Miscellany

[lisarea]

Some young man outside just yelled, "I AM NOT A SEXIST! Shit, Adam, dude, it is not happening!"

[Ymir's blood]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

If ONLY


Miss you Ymir's Blood

Originally Posted by lisarea

Some young man outside just yelled, "I AM NOT A SEXIST! Shit, Adam, dude, it is not happening!"

[Crumb]

[The Lone Ranger]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

I quit teaching this year. I just COULD NOT.

I sometimes hear people saying, "Oh you teachers have it so good; you get the entire Summer off."

What they don't understand is that you need that time off -- to recharge and to recover. Because, though I think my job is important and necessary and often enjoyable -- there are plenty of times during the course of a typical semester when it's all I can do to resist the urge to find a tall building to fling myself off of.

As a colleague of mine pointed out the other day, we need our Summers off so that we can have enough time to make ourselves forget just how incredibly stressful the job can be. Otherwise, there's no way we could continue to do it, year after year.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

I quit teaching this year. I just COULD NOT.

EVEN.

[erimir]

And of course, quite a lot of teachers do work during the summer, whether they're teaching summer classes, or taking summer classes, or doing research (if they're professors), or having to work a second job because teaching doesn't pay enough.

Like, if public school teachers were making $200k and getting the summer completely off to go on an almost three-month vacation, that'd be one thing...

[The Lone Ranger]

Aaaaand I've spent much of the day arguing via e-mail with a student who insists that he deserves a "C" in the class. A student who failed every single exam, including the final. And not by a little, either. 50% was the highest score he got on any of the exams.


Nonetheless, he insists that he deserves a "C" in the class, for ... some reason or another.


Not as bad as the student who insisted that because she scored an average of 20% (yes, 20% -- you almost have to work to get an average that low) on the 4 exams, that worked out to a score of 80% for the class, so she deserved a "B" for the class, instead of the "F" that I assigned.

[The Lone Ranger]

As an aside, I should point out that in my case, I'm a classic introvert. As important and rewarding as it can be, teaching is stressful for me. Every day, I have to stand in front of a bunch of people and put on a performance.

It is exhausting. That's why I don't go out and socialize after classes or on the weekends. I need that time by myself, to recharge and to recuperate. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to handle it.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger

Not as bad as the student who insisted that because she scored an average of 20% (yes, 20% -- you almost have to work to get an average that low) on the 4 exams, that worked out to a score of 80% for the class, so she deserved a "B" for the class, instead of the "F" that I assigned.

[Ari]

You could always tell her that she's getting a -B. Had she worked a bit harder maybe she could have gotten into the 10% -A range.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Related:

I once taught an 8 am college class. So many grandparents died that semester. I then moved my class to 3 pm. No more deaths. And that, my friends, is how I save lives.

— Viorica Marian (@VioricaMarian1) May 5, 2018

[Stephen Maturin]

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

That one might even warrant the Hogan's Heroes triple facepalm.

show spoiler

[BrotherMan]

I'm about to learn you some knowledge, Professor The Lone Ranger I hope you're taking notes.

Originally Posted by The Lone Ranger

Nonetheless, he insists that he deserves a "C" in the class, for ... some reason or another.

If Sesame Street has taught us anything, it's how to spell. C is for Class, therefore hereunto: In any given "class" one deserves at least a C.

Not as bad as the student who insisted that because she scored an average of 20% (yes, 20% -- you almost have to work to get an average that low) on the 4 exams, that worked out to a score of 80% for the class, so she deserved a "B" for the class, instead of the "F" that I assigned.

This one is even easier to understand: This is exactly the kind of reasoning you should expect from a person who works real hard to get that 20%. Therefor, B is earned.

[lisarea]

I encountered someone doing math like that recently. She was just sort of tossing various operations at numbers until she came up with something that fit her needs. The math made zero sense at all, of course, but she was super confident about her 'facts.' It was kind of weird and sad.

On the plus side, it made me feel smart, because lots of people didn't even notice what was wrong with those numbers. On the minus side, lots of people didn't even notice what was wrong with those numbers.

And one plus times one minus equals that I win.

[The Lone Ranger]

... And I have 3 more items that I'll be adding to the syllabi for next semester.


Because they simply will not read the syllabi during the regular semester, no matter how many times you tell them that they should do so -- but you can bet that the second you turn in the final grades, half of them will immediately start going over the syllabi with a fine-toothed comb, looking for something -- anything -- they can use as leverage to argue that they deserve a better grade.

And, of course, the working assumption is that if the syllabus doesn't specifically state that a thing is forbidden, then it's perfectly okay. Thus the students who insist that it's perfectly acceptable to turn in assignments weeks or even months after they were due -- and for full credit, no less -- despite the fact that they've been repeatedly told that no assignments will be accepted once Finals Week begins.


So the syllabi for my classes are now up to 7 pages long -- 6 pages of which are a long list of things that -- in a sane world -- I wouldn't have to spell out for them. Things like, "No, you may not wander into the classroom 10 minutes before the class ends, spend those last 10 minutes in conversation with your pals, and then expect to be counted as 'Present' for that class." Or, "No, you may not turn in an assignment 5 weeks after it was due (and long after everyone else has gotten the graded assignment back, providing you with ample opportunity to simply copy someone else's corrected answers) and expect to get full credit -- or any credit." Or, "I know I've only explained this 5,468 times this semester, so perhaps it hasn't sunk in yet -- but it is not acceptable to show up to lab (where we have Bunsen burners, dissections, scalpels, strong acids, and strong bases) with your hair unbound and down to your waist, while wearing shorts and sandals." Or, "No, you are not going to convince me that I am incapable of calculating an average; if you've failed every single exam during the course of the semester, no amount of mathematical shenanigans are going to convert that to a "B" (or even a "D") for the Final Average."

[Qingdai]

One wishes to give them an A+ in imaginary numbers, but that's a whole 'nother set of mathematical theory I am also not qualified to teach in.

I was teaching master level students. I give much props to the BA/BS level teachers, that's a lot of hard weeding to do. I have certainly had great students, students who were already medical doctors and pharmacists who taught me more about clinical expertise in medicine than one could pick up. And YES, students don't read syllabi, that administration not only demands, but would change things I specifically put in (reading assignments, class requirements) which meant I had to email all my students each term....

[JoeP]

Start a rumour that next year's / next semester's syllabus will have one of those sections "the first person to email the prof quoting this section will be awarded an A".

[JoeP]

I thought Ari just posted.

[The Lone Ranger]

Once, just out of curiosity, I put on the syllabus for one of my classes a line to the effect of "Anyone who can tell me the origin of the following quote [it was from their textbook, part of the assigned reading] by the time of the Final Exam will be awarded 'X' free points on the Final Exam."


Not even one student ever mentioned it, much less tried to provide the origin of the quote.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by JoeP

I thought Ari just posted.

Some posts did disappear and the New Posts flag seems to have hopped in the TARDIS to do a jump to the left as well.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

A tad long for a bathroom read, but kinda fun:

Happy Birthday to Me, Here’s a Story For You: “Regarding Your Application Status” – Whatever

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

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[Kamilah Hauptmann]

This cosplay at Salt Lake Comic Con pic.twitter.com/hF91aQM6BN

— Eric Alper (@ThatEricAlper) May 12, 2018

[slimshady2357]

Most of you have probably already seen the Yanni/Laurel sound clip stuff, but if you haven't then it's an audio clip that some people hear as Yanni and some as Laurel. Below is an explanation of why that happens.

I hear Laurel clearly and perfectly. I played it for Sou without telling her what she might hear and she heard something like Larry or Larny (long a sound).
When only the high frequency is played, I can hear Yanni, but even knowing it's there when I play the original clip I still hear Laurel perfectly clearly. I guess I'm part deaf

Okay, you're not crazy. If you can hear high freqs, you probably hear "yanny", but you *might* hear "laurel". If you can't hear high freqs, you probably hear laurel. Here's what it sounds like without high/low freqs. RT so we can avoid the whole dress situation. #yanny #laurel �� pic.twitter.com/RN71WGyHwe

— Dylan Bennett (@MBoffin) 16 May 2018

[BrotherMan]

With the low frequencies cut out I hear Yarel.