"Favorite" student sentences

[AvidReader]

Asked my students in class this week to tell me their biggest concern or greatest achievement on our current essay. Most had pretty concrete things.

One: "I'm just concerned that if I write this essay the way that I feel it ought to be written, I won't be given the grade I deserve."

Oy.

AR.

[marshwiggle]

Asked my students in class this week to tell me their biggest concern or greatest achievement on our current essay. Most had pretty concrete things.

One: "I'm just concerned that if I write this essay the way that I feel it ought to be written, I won't be given the grade I deserve."

Oy.

AR.

That was my thought back in high school, and it's part of why I never took any arts/humanities courses in university.

[AvidReader]

That was my thought back in high school, and it's part of why I never took any arts/humanities courses in university.

Yes, I understand that, and I often work with students to see if/how we can make our expectations align. In this instance, I asked Stu how "the way that . . . it ought to be written" differed from the assignment directions, and Stu didn't know. In fact, on further examination, Stu had not read the directions.

AR.

[Parasaurolophus]

Many students struggle to distinguish bad grades they get for thoughtcrimes from bad grades they get for refusing to back up their disorganized and grandiose ramblings with either evidence or argument.

Or, indeed, for not following the instructions.

[marshwiggle]

Many students struggle to distinguish bad grades they get for thoughtcrimes from bad grades they get for refusing to back up their disorganized and grandiose ramblings with either evidence or argument.

Or, indeed, for not following the instructions.

Sure, but when you have students who got A's in Basketweaving in high school, but who never voluntarily take a basketweaving course later, it's much less likely to be due to incompetence. I don't know if it's ever been done, but for all disciplines I'd like to see students surveyed about why they avoided taking more courses in something they got A's in prior to that.*


*For a good student, getting an A instead of an A+ is a big deal, and since they're probably the kind of people who read and follow instructions, it's easier to spot punishment for thoughtcrime.

[AvidReader]

Had to take a break from grading to share this one, which I think is probably 100% true:

"For example, this generation will most likely be known as the generation that went to [. . .] school during a global pandemic. In fifty years chances are students will read in text books about what it was like during the covid19. During school they might have a 2020 theme for homecoming and students will wear face masks and gloves to represent this generation."

Maybe this hits home because roaring '20s parties were big when I was in college and in grad school.

AR.

[mbelvadi]

Many students struggle to distinguish bad grades they get for thoughtcrimes from bad grades they get for refusing to back up their disorganized and grandiose ramblings with either evidence or argument.

Or, indeed, for not following the instructions.

Sure, but when you have students who got A's in Basketweaving in high school, but who never voluntarily take a basketweaving course later, it's much less likely to be due to incompetence. I don't know if it's ever been done, but for all disciplines I'd like to see students surveyed about why they avoided taking more courses in something they got A's in prior to that.*


*For a good student, getting an A instead of an A+ is a big deal, and since they're probably the kind of people who read and follow instructions, it's easier to spot punishment for thoughtcrime.

Have you not encountered many students who were straight-A across all subjects in high school? Their A's in some subjects reflected their ability to 'game' their teachers' grading systems, not any interest in the subject. I was straight A in English and I absolutely despised it and would never have voluntarily taken an English course in college. (I have since grown to appreciate the field.) My best friend had an even higher "A" average than I did in English and boasted later that he never read a single assigned novel, but just used Cliff Notes for all the tests. I don't think he ever voluntarily took an English class in college either.

[apl68]

Many students struggle to distinguish bad grades they get for thoughtcrimes from bad grades they get for refusing to back up their disorganized and grandiose ramblings with either evidence or argument.

Or, indeed, for not following the instructions.

Sure, but when you have students who got A's in Basketweaving in high school, but who never voluntarily take a basketweaving course later, it's much less likely to be due to incompetence. I don't know if it's ever been done, but for all disciplines I'd like to see students surveyed about why they avoided taking more courses in something they got A's in prior to that.*


*For a good student, getting an A instead of an A+ is a big deal, and since they're probably the kind of people who read and follow instructions, it's easier to spot punishment for thoughtcrime.

Have you not encountered many students who were straight-A across all subjects in high school? Their A's in some subjects reflected their ability to 'game' their teachers' grading systems, not any interest in the subject. I was straight A in English and I absolutely despised it and would never have voluntarily taken an English course in college. (I have since grown to appreciate the field.) My best friend had an even higher "A" average than I did in English and boasted later that he never read a single assigned novel, but just used Cliff Notes for all the tests. I don't think he ever voluntarily took an English class in college either.

It's also entirely possible to do well in subjects one doesn't care for without taking any shortcuts.  I hated math in school but made straight As in it.  Because I was taught to do my best at something whether I actually had an interest in it or not.  Once I no longer had to take math courses in college, I never took another math course.  I wish now that I had not wasted the opportunity to build a little more on my foundation there.

[hungry_ghost]

This difference in both stories makes it so that the stories are not completely the same.

and

This is a good argument supporting that the construction of each story remains coherent between the two but fails to argue the context does.

eek!

[apl68]

This difference in both stories makes it so that the stories are not completely the same.

and

This is a good argument supporting that the construction of each story remains coherent between the two but fails to argue the context does.

eek!

Is the whole piece like that, or were these sentences just unfortunate outliers?

[Caracal]

Asked my students in class this week to tell me their biggest concern or greatest achievement on our current essay. Most had pretty concrete things.

One: "I'm just concerned that if I write this essay the way that I feel it ought to be written, I won't be given the grade I deserve."

Oy.

AR.

That was my thought back in high school, and it's part of why I never took any arts/humanities courses in university.

There are some really great high school history and English teachers and there are also some really bad ones. Students who think they know better than their instructors in high school could be right. It doesn't tend to translate well to college.

I've had a number of students with this attitude and I'll say that all of them struck me as people who thought they were a lot smarter than they were. Students who imagine they are being penalized for not following rules they see as too restrictive usually don't understand the purpose of the rules. I believe that its important to tell students why you structure assignments the way you do and why I'm asking them to do something. The problem is that these kinds of students weren't paying attention because they assumed they already understood.

[Nightshade]

"The last element we must speak of is eroticism. The term "sex sales" has always been accurate." :)

[apl68]

"The last element we must speak of is eroticism. The term "sex sales" has always been accurate." :)

Reminds me of the old comment about not being sure which was worse--the idea that everybody has their price, or how low that price seems to be in most cases.

[hungry_ghost]

This difference in both stories makes it so that the stories are not completely the same.

and

This is a good argument supporting that the construction of each story remains coherent between the two but fails to argue the context does.

eek!

Is the whole piece like that, or were these sentences just unfortunate outliers?

The whole piece. And this is a native English speaker.  It is actually a bit upsetting.

[hungry_ghost]

From an essay in which this statement was quite appropriate:

The world and life is not fair sometimes, but I think it should be.

This is an actual favorite.