the "things you wish you could say" thread

[marshwiggle]

Unrelated to above.


Look "Universal Teaching Design" does NOT mean just letting students do whatever they want to show what they have learned.  I know not all students are good at taking tests.  That's why they also have quizzes, worksheets, & presentations.  Having multiple types of assessments is part of Universal Design.
No, I will not give students the option to make a video or write a paper or make a paper-mache diagram of a cell - they get to take an exam.

I'm not a cytologist, but if they included all of the organelles, that would be something to see.

[ergative]

For someone as alert to anti-semitic messaging as you are, I'm surprised you don't see the problem in proclaiming, 'there's no way that guy is Jewish. Just look at him.'

[mamselle]

Automatic jaw-drop.

How in thunder....

M.

[Langue_doc]

To our esteemed elected leader:

It's never your fault, honey. Take some responsibility for once. The NYT reports that "[f]or his part, [our esteemed elected leader] suggested that the experts had led the city astray". Your predecessor (who you dissed during your inauguration) shut down the subway system prior to severe storms such as Sandy. You should have been prepared because just recently the subway system was flooded because of Henri. The no-longer-in-office official that you keep taking potshots at issued an advisory regarding Henri and also took steps such as deploying the National Guard and other emergency measures in preparation for the storm. That was during the weekend. Couldn't you at least advise your constituents to stay home or at the very least not drive? And what about those illegal basement apartments? It's probably too late for you to develop a work ethic or learn to take responsibility. Remember the time soon after you were elected when you were so late for a memorial service that they started without you, and you blamed the police launch for being late when you were the one who kept the police waiting?

As of 10 minutes ago, every single subway line is experiencing significant delays. You wouldn't know that because you aren't an early riser.

[fishbrains]

I dunno. Maybe a religion that works with the symbolism of drinking the blood and eating the flesh of its deity could also figure out the symbolic importance of a face covering that suggests believers don't want to infect other people with a virus.

Or maybe representing your worldly political beliefs is more important to you than representing the beliefs of your professed religion. Hard to tell these days.

[dr_codex]

I dunno. Maybe a religion that works with the symbolism of drinking the blood and eating the flesh of its deity could also figure out the symbolic importance of a face covering that suggests believers don't want to infect other people with a virus.

Or maybe representing your worldly political beliefs is more important to you than representing the beliefs of your professed religion. Hard to tell these days.

I assume that you've seen the meme from Leviticus 13 that's been making the rounds?

45 "The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, [4] cover the lower part of his face and cry out, `Unclean! Unclean!'
46 As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.

Wear a mask. Social distance. It's old wisdom, folks.

[OneMoreYear]

So, I know you think this class is beneath you, and you are trying to demonstrate your superiority to me and to your classmates.
But pride goeth before a fall, dude.  If you don't actually use the step-by-step procedure I'm recommending, you are going to make the mistakes you just made. And you have failed this quiz. Maybe, just maybe, you'll listen to me next time. Or not. I'll continue to grade you based on your performance in this course, not on how smart you think you are.

[ciao_yall]

So, I know you think this class is beneath you, and you are trying to demonstrate your superiority to me and to your classmates.
But pride goeth before a fall, dude.  If you don't actually use the step-by-step procedure I'm recommending, you are going to make the mistakes you just made. And you have failed this quiz. Maybe, just maybe, you'll listen to me next time. Or not. I'll continue to grade you based on your performance in this course, not on how smart you think you are.

Where is the bloody "like" button?

[AmLitHist]

Colleague,

I'd forgotten that you have only one volume/tone of voice, and that is "screaming." 

Would you PLEASE shut the fuck UP!  I have to be here, but that shouldn't involve listening to you shrieking at full blast in the front office outside my door.

Signed,
Your Grumpy Colleague Who Couldn't Stand You BEFORE the Pandemic and Likes You Even Less Now

(I'd stick my head out the door and say this, but with my luck, I'd probably get COVID.  We have a little cluster going here already in the past week.)

[mamselle]

Yuck.

Noise-cancelling headphones?

Since a laryngectomy without a surgeon's license and anesthesia is probably illegal...

M.

[hmaria1609]

This incident happened while I was exiting off the interstate at rush hour this morning.  I had seen two drivers narrowly avoid hitting each other behind me.

Ma'am, I saw the lady behind me cut you off changing lanes. But it is worth stopping so you can pound on her window and scream verbal abuse and blocking everyone else with your SUV on the ramp? You could've been a body flying through the air by a passing car (at full speed on the interstate) who couldn't stop in time to avoid you.

[Stockmann]

Some of our competitors have hybrid teaching up and running. Another has made public its plans to get there in the near future. Now, I'm not saying hybrid is ideal or that the risk doesn't remain high in these parts or that there aren't logistical issues to sort out - but you higher ups have are displaying an astounding lack of leadership - when even Dr. Inertia criticizes the lack of leadership, you know you've got a problem. You're keeping us all in the dark - we don't know if there's going to be a mask mandate, a vaccine mandate, who gets to decide whether a class will be hybrid, online or what, or when there might be any F2F teaching, or under what conditions, whether there'll be any kind of mandatory testing, etc. Some have faith that there's some kind of secret plan being worked on, I'm wondering if a log floating on a pond somewhere might not show more leadership qualities. Personally, I could teach online forever, but I'm seriously worried about us standing out more and more about not getting our act together - would it kill you to make  some kind of plan public, even if it's a vague one with lots of caveats?

Related: Seriously? You think our government would pay for Covid testing for us? There's a higher chance of getting the Tooth Fairy to do so. Or the Krampus.

[dr_codex]

Some of our competitors have hybrid teaching up and running. Another has made public its plans to get there in the near future. Now, I'm not saying hybrid is ideal or that the risk doesn't remain high in these parts or that there aren't logistical issues to sort out - but you higher ups have are displaying an astounding lack of leadership - when even Dr. Inertia criticizes the lack of leadership, you know you've got a problem. You're keeping us all in the dark - we don't know if there's going to be a mask mandate, a vaccine mandate, who gets to decide whether a class will be hybrid, online or what, or when there might be any F2F teaching, or under what conditions, whether there'll be any kind of mandatory testing, etc. Some have faith that there's some kind of secret plan being worked on, I'm wondering if a log floating on a pond somewhere might not show more leadership qualities. Personally, I could teach online forever, but I'm seriously worried about us standing out more and more about not getting our act together - would it kill you to make  some kind of plan public, even if it's a vague one with lots of caveats?

Related: Seriously? You think our government would pay for Covid testing for us? There's a higher chance of getting the Tooth Fairy to do so. Or the Krampus.

VPAA Log has a sparkling resume, and a proven track record of steady leadership during troubled times. Our recruiting firm recommends that you consider VPAA Log for your current search.

[ergative]

You don't get any brownie points for responding to the email in one minute if your response is incomplete. We asked for office hour times and zoom links. Responding with 'Thursdays at 11, thanks!' only means that I'm going to have to chase you up later for the zoom link. Your half-response makes more work for me than if you had just waited until you had access to your zoom account and sent me the bloody link!

[Stockmann]

VPAA Log has a sparkling resume, and a proven track record of steady leadership during troubled times. Our recruiting firm recommends that you consider VPAA Log for your current search.

They say silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute, so I'm sure VPAA Log interviews well.