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

[apl68]

Dear Freshpeeps,

I make the instruction sheets for a reason. And most of you had me in class last semester so you're used to the format and what I expect to be done for this kind of assignment. For the love of all that's holy in engineering, stop asking "I know the instructions say not to [do things], but is it okay if I do it anyway?" No! It's not! Why are you asking me if it's okay to do something the instructions say not to do? **bang! bang! bang**

All the best,

Dr. Mode

I really don't want to encounter structures, machinery, etc. built by engineers and contractors who think it's okay to go ahead and do things one knows one isn't supposed to do.  Thank you for insisting on this.

[EdnaMode]

I really don't want to encounter structures, machinery, etc. built by engineers and contractors who think it's okay to go ahead and do things one knows one isn't supposed to do.  Thank you for insisting on this.

You're most welcome. This current batch of freshpeeps (right out of high school, having spent the last year in mostly remote learning) have really been trying my patience. They're not rude or particularly demanding, they are just really clueless and if they ever want to become mechanical engineers, they need to learn that rules are rules and are meant to be followed so things don't blow up, or collapse, or catch fire, and people don't die because of it. I often tell them that the big obvious mistakes, people usually catch, the small ones, then ones they get frustrated for losing points for (It was only a tiny mistake! Why did I lose points? **sad eyes**) are the ones that cause the biggest problems. I use the KC Hyatt Regency Skywalk collapse as an example all the time. "All" they did was change the fastener, which redistributed the load. No one caught the change and/or realized it was a very bad idea, and over a hundred people died.

[mamselle]

Show them the Silver Bridge film.

M.

[apl68]

I really don't want to encounter structures, machinery, etc. built by engineers and contractors who think it's okay to go ahead and do things one knows one isn't supposed to do.  Thank you for insisting on this.

You're most welcome. This current batch of freshpeeps (right out of high school, having spent the last year in mostly remote learning) have really been trying my patience. They're not rude or particularly demanding, they are just really clueless and if they ever want to become mechanical engineers, they need to learn that rules are rules and are meant to be followed so things don't blow up, or collapse, or catch fire, and people don't die because of it. I often tell them that the big obvious mistakes, people usually catch, the small ones, then ones they get frustrated for losing points for (It was only a tiny mistake! Why did I lose points? **sad eyes**) are the ones that cause the biggest problems. I use the KC Hyatt Regency Skywalk collapse as an example all the time. "All" they did was change the fastener, which redistributed the load. No one caught the change and/or realized it was a very bad idea, and over a hundred people died.

Good example.

My brother decided, fresh out of high school, that he wanted to be something called an "engineer."  I think he thought it sounded cool, and it was supposed to be well-paid and respected and in demand.  Then he found out that it required math that went way beyond anything that we'd both gotten As on in high school.  He also found out, when he moved into a dorm, that he was temperamentally unsuited to making himself get up and go to class and work on homework promptly and consistently when there was nobody looking over his shoulder making him do it all the time.  He ended up flunking out of everything and losing a four-year full-ride scholarship.  Evidently learning that engineering is tougher than you think is not so unusual for traditional-age freshman engineering students.

He had the brains to have done it, by the way.  After a successful career as an Army NCO, he went back to school as an adult and is now working in IT.  He just needed more time to get that self-discipline thing going.

[smallcleanrat]

A student made a comment on my end-of-term TA evals saying:

"The TA was very knowledgeable about the subject and super helpful! I guess appearances can be deceiving! :)"

It's a positive comment, but it's very difficult not to wonder what "appearances" gave the impression I wouldn't know the subject or be helpful...

[mamselle]

Those are the kind of evals where you take the good and, as the poem says, "with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away."

M.

[smallcleanrat]

Those are the kind of evals where you take the good and, as the poem says, "with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away."

M.

I'm not insulted by the comment, because I don't really know what specifically they are talking about.

But it's really hard not to be curious...

[Morden]

Those are the kind of evals where you take the good and, as the poem says, "with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away."

M.

I'm not insulted by the comment, because I don't really know what specifically they are talking about.

But it's really hard not to be curious...

Hi SCR. If you are a woman, it's could be that. If you are of a different ethnicity than the student, it could be that. If you look younger (or older) than they expected you should look, it could be that. And so on.

[marshwiggle]

Those are the kind of evals where you take the good and, as the poem says, "with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away."

M.

I'm not insulted by the comment, because I don't really know what specifically they are talking about.

But it's really hard not to be curious...

Hi SCR. If you are a woman, it's could be that. If you are of a different ethnicity than the student, it could be that. If you look younger (or older) than they expected you should look, it could be that. And so on.

And most likely if they're in first year. If they're in STEM and have lots of labs, by their 3rd or 4th year they'll probably have had enough TAs of various shapes and sizes to have lost those "expectations".

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Student turns in four jpeg files instead of ONE pdf file (according to the instructions in the syllabus, assignment, folder, my words in class, etc.).

Everyone else followed the directions. Thank God.

[Thursday's_Child]

Dear Freshpeeps,

I make the instruction sheets for a reason. And most of you had me in class last semester so you're used to the format and what I expect to be done for this kind of assignment. For the love of all that's holy in engineering, stop asking "I know the instructions say not to [do things], but is it okay if I do it anyway?" No! It's not! Why are you asking me if it's okay to do something the instructions say not to do? **bang! bang! bang**

All the best,

Dr. Mode

Ouch!  I'm getting some of that, and some of "just didn't read", and some of "apparently can't handle even the slightest change in the directions", and some of "just double-checking that I really wanted them to do what I said to do", and....  I should go check my emails, b/c there's probably another variation on these in there by now.

[the_geneticist]

Student turns in four jpeg files instead of ONE pdf file (according to the instructions in the syllabus, assignment, folder, my words in class, etc.).

Everyone else followed the directions. Thank God.

You could change the settings to only allow .pdf files to upload.

[Langue_doc]

Student turns in four jpeg files instead of ONE pdf file (according to the instructions in the syllabus, assignment, folder, my words in class, etc.).

Everyone else followed the directions. Thank God.

You could change the settings to only allow .pdf files to upload.

+1

I used to get .pages files that couldn't be opened (on Canvas) until I changed the settings to allow only word files.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Student turns in four jpeg files instead of ONE pdf file (according to the instructions in the syllabus, assignment, folder, my words in class, etc.).

Everyone else followed the directions. Thank God.

You could change the settings to only allow .pdf files to upload.

:D

I've been so overwhelmed, that it didn't occur to me. Just did it. Thanks for refreshing my brain.

[Thursday's_Child]

Student turns in four jpeg files instead of ONE pdf file (according to the instructions in the syllabus, assignment, folder, my words in class, etc.).

Everyone else followed the directions. Thank God.

You could change the settings to only allow .pdf files to upload.

+1

I used to get .pages files that couldn't be opened (on Canvas) until I changed the settings to allow only word files.

There's a way to do that, but I can't remember it at the moment - google is our friend here, as are Mac users who can remember to follow the directions!