I haven’t written anything about students in a long time. A lot has happened in this intervening period, like the election of Barack Obama that solved racism in the US. Inauguration Day 2009 was a day of unmatched historicality. Here’s what happened to me on that January 20th.
My wife and I went to eat lunch [...]
Archive for the ‘Educators of the World, Unite!’ Category
Some Things Never Change
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on August 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
On the Fence
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on May 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
You know, when I was an undergraduate I didn’t want to go out on a limb and make any strong statements in papers and tests (much less in class) because I was so keenly aware of my own towering ignorance and didn’t want to say something ass-backward and sound foolish. So I’d sometimes write in [...]
Perfidy!
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite!, Uncategorized on May 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s the end of the semester, which means I’m in for a week or so of sturm und drang (for the untraveled and unworldly, that means storm and stress in German [I know a lot about languages and stuff]). I’ve already had to handle breathless students on the verge of a meltdown and the [...]
Discovering New Knowledge Of Russia That Does Not Lack Facts
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on December 15, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Well, it’s been a good three months since my last post, and that’s a pretty long time to go without making fun of students. Since it’s the end of the semester I’m in the midst of grading reams of tests and papers. This is mostly mind-numbing but it does afford a little comedy now and [...]
Me And My Big Mouth
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on August 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
I’m usually very circumspect in what I say; I tend to choose my words carefully in the interests of being precise and of not cheesing off the wrong people. That’s why I often surprise myself by what I say in class in front of dozens of people. Sometimes students ask a question about which I’m [...]
Excuse Me
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on May 3, 2007 | 1 Comment »
This semester has been a doozy for student excuses. Besides the usual crop of unimaginative doggerel, I’ve been subjected to some of the most audacious flimflam ever heard of in these parts. One kid has been out the whole semester after serial tragedies sent him, his father, and mother to the hospital–all in unrelated events.
Another [...]
The Bright Side
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on April 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Looking through my previous posts I notice that I vent a lot about students. In fact, seldom does a day go by that I don’t complain about one or another of them. They’re shiftless and importunate, coddled and demanding. Because I so delight in tearing these poor kids a new one with my fellow graduate [...]
In The Mailbox
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on March 30, 2007 | 1 Comment »
From: Student
To: Me
Time: 7:50PM, Night before quiz
What is our quiz going to be over tomorrow? I took a nap because my allergies are killinng me today and completely slept through class. I am sorry
_______________________________________________________________
From: Same Student
To: Me
Time: 7:51PM, Night before quiz
PLease ignor that. Completely wrong professor…..I was trying to e-mail my spanish [...]
Outrage!
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on March 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Last semester in my two classes I had no fewer than four cases of plagiarism. Four!
Now that you’ve gotten back into your chair and recovered your socks I can report that I’ve had an average of two cases of plagiarism for every class since I started to look for it, which only takes googling a [...]
No Shaming the Shameless
Posted in Educators of the World, Unite! on March 28, 2007 | 2 Comments »
The day I dreaded the most as an undergraduate was the day that a professor singled me out to ask a question that I couldn’t answer. That fear of public humiliation and of disappointing an authority figure was the main reason I was at least minimally prepared for class every day, and it served me [...]
