not asking anything demanding: official guidelines for credit hours say that students should work at least two hours out of class for every hour in class. They can read, they should do the reading. You're doing good.<br /><br />The second is that certain classes aren't reading. This could be one of two things: statistical fluke, wherein all the bad Three Sigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10822893039310439770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-50385231389061067492013-10-09T09:02:40.410-04:002013-10-09T09:02:40.410-04:00Cool Cal is a fucking moron. I want to punch him, ...Cool Cal is a fucking moron. I want to punch him, very hard--hard enough to give him an aneurysm. "Meet them where they are" is the new euphemism for "lower your standards." FUCK HIM.<br /><br />You have it right. In order to write, they MUST read. MUST. If they refuse, they fail. <br /><br />I have little 5 point CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques) where I had out 3x5 BurntChromehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055976331443607569noreply@blogger.com