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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 20, 2014 15:07:08 GMT -5
[Anonymized but very close to verbatim. Context: Student spends all of every class period head down, fiddling with phone, can't answer simple questions when called on, fails tests, does not complete assignments competently.]
Teacher: I see that you're on the internet all the time in class.
Student: I'm not on line, I'm on my phone.
Teacher: It's distracting, and you're not paying attention.
Student: Not to be offensive, but [course subject] is boring.
Teacher: You need to motivate yourself. You're not doing well. You didn't get your [basic course-skill assignment] right.
Student: Well, I'm not good at that sort of thing.
Teacher: You can get help at the [study skills center].
Student: Yeah, I know about that.
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Post by Chesapeake on Oct 20, 2014 15:46:41 GMT -5
Teacher: What sort of thing are you good at?
Student: Um.... um..... um..... Don't give me any hints. Um....
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Post by millring on Oct 20, 2014 16:13:42 GMT -5
whatever.
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Post by Cornflake on Oct 20, 2014 21:08:14 GMT -5
Why is the student there? If you have no interest in what's going on, many places are better than a classroom.
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Post by drlj on Oct 20, 2014 21:10:21 GMT -5
I once had a 19 year old Freshman tell me that if he did not graduate by the time he turned 23, he was just going to quit.
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Post by fauxmaha on Oct 20, 2014 21:52:50 GMT -5
Nothing quite so impressive as a young man with a plan.
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Post by Village Idiot on Oct 20, 2014 21:55:51 GMT -5
In some instances, I don't blame the student. It's been the trend for several years that you have to attend a four-year college to amount to anything.
What the hell is wrong with going the blue collar route? Electricians, plumbers, roofers, all of those professions are needed yet we as a society poo-poo those professions because college is important. The guy who doesn't give a s$it about what's going on in history could save your life at one in the morning when your drain is clogged if he was pointed that direction, and he could wind up making a lot more money doing that than most college graduates.
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Post by j on Oct 20, 2014 22:00:33 GMT -5
don't
get
me
started
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Post by RickW on Oct 20, 2014 22:46:42 GMT -5
I know more than a few young people in or going into trades. If you're not academic, great choices for making a living. And you're damned near as popular at parties as a doctor is.
Like I said elsewhere, my kids have been insulated from that kind of attitude. You didn't do well at the school they were at, you got put on academic probation, and then were kicked out. There were a few kids over the years. They are not there anymore. And you didn't have to be stellar, just had to try and maintain a passing grade. And there were no gimmes.
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Post by TKennedy on Oct 20, 2014 23:05:59 GMT -5
So the doctor has a clogged sewer and a calls the plumber.
When the job is done the doc asks for the bill
"That'll be $600" says the plumber.
"My God" says the doc I don't even make that much for an hour of work.
"Yeah, I used to be a doctor" says the plumber.
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Tamarack
Administrator
Ancient Citizen
Posts: 9,370
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Post by Tamarack on Oct 20, 2014 23:25:50 GMT -5
A generation ago, baby boomers in college were highly motivated and high academic achievers with great attitudes.
I went to a small church-affiliated liberal arts college. I grew tired of hearing science majors bitch about being required to take language and literature courses and of hearing English majors whine about required math and science courses being too hard.
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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 20, 2014 23:51:42 GMT -5
Why assume that Student is a guy?
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Post by fauxmaha on Oct 21, 2014 0:17:15 GMT -5
Who assumed that?
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Post by RickW on Oct 21, 2014 0:44:38 GMT -5
I dunno if anyone made that assumption, we all fall into the habit of providing the male gender in the face of uncertainty. There are just as many half wit lazy ass women around as there are men.
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Post by millring on Oct 21, 2014 4:57:53 GMT -5
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Post by aquaduct on Oct 21, 2014 6:29:30 GMT -5
In some instances, I don't blame the student. It's been the trend for several years that you have to attend a four-year college to amount to anything. What the hell is wrong with going the blue collar route? Electricians, plumbers, roofers, all of those professions are needed yet we as a society poo-poo those professions because college is important. The guy who doesn't give a s$it about what's going on in history could save your life at one in the morning when your drain is clogged if he was pointed that direction, and he could wind up making a lot more money doing that than most college graduates. It's the age we live in and it's driving a college bubble. Too many kids shooting for the brass ring that's sold as the solution to all life's problems. Graduate with a useless degree and a bazillion dollars in debt. Or learn to fix diesel engines. There are so many openings you can probably get someone to pick up the training. You can make $120K/year. Cummins Atlantic is advertising heavily in our area. My boy is attending community college and working for an auto parts store (and another place). He comes home and asks me about catalytic convertors and other obscure stuff. I sent him the Cummins notices and I kind of secretly hope he bites. He's different then his sister, very bright but not driven. He'd really benefit from a good, stable job in the trades. |
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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 21, 2014 10:13:00 GMT -5
Aside from the (no-longer-conventional) grammatical-gender matter, I noticed a tendency to characterize the alternative to the college track as what might be called the blue-collar-guy track. Though, come to think of it, the better-paying non-degree-requiring jobs left in our economy do skew that way. Why don't we see women plumbers, electricians, and Mercedes mechanics? What my father always called the "skilled trades" (which is what he came up through at GE) has been guy-land forever, and only some of that might be actually rooted in the need for physical strength. Interesting that we have more women law enforcement and the military than in most of those trades. But to wrench myself back on-topic. It's understandable to assume that an unmotivated and confrontational student would be a guy--there was a time when my experience would have supported that view, at least as a statistical observation. But my wife sees as much disengagement, resentment, excuse-making, and bad manners from young women as I used to see from young men. Forty-some years ago, the stereotypical bad student was a guy, often sprawled in a back-row seat, staring out the window or reading the campus newspaper or napping. Now the typical bad behavior focuses on phone or tablet or eating a snack or arriving or leaving class early or getting up for a pee in the middle, and the gender distribution is pretty even. |
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Post by millring on Oct 21, 2014 10:17:16 GMT -5
It was a stupid response. Boys are stupider than girls. It must have been a boy.
There, I said it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2014 10:32:26 GMT -5
I once had a 19 year old Freshman tell me that if he did not graduate by the time he turned 23, he was just going to quit.
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Post by Russell Letson on Oct 21, 2014 10:40:13 GMT -5
It was a stupid response. Boys are stupider than girls. It must have been a boy. There, I said it. Oh, man*, are you ever in for a shock next time you visit a college town. * So to speak. |
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