Topic: Bang Your Head on Your Desk - the thread of teaching despair!

[mamselle]

If I recall, magistra on the old forum, and others discussed this issue with language teaching, as well. Too bad we can't pull those threads up now.

It may also be a more recent development; my own French and Latin teachers in high school (in the 1970s) did structured handouts, but the Spanish classes thought we were too fastidious in a number of ways, that one included; it was just becoming a 'thing' to trickle down into high schools, probably.

I subbed for Latin and French (and some Chinese, when they couldn't get anyone else...) classes in jr. high and high school within the past 5 years, in an urban setting. Those classes all had syllabi set out on top of the daily calendar book as required--all teachers had to supply subs with certain materials and have them out before they left the day before a planned day out, or available for the department chair or principal to put out in case of illness.

I usually followed those pretty closely, since they were keyed to the textbooks, the homework was due and needed to be reviewed, etc. None were AP classes that I recall, but that would have been under the same requirements, which were system-wide. The state had just started state tests, too, so a lot of tight fitting of topics and skills would have been jiggered out of place if I hadn't, and I'd have heard about it.

The Chinese class was kind of fun; I'd been told to just give them a study hall if I didn't have any chops in Mandarin; instead, I had them teach me what they knew and thought I'd need to know to go to a major town in China on the train from the airport, and order a hamburger.

They went to the board and put up the five tones for me to practice from, and wrote the words I'd need to use, and taught me how to pronounce them. We had a blast, and since I told them if I correctly learned my sentences to the satisfaction of the two native Mandarin speakers in the class, they'd all get a passing mark for the day.

We all passed.

But the point was that there was content being conveyed, we reviewed skills and codified grammar points, and they demonstrated proficiency in useful terms and concepts--and they were within the parameters of the course content--I'd checked before making the assignment.

Smiling, now...almost as good as the day I took my recorder to a high school physics class and made them figure out the acoustic ratios for the notes I played, and why they worked, and what made them louder and softer--we ended up with words like 'amplitude,' 'frequency,' 'Hz' and 'additive waves' on the board....all terms in the chapter they were working on.

And they got all the assigned problems correct after that, too.

Subversive, self-serving use of syllabi, perhaps...but it was fun.

Like jazz riffs on a set chord structure.

M.

[mythbuster]

It really should not matter if you had a syllabus in HS or not. Students SHOULD be able to realize that a document handed out on day one (yep I hand out print copies), with all the due dates on it (front page- no excuses that you missed seeing that page), that the prof then spends time discussing and has a quiz on is important!

[downer]

It really should not matter if you had a syllabus in HS or not. Students SHOULD be able to realize that a document handed out on day one (yep I hand out print copies), with all the due dates on it (front page- no excuses that you missed seeing that page), that the prof then spends time discussing and has a quiz on is important!

You are able to get the dates on the first page? I have so much required stuff to put in early on that I'm lucky if I can get the schedule on Page 3.

But I think your point is right. If the students are so clueless that they can't work out what a syllabus is and that it is impotant, then they probably shouldn't be in college.

[the_geneticist]

It really should not matter if you had a syllabus in HS or not. Students SHOULD be able to realize that a document handed out on day one (yep I hand out print copies), with all the due dates on it (front page- no excuses that you missed seeing that page), that the prof then spends time discussing and has a quiz on is important!

You are able to get the dates on the first page? I have so much required stuff to put in early on that I'm lucky if I can get the schedule on Page 3.

But I think your point is right. If the students are so clueless that they can't work out what a syllabus is and that it is impotant, then they probably shouldn't be in college.

I put all of the assignments, due dates & point values on the last page.  That way they can at least scroll to the end to find it quickly.  I also have so much "boilerplate" and "policies" that MUST be included that my syllabus is now 12 pages.  It's so pointless!  I know they won't read it for all of their classes.

[Langue_doc]

What mythbuster, downer, and the_geneticist said.

The departments and the college require us to include certain information on the syllabi. Mine is four full pages of course information, assignment and attendance policies, and the required boilerplate material, and two pages of the weekly course outlines and assignments. We are also required to email a copy of the syllabus to the department which I suspect emails them all up the food chain.

On the first day of class, I have students take turns reading the syllabus, especially the first four pages. I get to know the students as they have to introduce themselves, or at least say their names before reading.

College is not high school; there is no excuse for students to assume that college is an extension of their high school.

[Charlotte]

If the students are so clueless that they can't work out what a syllabus is and that it is impotant, then they probably shouldn't be in college.

So sorry to be that person, but... 😄

[downer]

If the students are so clueless that they can't work out what a syllabus is and that it is impotant, then they probably shouldn't be in college.

So sorry to be that person, but... 😄

😄 😄 😄 😄 😄

[kaysixteen]

Ok, but what mamselle is talking about is a 'lesson plan', which most hss require teacher to write weekly, and give to some adminiscritter.   This tells what is to be done that day, and is especially useful for when there is a sub.   But this is not usually written more than a week in advance, and definitely allows a teacher with my philosophy to operate effectively (that said, I do admit to more or less writing minimalist lesson plans and departign from them as needed, in accordance with this philosophy).

[mamselle]

No, I was also given lesson plans in some cases, where the instructor anticipated the need. But there was also a syllabus.

With state testing, the coverage of all the concepts on that year's test were micromanaged down to a muon's breadth of space. Every day was focused on a concept and one could not deviate.

M.

[EdnaMode]

Had a problem set due today at the beginning of lab, and as usual, before the students turn in their work, we go over some of the problems and give them a chance to correct errors. I always walk around the room during the first minute or two of class, glance at their work, and put a checkmark in the corner to signify they've made a noble attempt at the work. This also gives me a chance to check quickly which problem(s) had the most errors and those are the ones we discuss. Well, today a student who has only been to class twice (it's the end of week 4) seemed surprised when I did not put a checkmark on his paper... he had only copied the diagrams and made no attempt at the solutions. Not sure what he planned to do for solutions to the problems we didn't go over.

[ergative]

Too many times this week:

Hi, there,

I'm in your class, and I want to know [reasonable question].

Thanks!
Stu


WHICH CLASS, STU? WHICH CLASS? I'm responsible for eight different classes this year (well, five preps (3/2), but three of them are cross-listed UG and grad), and I'm teaching on two other courses. WHICH CLASS ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT?

[arcturus]

Too many times this week:

Hi, there,

I'm in your class, and I want to know [reasonable question].

Thanks!
Stu


WHICH CLASS, STU? WHICH CLASS? I'm responsible for eight different classes this year (well, five preps (3/2), but three of them are cross-listed UG and grad), and I'm teaching on two other courses. WHICH CLASS ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT?

We use Canvas for our LMS and its "Inbox" provides name of student and course as the title of the email sent to my regular email account and the course is attached to the student's name in the "Inbox" itself. I insist that all students communicate with us using thie Canvas tool. This not only makes it easier to identify relevant course, but also to share emails and responses with the other instructors involved in the course.

[apl68]

Too many times this week:

Hi, there,

I'm in your class, and I want to know [reasonable question].

Thanks!
Stu


WHICH CLASS, STU? WHICH CLASS? I'm responsible for eight different classes this year (well, five preps (3/2), but three of them are cross-listed UG and grad), and I'm teaching on two other courses. WHICH CLASS ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT?

It suggests that these students have an awfully narrow focus on themselves and their own interests, to the point of having disturbingly little awareness of anything beyond these.  I'm pretty sure that when I was in college and grad school the average student was at least somewhat aware of the fact that their particular class wasn't all the prof had to deal with.

[OneMoreYear]

We are working on increasing collaboration with another department and the possibility of dual-degree programs, so we have been exchanging current syllabi.   The one I looked at today explicitly stated that "[Course] has been designed with the assumption that you are our customer."
Are faculty actually required to put this on syllabi now?

[onehappyunicorn]

We are working on increasing collaboration with another department and the possibility of dual-degree programs, so we have been exchanging current syllabi.   The one I looked at today explicitly stated that "[Course] has been designed with the assumption that you are our customer."
Are faculty actually required to put this on syllabi now?

Haha, that's great. There is no way I would let that be in my syllabus, I would go find another job first. I can't imagine how that statement would help anything.