|
|
01-31-2007, 03:13 PM
|
|
Jin, Gi, Rei, Ko, Chi, Shin, Tei
|
|
|
|
Students can be so sweet ...
Despite the long hours and all the work, and the frequent suspicion that most textbooks are never actually read, teaching can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
I just got an e-mail from one of my students saying she was glad to see me in the cafeteria. [Some instructors, for whatever reason, don't enjoy interacting with students outside of class and so seldom if ever eat in the cafeteria. Me, I figure it's easier than making something and bringing it with me, and it's a whole lot easier (and healthier) than going out for fast food. Besides, I sometimes wind up sitting with students, and it can be fun to chat with them outside of the classroom environment.]
Another student heard somewhere (it's a small school) that I'm "into" martial arts and so gave me a copy of a dvd he has on conditioning exercises for martial artists, thinking I'd like it. He isn't even in any of my classes.
Is that sweet or what?
Cheers,
Michael
__________________
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” -- Socrates
|
01-31-2007, 03:23 PM
|
|
Admin of THIEVES and SLUGABEDS
|
|
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
That's totally sweet.
It sounds like you're a topic of conversation even among students who aren't in your classes. I wouldn't be surprised if that translated into more people giving Biology a try.
|
01-31-2007, 05:17 PM
|
|
ŧiggermonkey
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Springfield, MA
Gender: Bender
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
That's great, TLR.
__________________
|
01-31-2007, 06:31 PM
|
|
Tellifying
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Northern Virginia
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
All due credit to the students for being sweet, but the way I see it, this is more a testament to your standing in the campus community.
It's clear to me that you're seen as approachable and not only does this make for the great social experiences you've described, but it also would result in your students being more eager to learn and more able to learn from your classes.
Hell, if I had teachers like you, I'd never have dropped out of college. Hell, if there were teachers like you near me, I'd probably go back to college.
Thanks, Masked Man, for restoring my faith in the present-day state of education.
|
01-31-2007, 07:21 PM
|
|
A fellow sophisticate
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Cowtown, Kansas
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
__________________
Sleep - the most beautiful experience in life - except drink.--W.C. Fields
|
01-31-2007, 09:04 PM
|
|
Just keep m'nose clean, egg, chips & beans, I'm always full of steam
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: so far out, I'm too far in
Gender: Bender
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Agreed. And, to any new college students reading this: This is an example of why you research the professors first, and plan your class schedule around the right ones. Best advice I ever got as a freshman.
__________________
"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
...........
|
01-31-2007, 09:35 PM
|
|
Jin, Gi, Rei, Ko, Chi, Shin, Tei
|
|
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Another piece of good news! I just got a letter from the Vice President of Academic Affairs informing me that they've been quite impressed with my teaching evaluations from both my peers and my students, and that I've been re-appointed for next year. Yay!
That is excellent advice, by the way, Sock Puppet, and absolutely vital for graduate school. I wish someone had given it to me when I was choosing graduate programs. Whenever anyone tells me they're interested in graduate school, I tell them, for goodness' sake, learn as much as you can about the person(s) you're thinking of working with first! Choosing the wrong advisor can have disastrous consequences.
Cheers,
Michael
__________________
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” -- Socrates
|
01-31-2007, 09:58 PM
|
|
happy now, Mussolini?
|
|
Join Date: May 2006
Location: location, location
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
Choosing the wrong advisor can have disastrous consequences.
|
Truer words have never been spoken.
Conrats Michael on the kudos from your students--you must be doing some good stuff out there in the trenches. Lately I have had several of my former students come to me (unlikely ones at that, as they never seemed particularly interested in my class), and tell me how much they learned--one came up to me today and thanked me for "making" her do all the maps we did, and that now she wished her current teacher worked with maps. It's nice to hear positive things from the students. Made my day! And its nice that your supervisors appreciate you too, compared to the total shellacking we get from the administration where I work.
|
02-01-2007, 10:02 AM
|
|
Now in six dimensions!
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The Cotswolds
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
And I thought this was going to be about the best way to serve students up as a dessert.
Speaking as a student, I think most of the time we all feel a bit intimidated by our lecturers. They come across as smart and knowledgable and generally busy, so actually going up and pestering them feels a bit like you're wasting their time.
It sounds like you've made your students feel valued, Michael. That's a good thing (but not unexpected, knowing you).
__________________
The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve. -Eugene Wigner
|
02-01-2007, 01:04 PM
|
|
Clutchenheimer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Canada
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
... I've been re-appointed for next year.
|
Excellent news, TLR, and a no-brainer on the school's part.
Is it a probationary appointment, or continuing contracts? (Apologies if you already explained this.)
We're hiring this year in my department. Just yesterday I had the rare unreserved pleasure of calling one of our 200 applicants to offer the job. I can tell you it's a good feeling from the caller's end, too.
Of course, then I had to sit down and write to the three other people we interviewed...
__________________
Your very presence is making me itchy.
|
02-01-2007, 03:27 PM
|
|
Quality Contributor
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Luxembourg
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragar
And I thought this was going to be about the best way to serve students up as a dessert.
|
Pfff. Liv would have moved it to the Food & Drinks forum by now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
Another piece of good news! I just got a letter from the Vice President of Academic Affairs informing me that they've been quite impressed with my teaching evaluations from both my peers and my students, and that I've been re-appointed for next year. Yay!
|
Congratulations! That is indeed great news!
|
02-01-2007, 03:29 PM
|
|
Jin, Gi, Rei, Ko, Chi, Shin, Tei
|
|
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
The school hires people on one-year contracts until (if) you receive tenure. So, I'll have people dropping into my classes from time to time to see how I'm doing for the next 4 - 5 years, until I'm eligable to apply for tenure. Whew!
On a related note, I have an exam scheduled for Monday. Some students approached me today to ask if I'd reschedule it. Apparently, there's some big football game on Sunday, and some of the students thought they'd rather spend their weekend watching it than studying for an exam. Go figure.
(I told them "no, I won't reschedule the exam.")
This morning, I received an invitation to judge a local high school's science fair. That could be interesting. According to my colleague, who actually received the invitation, then passed it on to me, I have the "right temperament for that sort of thing." Hmm.
Actually, though, it sounds like fun. I used to teach at a Girl Scout Camp, and 12 - 15 year-olds are often much more enthusiastic students than 19 - 21 year-olds.
Congrats on the new hire, Clutch! That must be a nice feeling indeed!
Cheers,
Michael
__________________
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” -- Socrates
|
02-01-2007, 04:17 PM
|
|
Clutchenheimer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Canada
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
The school hires people on one-year contracts until (if) you receive tenure. So, I'll have people dropping into my classes from time to time to see how I'm doing for the next 4 - 5 years, until I'm eligable to apply for tenure. Whew!
|
Crikey, that's pretty harsh.
We give a 3-year probationary appointment, followed by a second 3-year appointment, with tenure applications due at the beginning of year 5.
Quote:
Congrats on the new hire, Clutch! That must be a nice feeling indeed!
|
It sure is. When resources (scholarships, grad school spots, jobs) are scarce and highly qualified applicants are numerous, it's easy to get worn down by the feeling that most of one's administrative job is saying No to good people.
Those great big Yesses are positively rejuvenating.
__________________
Your very presence is making me itchy.
|
02-02-2007, 02:56 AM
|
|
dancing backward in high heels
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: where the green grass grows
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger
This morning, I received an invitation to judge a local high school's science fair. That could be interesting. According to my colleague, who actually received the invitation, then passed it on to me, I have the "right temperament for that sort of thing." Hmm.
Actually, though, it sounds like fun. I used to teach at a Girl Scout Camp, and 12 - 15 year-olds are often much more enthusiastic students than 19 - 21 year-olds.
|
I've been judging the local one here (7th thru 12th grade) for the past two years, and I've had a blast. (Can't go this year, alas, because I have a symposium to run that day). I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun.
|
02-02-2007, 03:02 AM
|
|
Admin of THIEVES and SLUGABEDS
|
|
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
If a girl presents a really cool project on the eye, complete with dissected cow's eyes her mom got her at the butcher's and incredibly detailed charts and diagrams on high quality poster paper, don't give the prize to the boy who built a baking soda rocket. The boy with baking soda rocket has won enough.
|
02-02-2007, 10:46 AM
|
|
Now in six dimensions!
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The Cotswolds
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
I'm sensing unresolved issues...
__________________
The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve. -Eugene Wigner
|
02-02-2007, 01:03 PM
|
|
Clutchenheimer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Canada
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Too much BF Skinner and not enough PT Barnum, eh?
__________________
Your very presence is making me itchy.
|
02-03-2007, 12:58 PM
|
|
ninja mother
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Iowa
Gender: Female
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by wei yau
All due credit to the students for being sweet, but the way I see it, this is more a testament to your standing in the campus community.
It's clear to me that you're seen as approachable and not only does this make for the great social experiences you've described, but it also would result in your students being more eager to learn and more able to learn from your classes.
|
Ditto that. I think it's one of those cases of what you give coming back to you. I had a few select professors that still stand out in my mind and I know that they helped shape the person I am. That's a really incredible thing
__________________
Don't make me break out my ninja powers..
|
02-07-2007, 03:01 AM
|
God is, but what God is I do not know
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: UK
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragar
And I thought this was going to be about the best way to serve students up as a dessert.
Speaking as a student, I think most of the time we all feel a bit intimidated by our lecturers. They come across as smart and knowledgable and generally busy, so actually going up and pestering them feels a bit like you're wasting their time.
It sounds like you've made your students feel valued, Michael. That's a good thing (but not unexpected, knowing you).
|
Where fees are concerned, see it this way
'If I don't talk with them, they get paid for less work. If I do waste their time, they will be financially reimbursed'
__________________
'It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks: fighters fight!'
You have to go through shit to get out of a shithole.
You've got a bad back, arthritis, you lost an arm, your face is scarred and you have to use a walking stick. You get a chance to go back and miss out on all your adventures and be healthy in later years. And woe be to you if you take that chance.
|
02-22-2007, 08:25 PM
|
|
mostly harmless
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Nunya
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
That's great news, TLR! Congrats!
__________________
Through with oligarchy? Ready to get the money out of politics? Want real progressives in office who will work for the people and not the donors? Want to help grow The Squad?
|
02-26-2007, 01:01 PM
|
|
Now in six dimensions!
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: The Cotswolds
Gender: Male
|
|
Re: Students can be so sweet ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clutch Munny
Just yesterday I had the rare unreserved pleasure of calling one of our 200 applicants to offer the job. I can tell you it's a good feeling from the caller's end, too.
|
I am crossing my fingers I get a message like this from at least one of the departments I've been applying to for a PhD placement. I've got interviews lined up, but I'm getting jumpy I won't be asked back by any.
__________________
The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve. -Eugene Wigner
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:24 AM.
|
|
|
|