I thought we were going to make it though the year without any scandalous Halloween party stories. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Last year the big story was terrorist costumes, but this year students chose to be victims. Two students at Penn State have pictures up of themselves dressed as Virgina Tech shooting victims for Halloween. Facebook groups for and against the right to be offensive are growing.
Both of these articles are about Pennsylvania institutions, but that should not be an indicator that these kinds of things are limited to any state or even region. Like the first commenter in the VT victims article, I am not really surprised by this. There have been terrorists at every Halloween party I've attended since 9/11. Before that, there were unabombers. There are always a few that are sacrilegious and I won't even get into the scantily clad. The other thing that has always been consistent is that nobody (myself included) has ever said anything to them at the party about being inappropriate. What has changed, is that the remnants of Halloween don't get thrown out like smashed pumpkins. They are not private like the left over candy stash. When those photos become public and permanent, they represent you in a whole new way than the dimly lit moments at a bonfire when everyone is hidden behind makeup and masks. I'm not saying that I approve, but Halloween use to be a free pass for mischief, and that is not the case now that there is evidence of everything that has been done.
What really bothers me about these articles is who is doing the apologizing. Why are universities asked to make public statements and apologies for student costumes? We are responsible for students in a lot of way, but how accountable are we for their poor taste? Staff are worrying about their online presence because they can't draw a definite line between when they do and they don't represent their institution, but how does that translate to students? When do students (both good and bad) start and stop representing their university?
If they are given the responsibility of representing the university, why are they not the ones apologizing? The terrorist costume from last year made a formal apology, but this year's students have reacted by creating a facebook group. (For those of you who are not members of facebook, my biased summary of his group is all of these people were offensive so I should get to be offensive to) Why not just say you are sorry? The school can't force him to, and I don't think they should, but is he against doing it himself? Is it really demanding the right to offend, or is it refusal to admit a mistake?
When I think back to all of the jokes I have told, and all of the things I have laughed at, I realize that humor really is an indicator of maturity. I know that I would regret not apologizing if I publicly offended anyone with a tasteless joke.
Showing posts with label Students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Students. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2007
A Quick Congratulations
My life has been consumed with the end of the semester papers, finals, and Christmas knitting. I did want to share a quick update on the SURF proposals. Of the 14 UCA proposals, 6 were funded! The other 8 haven't been rejected yet, because some of the awards may not be accepted so their funds may be redistributed yet. There were a couple strong proposals that I expected to get funded that were not on our list, but I am really proud of our results. Congratulations everyone.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Ocean's 11 or the Notorious Nine
Students at Hanover High School stole a teacher's key, and then used it to get into the school and steal copies of their upcoming finals. They are now facing criminal charges and the community is debating whether this punishment is appropriate. While they are not facing jail time, the trespassing charges could go on their permanent records because in New Hampshire 17 is considered adult.
I'm not sure how I feel about this situation. I remember feeling the pressure of grades and tests, and I didn't live down the road from Dartmouth. I can appreciate how the expectation to attend an ivy league school increases that pressure beyond anything I felt in high school. On the other hand, they pass out As in this country like Halloween candy. Sure you have to dress appropriately and learn the lingo, but overall, good grades aren't that difficult. Points are passed out for just being present. I think that most of the difficulties students have in class is because we tell them it is going to be difficult. If we would start believing in their ability to learn, so would they.
As far as prosecution goes, I think I support it. If 50 students were involved, it wasn't a spontaneous, bad idea that they had while trying to kill an afternoon. If there was damage done to the school, it needs to be fixed. Fixing requires money, and money requires documentation. Somewhere the school has to write down that there was a breaking and entering incident, and pressing charges is continuing the documentation and covering themselves. I don't want the students to go to jail, and I think a fine would be a slap on the wrist. What I don't want to see is the excuses people are making for them win out. They exist in the same society as we do so our 'notions of honesty' need to coincide.
The problem isn't that this generation doesn't think of downloading music as stealing because this generation hasn't come to an consensus about what to think of downloading music. The problem is the confession of the teacher who said he doesn't talk to his students about academic integrity. Why not? Plagiarism is a growing problem and everyone attributes it to the ease with which students can access papers online. Maybe it is because we don't treat our students like adults. Academic integrity is an adult problem facing graduate students and PhDs so we don't worry our students with it. We need to be appreciating who they are instead of building imaginary relationships with who they will be after graduating from Dartmouth.
I'm not sure how I feel about this situation. I remember feeling the pressure of grades and tests, and I didn't live down the road from Dartmouth. I can appreciate how the expectation to attend an ivy league school increases that pressure beyond anything I felt in high school. On the other hand, they pass out As in this country like Halloween candy. Sure you have to dress appropriately and learn the lingo, but overall, good grades aren't that difficult. Points are passed out for just being present. I think that most of the difficulties students have in class is because we tell them it is going to be difficult. If we would start believing in their ability to learn, so would they.
As far as prosecution goes, I think I support it. If 50 students were involved, it wasn't a spontaneous, bad idea that they had while trying to kill an afternoon. If there was damage done to the school, it needs to be fixed. Fixing requires money, and money requires documentation. Somewhere the school has to write down that there was a breaking and entering incident, and pressing charges is continuing the documentation and covering themselves. I don't want the students to go to jail, and I think a fine would be a slap on the wrist. What I don't want to see is the excuses people are making for them win out. They exist in the same society as we do so our 'notions of honesty' need to coincide.
The problem isn't that this generation doesn't think of downloading music as stealing because this generation hasn't come to an consensus about what to think of downloading music. The problem is the confession of the teacher who said he doesn't talk to his students about academic integrity. Why not? Plagiarism is a growing problem and everyone attributes it to the ease with which students can access papers online. Maybe it is because we don't treat our students like adults. Academic integrity is an adult problem facing graduate students and PhDs so we don't worry our students with it. We need to be appreciating who they are instead of building imaginary relationships with who they will be after graduating from Dartmouth.
Monday, April 09, 2007
To Teach or Not To Teach
This is a debate that I've been having with myself since I was old enough to think about what I want to be when I grow up. I have always been told that I should work with kids, and teach elementary school, but right now, I'm in a program that is teaching me about being any of the people on a college campus other than faculty. I like the things that I'm learning, and they are certainly applicable to the classroom as well. However, I'm still trying to decide what it is I want to be doing.
Teaching sounds wonderful, but there are a few things that have made me reluctant to pursue it. At the primary and secondary level, their are two scary factors. The first is parents. They often seem to have the best of intentions, but to use the forest for the trees metaphor, they sometimes can't see the classroom because of how much they love their kid, or they can't see their child because of the ambitions that they have for them.
My hypocrisy plays in here a bit too. As much as I don't want parents telling me what I should be doing to teach their special youngster, I have problems dealing with parents who are having a negative impact on their own kids. I taught a girl at Sonshine who was really a sweet kid. She had no self-esteem and she got into trouble, but she seemed to be drawn to it and rarely the instigator of it. Every time I saw her with her mother, she was being told that she was a pain, trouble, annoying, too loud, a problem, or in the way. She was a great kid, but she didn't know it because that's not what she was being told. It breaks my heart to see those things happen, and I know that I would want to speak up if I had a bigger role in their life.
The second thing that bothers me is the kids that will hate me for no reason other than because I am an authority figure. I can't imagine how I would deal with that. I suppose eventually I would figure it out. Some more education classes might even teach me a couple possibilities, but it is something that I know I will loose sleep over.
Of course, that concern extends into teaching in higher education, but what bothers me more is tenure. Don't get me wrong, job security and academic freedom sound great, but politics and the games to get there don't sound that great to me. I'd like to do research, and I'd like to publish, but if I was teaching, it would be because I want to teach. I would prioritize my class over my journal article and that could doom me to being adjunct forever. I haven't experienced it, but I have heard rumors that being adjunct after a certain point in your career keeps you from gaining respect.
To top all of that off I don't know what subject I could teach, but that is not much of a barrier. To teach at the university level I would have to get another degree anyway, and to teach primary or secondary I would want some education courses before I tested for certification. I am be a good teacher. People tell me it all the time, and I know that it is true, but I am good at student services too. I am good at Public Relations, and I'm sure there are other things I could be good at. I just have to decide what it is that I want to do.
Teaching sounds wonderful, but there are a few things that have made me reluctant to pursue it. At the primary and secondary level, their are two scary factors. The first is parents. They often seem to have the best of intentions, but to use the forest for the trees metaphor, they sometimes can't see the classroom because of how much they love their kid, or they can't see their child because of the ambitions that they have for them.
My hypocrisy plays in here a bit too. As much as I don't want parents telling me what I should be doing to teach their special youngster, I have problems dealing with parents who are having a negative impact on their own kids. I taught a girl at Sonshine who was really a sweet kid. She had no self-esteem and she got into trouble, but she seemed to be drawn to it and rarely the instigator of it. Every time I saw her with her mother, she was being told that she was a pain, trouble, annoying, too loud, a problem, or in the way. She was a great kid, but she didn't know it because that's not what she was being told. It breaks my heart to see those things happen, and I know that I would want to speak up if I had a bigger role in their life.
The second thing that bothers me is the kids that will hate me for no reason other than because I am an authority figure. I can't imagine how I would deal with that. I suppose eventually I would figure it out. Some more education classes might even teach me a couple possibilities, but it is something that I know I will loose sleep over.
Of course, that concern extends into teaching in higher education, but what bothers me more is tenure. Don't get me wrong, job security and academic freedom sound great, but politics and the games to get there don't sound that great to me. I'd like to do research, and I'd like to publish, but if I was teaching, it would be because I want to teach. I would prioritize my class over my journal article and that could doom me to being adjunct forever. I haven't experienced it, but I have heard rumors that being adjunct after a certain point in your career keeps you from gaining respect.
To top all of that off I don't know what subject I could teach, but that is not much of a barrier. To teach at the university level I would have to get another degree anyway, and to teach primary or secondary I would want some education courses before I tested for certification. I am be a good teacher. People tell me it all the time, and I know that it is true, but I am good at student services too. I am good at Public Relations, and I'm sure there are other things I could be good at. I just have to decide what it is that I want to do.
Friday, March 16, 2007
No More Snow Days
Queen Anne School in Maryland responds to snow, not by canceling school, but rather by having a Cyber School Day. The students get up, log in, and interact with their classmates and teachers virtually. Here's the NPR story where you can hear more. No Snow Day for You: Log On to Homeroom I can't help but smile when Mr. Blackwood says, "As headmaster, I can tell you that I know more about what goes on and can really validate the worth while nature of it on a cyber school day than I can when their on campus, because I can't be everywhere at once on campus. "
Having this connection in place between students and their teachers is amazing. Not only could a system like this be used for the entire school for events like snow days or that time in the 4th grade when my entire school was sent home because the lice was spreading too fast. It can also help to prevent smaller groups and individuals from falling behind. For example, when the football team makes it to state, and they spend a week or more at Playoffs they already have this connection to class. My senior year a girl in my class was out for a month and a half because of major surgery. She didn't catch up in time to graduate with us.
The best part of this story is that they have been doing this for seven years. This story is a perfect example of two things that I believe very strongly. First, technology can accent and contribute to education without the threat of it replacing anything or anyone. Secondly, using the technology we have to it's fullest extent is just as important as any of the new gadgets that are coming out.
Having this connection in place between students and their teachers is amazing. Not only could a system like this be used for the entire school for events like snow days or that time in the 4th grade when my entire school was sent home because the lice was spreading too fast. It can also help to prevent smaller groups and individuals from falling behind. For example, when the football team makes it to state, and they spend a week or more at Playoffs they already have this connection to class. My senior year a girl in my class was out for a month and a half because of major surgery. She didn't catch up in time to graduate with us.
The best part of this story is that they have been doing this for seven years. This story is a perfect example of two things that I believe very strongly. First, technology can accent and contribute to education without the threat of it replacing anything or anyone. Secondly, using the technology we have to it's fullest extent is just as important as any of the new gadgets that are coming out.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Struggling in Math? Try Neuroscience!
Psychologist Carol Dweck headed a study where a group of 100 students that were struggling in math were randomly assigned to participate in two different workshops. One workshop was on study skills, and the other was on how the brain works and information is stored. The students that learned about the brain did considerably better. They embraced their potential by being taught that they have the ability to learn no matter how 'smart' they believe they are. Here is the story with more information: Students View of Intelligence Can Help Grades
I love these results and I hope that more parents adopt these ideas so that student will experience education as a process of learning instead of a sorting between the good and the bad. Another article that emphasizes my point is The Inverse Power of Praise from New York Magazine. Researchers and psychologists have told parents not to call their children stupid, naughty, bratty, spoiled, bad, or incapable because those kids will define themselves by those labels and follow the stereotypes that their parents have placed upon them. The answer to this, however, is not to call them smart, successful, and good so they fill those stereotypes. This creates a dichotomy between smart and stupid. If you are labeled either of these, there is no process (or work) to become one or the other. There is no reason for 'stupid' to strive for smart, and there is no reason for 'smart' to put effort into maintaining that status, because it is an arbitrary assignment. If children have to do smart things to become smart then they are not as confined by our labels and that attributes they associate with them.
I love these results and I hope that more parents adopt these ideas so that student will experience education as a process of learning instead of a sorting between the good and the bad. Another article that emphasizes my point is The Inverse Power of Praise from New York Magazine. Researchers and psychologists have told parents not to call their children stupid, naughty, bratty, spoiled, bad, or incapable because those kids will define themselves by those labels and follow the stereotypes that their parents have placed upon them. The answer to this, however, is not to call them smart, successful, and good so they fill those stereotypes. This creates a dichotomy between smart and stupid. If you are labeled either of these, there is no process (or work) to become one or the other. There is no reason for 'stupid' to strive for smart, and there is no reason for 'smart' to put effort into maintaining that status, because it is an arbitrary assignment. If children have to do smart things to become smart then they are not as confined by our labels and that attributes they associate with them.
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