You know what really grinds my gears?

[Blzer]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

It's mostly cause of what is expected of people, it's never about what they know, it's what the grade on their test/exams/assignments say.

Some people could get 90% on tests/exams and stuff, but it doesn't mean they know the stuff better than someone who got a 70%, it just means they're better at memorizing stuff.

Exactly, and that's what grinds my gears. I'm not doubting what most classes do. I'd do the same thing if I went back into high school.

My point is that my class/curriculum etc. won't be built around that mindset, and the only way they really can fail is if they try and apply that mindset. Hopefully I can influence more to do the same. School should be fun, even if the content sometimes has to be boring.

[Redacted01]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

It's mostly cause of what is expected of people, it's never about what they know, it's what the grade on their test/exams/assignments say.

Some people could get 90% on tests/exams and stuff, but it doesn't mean they know the stuff better than someone who got a 70%, it just means they're better at memorizing stuff.

No it doesn't. I was one of those students that got A's on everything. I didn't just memorize it. I learned it. I rarely studied for finals and had no problem passing them months later. Sure, I'm good at remembering stuff, but it helps when you actually learn it. The people that got a 70 got a 70 because they couldn't learn it as well AND couldn't remember it well enough in the short term. The ones that got 90's may have better memorized it, but there is also the chance they learned something as well.

And this is the problem with the grading system now. People don't want to learn anything any more so they keep bringing down the scale so a 50 is passing. Seriously? Guessing an entire true false test can still get you a passing grade? Hell nah!

The other issue I see here is that people (and some do it here) wait until the teacher tells them what's on the test and they go off and "study", actually cramming. Instead of doing homework problems, looking at notes, and studying as you go so you learn, you put it off until it's required. Shouldn't matter how many classes you take if you pace yourself in all of them. Like Blzer said, you shouldn't have to wait for the teacher to tell you what is and isn't on the test. You should learn it, and that's that. What's the point of taking the class... oh that's right, just to get the passing grade.

[CMH]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Anyone who really thinks students are learning to learn is delusional.

These kids are getting slammed with work on various topics covering subject matters most probably don't even care to know.

They are studying to pass the test.

If you think you still know 5-10 years later everything you ever got right in a high school test, I'll call you a liar or a freak that should be studied by government scientists.


Sent from my mobile device.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I'm not sure what exactly this would fall under, but when I think about it just infuriates me for some reason. Its animal and slightly family related.

Blzer-Body-Of-Text Level 3

Spoiler

Preface: My girlfriend has a younger brother who is 21. At 18 and the Fall after high-school graduation he married his girlfriend who was pregnant at the time. They now have two children under the age of 3. Fast forward to several months ago and they adopted a puppy. Now, this puppy was a pound puppy through and through. She was energetic and rambunctious, a little slow in the head, and a bit of handful. The brother works at one of Wal-Mart's distribution centers Friday-Monday and his wife works regular office hours. Their girls spend a lot of time being taken care by grandma while everybody is working and most times will end up spending the night at least once or twice a week (on average).

Tuesday night they gave their puppy away. They couldn't give it the attention, much less the training, it deserved as a family pet. Most of its time was spent by itself either in its crate (which is where it stayed while nobody was home) or out in the yard when the family was home. Pound puppy or not I felt bad for her and was happy that they decided to give her away to another family.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I adopted a 3 month old black and white Boxador and named her Gemma. She's been great. In her pen with her at the SPCA were two brown pups from the same run. Last night my girlfriend texted me and told me that her brother adopted both of them.

For some reason it just hit me wrong and I immediately felt sorry for the pups much less what I was thinking of her brother at the time (as far as the puppy things go). ****ing seriously. He just gave up one puppy because they couldn't handle her and in their wisdom decide its a good idea to adopt TWO puppies. As if chasing after 2 girls two-years old and under isn't enough they'll now be looking after two puppies. To me it screams immature and not knowing your own limitations. It'll be unfair to the dogs. I don't see them getting any better treatment than the previous pup, but I really hope I'm wrong. I just know I probably won't be.

We're all supposed to go their parents' house this Friday for dinner and all the dogs will be there. I just hope I can keep myself from shooting off something.

On the flipside I guess its cool that Gemma will still be in contact with those pups.

[Blzer]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Anyone who really thinks students are learning to learn is delusional.

These kids are getting slammed with work on various topics covering subject matters most probably don't even care to know.

They are studying to pass the test.

If you think you still know 5-10 years later everything you ever got right in a high school test, I'll call you a liar or a freak that should be studied by government scientists.

You're missing my point completely, then. I agree with you, and then I agree with you more. I'll go on about this all day, really. Nobody here is following a system for what it means to be well educated. I'm not blaming the students, they are doing the right thing. They're doing as expected because of how the teachers run their classrooms, how the administration runs their teachers, and how the education system runs administrators.

Students do what they do for the grade, point blank and period. However, if you disregard the grade as a teacher and let the students operate the standards, hide the material on summative assessments as daily routines and challenge their ability to grow (different from learning) independent of what others do, learning comes from left field and the grade comes from the grandstands.

The only reason I'd give a grade in the end is because... well... I have to. If they all want A's, by golly they can have them. Yeah, there is criteria behind their grades of course, but it is so much more than doing homework and getting problems right on tests, and this is something we'll understand with each other on day one. If they can't work with the system, then screw the attempt to let them have a small amount of fun in school and they can go hogwild just like any other classroom.

I did this when I taught summer school algebra, and it worked wonderfully. These were students who failed the course the year before, and I had six weeks of five hour days to straighten them out. Needless to say, I did so for eight of the eleven students. Three of them chose not to accept the program in place, but I don't blame them either... they're in a math classroom for five hours every day, I'd go crazy myself!

I'm student teaching Algebra II right now and I had my students do four journal entries based on four prompts in four weeks. They weren't graded and the students knew this up front. over 75% of them did the first entry, 60% did the second, 50% did the third and 40% did the fourth. I expected a decline, but this was strong for something that is coming from students who are grounded by a different type of curriculum. Anyway, all journal entries were handwritten and I hand-wrote responses back to them (and mine was normally as long or longer). This is with an expectation that I very well could have written back to 34 students, and they can read dedication out of that and respond in kind. I think that's what kept most of them going, plus what the actual entries were about and how they felt we could keep some things private between one another.

Entry #1 was regarding how the students valued math both in and out of the classroom and what experiences they would try and take away from the semester; Entry #2 was regarding whether or not their grades accurately reflected their values of math, and what they most closely attributed their grades to (luck, difficulty, skill, or effort); Entry #3 was regarding their value of their grade in the class itself, if they only strove to pass, or if they really wanted the A despite the learning experiences; Entry #4 was about their motivations (both intrinsic and extrinsic) to be where they are at in the classroom, and what they could also be motivated by to possibly achieve more.

Needless to say, I learned a lot about the students who volunteered to write journal entries, and most of what they said confirmed what I thought or knew about them as I have been with them for the past few months. Their entries were all indicators of their grades, behaviors, intelligence, and focus.

Many students initially came from what I thought to be a misguided approach to learning, thinking that everything was about collecting the proper points for the grade. In other words, if they took the write notes, followed the examples to do the homework correctly, and passed the tests, then they have accomplished all that schooling is. Entry #1 showed me that the most. Students expressed they [generally] can give up on a subject when it is too frustrating for them, and when speaking with them personally, it is more because they are aware that if they do not get it, then their grades can suffer as a result. I made such a heavy emphasis on grades during the entire month of these journal entries because I wanted to understand how it is that they learn.

In Entry #2, I also asked them to sell me what grade they think they deserve. Many students who campaigned for a higher grade justified how much effort they put into class time and their work, stating that exams add insurmountable pressure to what they are capable of and they also tend to make many careless mistakes. I do not blame them, but I still found that they work very hard towards the grade rather than towards the attainable knowledge (or the process for which they attain said knowledge) or overall human growth, and that's because of what's been expected of them all their lives.

Their journal entries told me what they do, but they also implicitly said what they*want*to do without even knowing it themselves. I am hoping that in time, they can realize that they are due to learn content and academic language in such a way that they are not conflicted/pressured when they learn new material or they are being assessed on a cumulative level. As long as they ask questions and apply a certain amount of logic in open forum discussions, I think that they will*always*learn and grow a lot more. Some students have already shown evidence of this hypothesis.

I didn't think I had to bring this up, but remember the long-haired dude who was being kicked out of class and stood up in the front of the class to tell the teacher off? Maybe he had a change of heart in his second stint inside classrooms after being expelled the first time or whatever, but damn it his opportunities to do something in class were being slowed by pacing guides and such. I never, ever hope I hear something like that from one of my students, because that's directly reflective on how I'm teaching the course. That doesn't mean I'm teaching it poorly, but it certainly means I'm not teaching it as intended.

The problem with this change is that people (especially parents) are not susceptible to change, so when I do what I do I'll have to be extremely convincing: to my boss/principal, to my department, to my classes, and to their parents. I know what I want out of it, but this will have to come with intense preparation. Those who get it can hopefully tag along if done right, and maybe we can get something else going. Because this way of thinking in school is mega bull ****. Really, it's all for nothing. I'm not asking them to learn and retain material in 5-10 years, I'm asking them to use my classroom as an opportunity to grow as students and people, in any way imaginable. A lot of teachers are not listing that as an objective or a priority, and that is what grinds my gears.

[/Blzer]

[VTPack919]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I'm not sure what exactly this would fall under, but when I think about it just infuriates me for some reason. Its animal and slightly family related.

Blzer-Body-Of-Text Level 3

Spoiler

Preface: My girlfriend has a younger brother who is 21. At 18 and the Fall after high-school graduation he married his girlfriend who was pregnant at the time. They now have two children under the age of 3. Fast forward to several months ago and they adopted a puppy. Now, this puppy was a pound puppy through and through. She was energetic and rambunctious, a little slow in the head, and a bit of handful. The brother works at one of Wal-Mart's distribution centers Friday-Monday and his wife works regular office hours. Their girls spend a lot of time being taken care by grandma while everybody is working and most times will end up spending the night at least once or twice a week (on average).

Tuesday night they gave their puppy away. They couldn't give it the attention, much less the training, it deserved as a family pet. Most of its time was spent by itself either in its crate (which is where it stayed while nobody was home) or out in the yard when the family was home. Pound puppy or not I felt bad for her and was happy that they decided to give her away to another family.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I adopted a 3 month old black and white Boxador and named her Gemma. She's been great. In her pen with her at the SPCA were two brown pups from the same run. Last night my girlfriend texted me and told me that her brother adopted both of them.

For some reason it just hit me wrong and I immediately felt sorry for the pups much less what I was thinking of her brother at the time (as far as the puppy things go). ****ing seriously. He just gave up one puppy because they couldn't handle her and in their wisdom decide its a good idea to adopt TWO puppies. As if chasing after 2 girls two-years old and under isn't enough they'll now be looking after two puppies. To me it screams immature and not knowing your own limitations. It'll be unfair to the dogs. I don't see them getting any better treatment than the previous pup, but I really hope I'm wrong. I just know I probably won't be.

We're all supposed to go their parents' house this Friday for dinner and all the dogs will be there. I just hope I can keep myself from shooting off something.

On the flipside I guess its cool that Gemma will still be in contact with those pups.

That is really irritating. I would have a hard time keeping my mouth shut around the guy....

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

That is really irritating. I would have a hard time keeping my mouth shut around the guy....

When she told me my reply was literally "Are you ****ing kidding me?"

[Blzer]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

FT, I think you have to tell him like it is. Non-explosively, but kind of transitioning in conversation. You're talking with him, yada yada, a pup rolls by and you bring it up. "You know, what are you going to do with two dogs when you were having trouble with one? You sure it's a good idea? Last thing I want to see is you having to do the same thing again." Not angrily, just curiously. Maybe he'll give you a change of attitude that you need to hear to accept that they will be okay with them.

Then again, maybe not...

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Oh no. I'm not in the family yet. If he was my brother-in-law and we had a better rapport I might bring it up, but I'm gonna let his momma or his sister bitch him out because I know one of them will sooner or later.

[55]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I feel bad for the dogs but I also feel bad for the kids. Little kids fall in love with pets almost instantly so how are they going to feel when mommy and daddy get rid of them after a few months? Some people, man...

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

That's a good point, too. Its just a different situation all the way around without getting too far into it. I think the kids spend more time with Grandma than with dad. He does work at a Wal-Mart distribution center and typically pulls over-time, but he is still very much a kid. I just don't think their schedules hold enough time for 4 babies.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

When I hear parents tell their kids that they won't buy them something because they don't have the money, then turn around and spend all their money on cigarettes and lottery tickets and other useless junk.....

Those kids aren't idiots. They know you are lying to them.

[kehlis]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

I'm not so sure that means they are lying as much as it may mean their priorties are messed up.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

Oh no. I'm not in the family yet. If he was my brother-in-law and we had a better rapport I might bring it up, but I'm gonna let his momma or his sister bitch him out because I know one of them will sooner or later.

Dinner tonight could get interesting.

Ashleigh told her mom about the adoption. Apparently her mom had to "vent" to her about the situation. "Good," I said. She, however, went off for different reasons:

Spoiler

She was irritated, for now anyway, on a financial basis. They're a young family so apparently they need "help" sometimes with groceries, clothes, etc when things are stretched. Per her words "that's it." I'll believe it when I see it, though.

So yeah. Even more irritated lol.

[LowerWolf]

Re: You know what really grinds my gears?

People treating animals (especially dogs) like toys grinds my gears.