The Fora: A Higher Education Community

I fixed the droopy front end of my car with zip ties. Looks good. We'll see if it lasts.

Having a 15-year-old car pushes one to do self-repair when possible. To have a pro do it probably would have cost more than the car is worth.

For my next stunt: An oil change.

I'll also say they don't know names of things in other contexts either. One of the most missed questions on quizzes are things like "what's the name of the main character" or "Who wrote this essay" or "Which of the texts was written by Harriet Jacobs." In class discussion, students generally say "they say...." and I make them clarify "they." Do you mean author, narrator, character (the differences of which we cover in the first few weeks). Heck, many of them don't know the names of any of the other people in class.

I think that for underclassmen it's incredibly difficult for them to think with any specificity. Why? I dunno. I do know that I spend more time than I used to on things like vocabulary -- the story is called "The Piazza," so what is a piazza? What's a pew? What's a cottage?

Quote from: waterboy on April 17, 2024, 07:02:39 AMPerhaps I missed this, but was there some understanding of what she planned to say that scared off the admins?

Her previous social media presence:

QuoteIt cited her social media bio that included a link to a page that calls Zionism a "racist settler-colonial ideology."

Interesting bit:

QuoteAnuj Desai, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, suggested that Ms. Tabassum could have legal grounds to sue, particularly in light of California law that supports students' First Amendment rights.

"If the reason they're removing her is because of her views, then that just feels much more like a free speech problem," he said. "Ordinarily we would say, beef up the security."

But Mr. Desai said that the university could be warranted in shutting down her speech, if it learned that Ms. Tabassum planned to use the address as a forum, as graduation speakers sometimes do, to discuss their outrage over issues of the day.

Quote from: ciao_yall on April 17, 2024, 06:23:46 AM

Quote from: Langue_doc on April 16, 2024, 01:39:04 PM

QuoteNPR Suspends Editor Whose Essay Criticized the Broadcaster
Uri Berliner, a senior business editor at NPR, said the public radio network's liberal bias had tainted its coverage of important stories.

Uri Berliner's article in The Free Press. Toward the end of the article, Berliner writes:

QuoteAnd this, I believe, is the most damaging development at NPR: the absence of viewpoint diversity.

Isn't that the point of DEI... to make sure there IS viewpoint diversity?

Not remotely; it's to make sure that the "viewpoint" presented reflects "diversity" of people expressing it, where "diversity" is based on identity categories, (other than straight, white, male, christian, etc.). Do you really think that, in the name of DEI, hiring will be done to ensure that there are pro-life, conservatives on staff?

Perhaps I missed this, but was there some understanding of what she planned to say that scared off the admins?

Quote from: apl68 on April 17, 2024, 06:30:59 AM

Quote from: marshwiggle on April 17, 2024, 05:59:27 AM

Quote from: RatGuy on April 17, 2024, 05:53:47 AMIt also may be that many students just don't know my name. At all. The student who prompted my post earlier attends maybe 50% of classes and is struggling mightily. Maybe I should ask "what's my name" on the final exam.

That's areal thing. Years ago, I had students in two lab sections answer a multiple choice survey. One question was "Who was your TA?" The choices were "Alice" and "Bob", neither of which were non-binary, gender-fluid, or anything of the sort. A few students picked "I don't know."

Having to actually remember a prof's name; that takes it to a whole other level.

I wonder why that is?  Is it simply a symptom of lack of engagement?  Is it due to a tendency of youths to outsource their memories to their phones? 

I call it "information triage". Many *people, as information is being presented to them, automatically filter it by saying "Is this relevant to me RIGHT NOW?" If the answer is "no", they don't bother to record or remember it. The idea that it could be relevant someday is too esoteric to be considered.


*Especially young people, probably at least in part due to the idea you alluded to of everything important being "google-able", so therefore not necessary to pay attention to.

Quote from: apl68 on April 17, 2024, 06:33:19 AMA class valedictorian choosing the occasion to weigh in on a tremendously emotive and polarizing issue to a captive audience--however keenly the student may personally feel about it--creates a no-win situation for all involved.  It's an abuse of the student's position.

I'd also say USC's valedictorian-selection process is a logical no-win end point of the everyone gets a trophy/failure is to be avoided at all costs mentality. Makes me glad that I went to the trade school down the river from Harvard that, unlike Harvard, doesn't do valedictorians, honorary degrees, or legacy admissions.

Good morning!

QB yesterday, last words polio and tiptop. Today I have two words to go, but am struggling to find them.

LB: flower-riverbank also. No luck today so far.

Middle Daughter leaves today—it's been a lovely visit, although short. Chatting with Grandson in France every day has also been great. He's having a wonderful time.

Happy puzzling!

A class valedictorian choosing the occasion to weigh in on a tremendously emotive and polarizing issue to a captive audience--however keenly the student may personally feel about it--creates a no-win situation for all involved.  It's an abuse of the student's position.

Quote from: marshwiggle on April 17, 2024, 05:59:27 AM

Quote from: RatGuy on April 17, 2024, 05:53:47 AMIt also may be that many students just don't know my name. At all. The student who prompted my post earlier attends maybe 50% of classes and is struggling mightily. Maybe I should ask "what's my name" on the final exam.

That's areal thing. Years ago, I had students in two lab sections answer a multiple choice survey. One question was "Who was your TA?" The choices were "Alice" and "Bob", neither of which were non-binary, gender-fluid, or anything of the sort. A few students picked "I don't know."

Having to actually remember a prof's name; that takes it to a whole other level.

I wonder why that is?  Is it simply a symptom of lack of engagement?  Is it due to a tendency of youths to outsource their memories to their phones? 

If you have students who keep asking for extra credit and bonus opportunities, I guess you could use "What is my name" and "What is your TA's name" for those.