The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Good morning!

Glad to see the forum is back up (again).  I posted yesterday evening, but apparently that is gone.  No big deal.  When I posted, the most recent post on the forum was from 4/20, so at least there are more recent posts back now, even minus that one.

Past genius with pangram at the moment.  Yesterday we had team QB.  I think I needed lacteal, catcall, cattail?

For LB, I had encumbrances-simple.  Definitely some variety!

More good wishes for your computer's health, ciao_yall!

Happy solving!

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on April 28, 2024, 11:21:31 PMWell, I got the call. I'm giving too many As and failing too few students.

My numbers are very skewed by the one upper-level course I taught this year, where everyone did very well because of a generous concentration of points in low-stakes assessments--definitely too generous for a group who's actually going to regularly do the work.

But even so. Guess I have to be a hardass for the next few semesters.

I'm always waiting on the opposite email:  too many D/Fs, and too few passing grades.

Last night we got storms and heavy rain across our already damp region.  This morning we had huge mushrooms growing in the library's yard.  I grubbed them up and got rid of them.  For all I know they might have been edible, but not being a mushroom fan I didn't think they looked too delectable.

We've also been notified that there's "something tall and green" growing in the gutters on the north end of our building.  Wonder if we could try to pass that off as a "green roof"....

Good morning!

QBwH yesterday. Last words lacteal and tallit. Pangram and genius today.

LB: plumblines-sacrum. Oh, goody—some variety this time! Neither ciao_yall nor I had the "official" answer.

Ciao_yall, I hope your computer is okay!

Happy puzzling!

Quote from: RatGuy on April 26, 2024, 04:22:45 PMI'd like to bang colleague's head.

Student submits final essay with 98% similarity. Student emails "I matched with myself. I asked my English professor if I could turn in the same paper I wrote for you to him too. He said it was ok." Stu forwards email exchange confirming. The English prof said something like "welp, it looks like you got lucky that the essay you'd write for him works for my prompt. Go ahead. [Ratguy] won't mind."

In what world is this ok?

Wow, submitting the same assignment for two separate classes is absolutely not okay. That situation is specifically mentioned in our college's plagiarism policy, a faculty member would find themselves in some trouble here if that happened. I don't envy you, what a terrible, awkward situation...

Quote from: Wahoo Redux on April 28, 2024, 05:23:37 PMPublished Feb of 2023:

IHE: DEI and the Necessity of Self-Defense

QuoteAs Lily Zheng has noted, a fictional conceptualization of DEI drives much of the anti-DEI animus that higher ed is currently experiencing. As educators, we must use our pedagogical skills to emphasize that DEI work isn't about policing thought, discriminating against white folk and men, giving jobs to unqualified candidates based on their identities instead of their aptitude, or taking away anyone's privilege.

Rather, DEI activities are designed to address and dismantle structures and systems that perpetuate universal harm. At their core, DEI efforts are aspirations toward and actualizations of the platinum rule ("Do unto others as they would like done to them"). This expression of compassionate human decency is something that—it would seem—all people should aspire to, regardless of their personal political affiliation.

I think they said the quiet part out loud.

"Do unto others as they would like done to them"???? Who wouldn't love to be given a million dollars and a villa on a tropical island? (Fill in your own fantasies here.)


Sorry, it's impossible for everyone to be given everything they want, especially since humans are never satisfied, so the expectations will get more outrageous as time goes on.

Morning!

I hope I didn't spill anything on my laptop - screen looks bad. Uh Oh.

QBwATHICBAWG last word acetal. LB urbanism-misplace.

Happy solving!

Yeah. I don't know whether you can expect them to be recovered.

Well, I got the call. I'm giving too many As and failing too few students.

My numbers are very skewed by the one upper-level course I taught this year, where everyone did very well because of a generous concentration of points in low-stakes assessments--definitely too generous for a group who's actually going to regularly do the work.

But even so. Guess I have to be a hardass for the next few semesters.

The server was down earlier today so I suspect that caused some loss of recent posts.