tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post8120322594912910444..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: Everybody's a CriticAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-29462500985711204092018-01-25T17:29:47.308-05:002018-01-25T17:29:47.308-05:00I think you're right that the students have to...I think you're right that the students have to lead the charge to get that sort of prerequisite course in place. I hope they do someday! It sounds really tough to deal with all those evaluations, Jean. I hope the overall sense that you know your stuff is the one that wins the day--it's so obvious that you care about what you do!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-3353462124418426742018-01-25T07:50:18.920-05:002018-01-25T07:50:18.920-05:00Oh, Jean... I've been dealing with exactly the...Oh, Jean... I've been dealing with exactly the same sort of issues. And I teach engineering, not English.<br /><br />Last term students complained to the department head that my class "didn't have a syllabus". When this claim was voiced in the department meeting, I brought up the course website and showed everyone the (very detailed) syllabus right at the top of the page.<br /><br />This course is a core course. Students must pass in order to get their degree in our program. Many fail. What happens? They take it again, as second year students, or God forbid, as fourth year students! How have these students passed other courses that depend on the foundational knowledge in this one, over their later years???<br /><br />This term I'm teaching the follow-on core course. I state that the first term course is a pre-requisite. Students who fail the first term course may not take the second term course. <br /><br />In addition to the 90+ first year students, the department wanted me to teach the 12 fourth year students who failed the first time (or the second time).<br /><br />I refused. I told them there was no room in the classroom and not enough computers in the lab (all true). But in addition--these students should have been flunked out of our program years ago. <br /><br />(I guess you can sense my frustration here... ;^) - Thank heavens I can leave all this behind when I slip into my Lisabet personna!)Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-35160922855572806682018-01-22T15:11:03.655-05:002018-01-22T15:11:03.655-05:00Daddy X, I think you’re right about where the prob...Daddy X, I think you’re right about where the problems start. Even public schools in dusty rural regions (Idaho, where I spent my childhood) used to do an adequate job of teaching basic skills. Something has changed.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-16990210021098803492018-01-22T15:05:40.750-05:002018-01-22T15:05:40.750-05:00Sigh. Something needs to be done, but I wouldn’t b...Sigh. Something needs to be done, but I wouldn’t be in favour of kicking out vast numbers of students who are barely literate, and turning all post-secondary schools into very exclusive Ivory Towers. As long as hordes of ill-prepared students are flooding (I imagine first-year students in their first week as Dothraki raiders from Game of Thrones), they need to be educated. Most of university revenues need to go into that, IMO, rather than fancy new buildings or administrators’ salaries. I hope someone will take up the fight when I’m no longer there.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-46067716326630451042018-01-22T10:55:54.510-05:002018-01-22T10:55:54.510-05:00I think these problems begin in the lower grades i...I think these problems begin in the lower grades in local schools not putting much emphasis on English. I've been something less than circumspect in my opinion of Catholic schools, but those nuns did prepare us with a good sense of the English language. Of course, unlike many of my fellow students, I enjoyed English class. It's tough to fight city hall when the youngsters being taught don't care much themselves.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-23988272610780449672018-01-22T08:53:33.185-05:002018-01-22T08:53:33.185-05:00This is happening in many places. A friend who tea...This is happening in many places. A friend who teaches Medical Terminology in a community college, both in person and online, is appalled at how poorly incoming students are prepared. Even those who claim to know all about computers don't know how to format a document, or, for that matter, how to send it, never mind writing a cogent paper or doing research. This is a course of great importance to anyone wanting to find jobs in the medical field, where there are indeed jobs like transcription and billing as well as nursing, but they'll also need real computer skills and writing ability.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.com