cab67
cab67's Journalstudent expectations?
As some of you know, I’m a college instructor. A friend of mine encountered something I’ve seen recently as well, and I’m curious to know if others have seen it as well.
My friend (at a different institution) received an email from a student enrolled in her class shortly before the midterm a couple of weeks back. The student asked where notes for the class could be accessed.
“They’re not online,” my friend replied. “Students are expected to take their own notes.”
The student responded with anger and surprise. The problem? The student was unable to actually attend class. He assumed the notes would be available for download somewhere and now, halfway through the term and right before an exam, was shocked – shocked! to learn this wasn’t the case.
Even though it’s spelled out in the syllabus.
“How am I supposed to pass the class?” he asked incredulously. “I have a scheduling conflict! I can’t take notes on my own!”
My friend suggested that this student ask to borrow another student’s notes. She even offered to help identify someone who might be able to provide them. But that, to this student, wasn’t good enough – he wanted the instructor’s own notes, which she is not willing to provide.
I had three or four students in the same situation during the pandemic. Students would often assume courses being taught online were also being recorded, and were disappointed to learn that mine weren’t. But this was in the context of an online course, and in all cases, the students reached out to me before classes started. They were reckless enough to register for a class they couldn’t actually attend, but at least had the good sense to ask ahead of time and not wait until several weeks into the term.
This case was different. It’s not an online class. The student simply assumed notes are available online and didn’t ask in advance if that was the case.
I teach the same way. I expect students to take notes. I do this because there’s plenty of research out there showing material is retained better if one writes it down. I have friends and colleagues who provide notes, and that’s OK – we all have different pedagogical philosophies. I also sometimes provide the text for some of my powerpoints if there’s a lot of it, or if it covers a a particularly complex subject in which precise wording is important. I also provide all of the pictures I use in class. But overall, I really do think students learn better if they take their own notes.
The student in my friend’s class is better off than he’d been in my class – my friend uses a textbook for her class. I don’t use textbooks*. So at least he’s got that. And had he simply asked in advance if taking the course without attending lecture was an option, he’d probably have registered for a different class that worked better with his schedule. But he made a bad assumption, and now he’s struggling to adapt on the fly.
Have any of you who teach encountered similar assumptions on the part of students?
A couple of additional points:
First – yes, I know students have busy schedules and often have great difficulty in arranging a class schedule that accommodates other commitments, including jobs. But that’s why we have academic advisors whose job is to work with students to make sure they meet their goals. (That’s also why we have higher learning institutions that cater to students whose realities don’t match the expectations of a traditional campus setting.) My point isn’t that students should or shouldn’t expect something – it’s that they should ask before making assumptions.
Second – as I said, I have friends who provide notes. In some contexts, it makes perfect sense. It’s reasonable, for example, if there’s so much text provided during class that even a professional stenographer would struggle to keep up. And I understand the rationale that it’s harder to listen when one is writing something down. So I don’t dismiss providing notes as a blanket opinion. But in my experience, for the kinds of courses I teach, it makes more sense to have students take their own notes.
*Not only are textbooks overpriced, there aren’t any usable textbooks for my subjects. They’re either out of date, poorly organized, or both. They’d be a source of confusion rather than illumination.
Had a "discussion" on Facebook with a Jill Stein supporter earlier today.
There was no talking sense Into him. Would a multi-party parliamentary system be better than what we have? I don't know; maybe. But we have the system we have. A third-party candidate will not win, and in this particular case, the wasted votes would otherwise go to the Democratic candidate.
Voting for a third-party candidate is an extremely selfish act, especially when Orange Julius Skeezer stands a real chance of winning.
It was like arguing with a red-hatter. Or arguing with a rock.
I just can't wrap my head around the view that Joe Biden and Moses Pray's cranky old uncle are insufficiently different. Some of these people give every indication of being able to read and write. Surely, they can see that no Democrat would have appointed a justice to the Supreme Court who would have voted to overturn Roe v Wade? Surely, they see that the ACA, despite its imperfections, is better than what we had before, and that people would suffer if it's ever repealed? Surely, they see that although Biden can (and should) take a harder line with Netanyahu, he's at least not interested in helping Putin conquer Ukraine? Surely they know the difference between someone not acting fast enough on climate change and someone who doesn't think climate is actually changing?
The only way I'll find a candidate who reflects my values perfectly is if I run for office myself. And I'd rather French-kiss a Humboldt squid than do that. Like most adults, I've come to peace with the fact that in the US system, our parties are the coalitions made by multiple parties in other countries, and that I have to put the common good ahead of my disagreements.
I don't get it. We all have our values and opinions, but no one should put their own ideological purity above the well-being of the whole damn world.
So Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk are playing golf.
At some point, Gates stops and pinches his right earlobe. He then starts talking, as though he's speaking to someone who isn't there. After a few minutes, he pinches his earlobe again and tells the others, "It's the latest technology. I had a microphone implanted on my palate, right behind my midline incisors, and a speaker in my ear. The controls have been surgically implanted in my earlobe. It really saves time!"
A couple of holes later, Zuckerberg stops abruptly. His companions see him standing still except for his eyes, which keep looking left and right, even as his head remains immobile. A few minutes later, he relaxes and tells his companions that he's had a projector attached to his cornea that beams digital information straight to his retina. He was getting a text and wanted to read it.
They get to the 18th hole, and Musk walks over to the side of the green, pulls down his pants, and squats. "It's OK," he says. "I'm getting a fax."
a couple of roads in Ethiopia.
Both are in the Bale Mountains south of Addis Ababa. I was doing research at the National Museum of Ethiopia, but I'm a birder, and the Bale Mountains are a hotspot of biodiversity. They're also a part of East Africa I hadn't seen before.
This one at mid-elevation, close to where I saw Bale Mountains monkeys - a species found nowhere else.
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And this one is at much higher elevation. My guide told me it's the highest road in Africa, and I believe him, though I've forgotten the elevation. Saw a lot of endemic birds and plants there. (The unpaved road itself can be seen to the lower left.)
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and just to make it complete, here's one of the endemic birds I saw - a blue-winged goose:
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(These were all taken in June of 2019.)
Not sure if these are good or not, but I enjoyed taking them.
Just saw some sickening video on CNN
It shows Israelis actively trying to block humanitarian supply vehicles from reaching Gaza.
I fully acknowledge that Hamas started the current conflict, and that it must be defeated. In no way do I think Israel shouldn't be defending herself. It's my opinion that Israel's response has sometimes been disproportionate, but Israel didn't start these hostilities.
I also realize these efforts to block aid are on the part of individual Israelis and not official Israeli policy. So I'm not blaming Israel as a whole for what I just saw.
But if these accounts are true, these particular Israelis are monsters.
Every rational human being with a conscience should stand firm against the withholding of needed aid to the Palestinian children who didn't vote to put Hamas in power. This is different from collateral damage from a missile strike in which Hamas may have been using human shields. It's one thing to attack a military target and accidentally harm nearby civilians; these particular people are bloodthirsty beasts trying to keep children from receiving food and medical care. There's not much one can do that's lower than that.
(And if your response is that the people of Gaza must suffer in order to overthrow Hamas, or something like that - I reject that line of argument. Full stop. And I'm not interested in reconsidering that view. I'm enough of a student of history to know such efforts nearly always backfire and create more support for the enemy one is trying to eliminate. A technologically advanced country like Israel, whose government may be misguided but whose citizens are overwhelmingly compassionate people, is capable of balancing the needs of security and decency.)
Added in edit: as noted before, I didn't realize when I wrote this that some of those trying to block aid have family members held hostage by Hamas. (I thank Richard D. for bringing this to my attention.). I withdraw my accusation that such people are monsters. They are, nevertheless, acting in ways that will neither hasten their loved ones's return nor bring this conflict to a conclusion.
He's hitting out of the park so far.
And you know what picture should be in every newspaper in the country tomorrow?
The Supreme Court justices sitting, slightly more than half with sullen expressions, as those around them applauded at Joe Biden's reminder of the political and electoral power of women. Some people need their noses rubbed in their own messes.
another heartbreaking exoneration
Any wrongful conviction is tragic. It's extra tragic when the incarceration lasts 44 years. And it's extra extra tragic when the exoneree is released at the age of 77.
Think about it - Mr. Franklin was incarcerated in 1980. That means he most likely never used an ATM, cell phone, or modern computer until he was released.
He missed 44 years' worth of milestones - weddings, funerals, graduations, holidays.
He would have been released with no property, no driver's license, very little money (if any), and no credit. At 77, it's a good bet he has health problems - but he won't have any kind of insurance.
Although the Pennsylvania legislature has discussed bills that would allow compensation for the wrongly convicted, I don't think it's actually on the books yet - so he may get nothing from the Commonwealth. And he's most likely not eligible for Social Security, because he wouldn't have worked enough quarters.
As for getting a job do he can support himself - at 77? With a 44 year long gap in his resume, a murder conviction on his record, and most likely an antiquated skill set? And even if he got lucky, he’d be starting at entry level long after most people his age have retired.
At the very least, Pennsylvania owes this man a pension, along with a massive public apology. It wouldn't hurt to compensate his family, either, as they were left without any income he could have provided.
I also think that the family of the victim in the original crime deserves some help. After 44 years, I have no idea if it would even be possible to find another suspect, much less prosecute that person. The victim's family has been robbed of any sense of justice it might have felt since the 1980 conviction. They, too, should get some compensation.
The reversal of a wrongful conviction should be a happy thing, but in cases like this, I can see little in the way of a silver lining.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/inmate-coming-home-after-decades-in-prison/3789230/
You know how people compare Mitch McConnell with a turtle?
Turtles are noble creatures. They embody a level of self-awareness and integrity that escapes the senator from Kentucky.
As a herpetologist, I'd like to see comparisons between the senator and his superiors come to an end.
Here are some turtles I've known. They're better than McConnell. McConnell is unworthy of the comparison.
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olive branch?
OK - so it's clear some people are just not going to agree with me on my recent State Farm complaints.
Can we at least agree that we're all on the same side when it comes to what matters? Like the future of our country's democracy?
As a peace offering - and here, I'm assuming we're also on the same side when it comes to capybaras being adorable - here are some I saw on a university campus in Brazil while doing some research this past year.
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OK, about my recent post regarding State Farm
Some of you pointed out that insurance companies rely on statistical models to continue or drop policies. I absolutely get that.
You also pointed out that by having three accidents in three years, I left myself vulnerable to cancellation. I absolutely get that, too.
What really chapped my ass, though, was two things that I wasn't really able to put in words clearly when I wrote that post, because I was basically in shock.
First -- I knew my rates would skyrocket after these accidents. For that reason, I met with someone in my agent's office to discuss steps I could take to protect myself. I was told that I could pay a bit less if I bundled the auto insurance with renter's insurance (I live in an apartment.) So I did that. And I paid the premium in full, which was four times what I usually paid.
I expected that increase, and frankly, I deserved it. (I never said I should have faced no consequences for these incidents.) But I was essentially led to believe that by taking the actions I did, and by paying the money I paid, things would work out. Had I known I'd be dropped, I'd never have done so.
My agent, to her great credit, agreed to cancel my renter's policy and refund me for the remainder of the term - so there's that.
I hope you can see why that's just a bit annoying.
Second - I have a relative who wrecks, on average, one car per year. I don't mean minor fender-benders, either - she usually totals her car, and often totals the other car as well.
The difference between her and me? I was up front about what happened. My relative, though, lies through her teeth every time there's an accident. It's always somehow the other driver's fault. Somehow, her insurance carrier goes along with what she says, which means they don't often pay out. Which is why most of her accidents end up in court - the other driver has to sue her to recover their damages. (They usually win.)
She's a terrible driver. She doesn't pay attention to the road, she bumps into curbs all the time, she seems to view lane dividers as nice suggestions rather than regulatory tools, and she tends to ignore speed limits. She also has some DUIs on her record.
And yet, she seems not to get dropped by her insurance carriers.
I was up front and honest, and for that, I was punished. She lies through her teeth, and it's rewarded.
This is why, by the way, I never ever use Uber or Lyft. She drives for one or the other. This is someone who shouldn't have a drivers' license, much less auto insurance, and they're willing to let her drive for them. (In fact, I suspect her insurance comes through her employer, and this may be the only way she can get it.)
Again, you can hopefully see why this bothers me.
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So like I said - I totally understand what a lot of you said. I don't entirely disagree with it, either. But I do feel that State Farm treated me very badly in this case, and that I'm being penalized for being honest.
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A couple of you implied I'm a bad driver. I take real exception to that. My lifetime driving record is excellent. I've had only a couple of speeding tickets in 10 years. The total damage caused by the three accidents was probably less than $10k or $15k. The accidents were very minor, there were no injuries, and airbags were never deployed. One of them involved a rental pickup truck which was much longer than I'm used to driving, and another - the only one with a moving vehicle - involved a driver who was speeding (though that wasn't taken into consideration for some reason). So before judging my abilities based on a brief string of bad luck, ask about the bigger picture.
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Member since: Wed Jul 24, 2013, 01:10 PMNumber of posts: 2,992