#131715 - 11/11/05 02:47 AM
I have this teacher...
|
Registered: 01/26/05
Posts: 479
Loc: Miami, FL
|
who is supposed to be teaching me things.
I feel like I can't trust any knowledge that comes out of her mouth.
Why? I can spell better than her.
Not a little, A LOT.
The assignments she gives are jokes. They are more akin to kindergarten art projects than actual work.
This is supposed to be college.
Why am I mentioning this teacher?
Because she is a little cog in the vast slacker conspiracy.
The defining principle of this conspiracy is STANDARDS ARE OPPRESSION BUT SLOPPINESS IS FREEDOM.
She started the class's first day by saying how free and easy-going she is, and how she should not be seen as a teacher, but a "cooperative guide".
Long story condensed to a single example: she spelled "conscience" as (I am not fucking kidding) "conciounse".
I repeat, A Single Example. There were many more. I corrected her the first few times, but I just gave up after a while.
I have done, to date, ONE homework assignment from her class, and I have an "A" grade in it, because she only counts work you turn in.
From the first day, she organized us into work groups. She frequently comments about American society being too individualistic. Other usual hippie bullshit is also stated, like war being evil, white man being the devil, and the recent natural disasters being revenge from the Earth Mother for raping her.
I remember in Magister Svengali's DEEP SATANISM thread, he mentioned briefly the "socialization over knowledge" ideas of John Dewey that have infected modern education.
I think my class is a perfect example of this.
Richi the Anti-Slacker Grammar-Nazi, signing out.
_________________________
Mistaking insolence for freedom has always been the hallmark of the slave.
-Wilhelm Reich
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
#131716 - 11/11/05 03:43 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: HammerOfDoubt]
|
CoS Priest
Registered: 08/06/01
Posts: 2108
Loc: Florida
|
Even slackers can have standards.
I'm curious as to what this person is supposed to be teaching. I'm guessing it's not math or science as there still appear to be some acedemic standards in those fields, even in the state we live in.
Have you tried going over her head? Perhaps a conversation with her department head is in order.
I'm sorry that this response is coming across a bit fractured. I'm trying to keep from going on a rant about John Dewey.
_________________________
Everyone is special in their own way, and by "special" I mean the short-bus variety.
"Recognize the phrase 'national interest' as a synonym for 'self-interest' and you will find no moral obstacle that cannot be removed from the highway of ambition."
-Lewis Lapham
"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
-Winston Churchill
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131718 - 11/11/05 06:43 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: Xerx]
|
<B>CoS Member</B>
Registered: 04/16/05
Posts: 888
Loc: UK
|
I can think of a few examples of ignorant teachers which are quite disturbing:
1 - My stepdaughter came home one day and said they told her at school racism is wrong because "we're all the same inside". I tryed to explain to her that actually, being different is a good thing and racism is wrong simply because skin color doesn't make someone a bad person. She unfortunately seems too young to grasp this yet.
2 - When I was in highschool, I recall being told off several times for correcting the teachers. Nothing annoyed me more than a teacher telling the class inaccurate information such as "Windows is the only OS you can use other than the older DOS" or "water doesn't conduct electricity, that's why it's dangerous".
It seems children are being encouraged to blindly accept what is taught in school as accurate without thinking.
Edited by Gareth (11/11/05 11:15 AM)
_________________________
Yes, I named myself after a neurotransmitter
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131719 - 11/11/05 09:02 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: HammerOfDoubt]
|
CoS Warlock
Registered: 06/05/02
Posts: 7140
Loc: Canada
|
Gah! Where the heck are you going to college?!  I agree with Virus9. You're having your time wasted, and they're charging you for it. Talk to the Chair of the Department in question. If that doesn't get you anywhere, slam her on the end-of-course evaluations. If the teacher is very new, or very old, it might be an isolated problem; in the future, avoid classes taught by that teacher. If you have reason to think the problem might be endemic in that department, see if you can transfer your credits to another school. If your current school has a bad reputation for this kind of thing, you may not be able to do that. What program and faculty is it? Lib arts, Humanities? A school that takes the liberal arts seriously will hold you to higher standards. But don't go to a big research school to learn the lib. arts; the best lib. arts schools are mostly small schools catering primarily to undergrads. (Do research: Most small schools are not great, but most great lib. arts schools are small.)
_________________________
reprobate
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131720 - 11/11/05 09:03 AM
John Dewey
[Re: Virus9]
|
CoS Member
Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 784
Loc: SinCity
|
Quote:
I'm sorry that this response is coming across a bit fractured. I'm trying to keep from going on a rant about John Dewey.
I wish you would reconsider. Sometimes it is good to summon the dead and hand them their just desserts. And as an historical exercise, Dewey and his influence on public education presents a ripe example of what happens when individualism is sacrificed for communitarian mediocrity.
For those who know little or nothing about Dewey, here is a summary of his life and theory. An especially pertinent section is quoted below:
Quote:
The social condition for the flexible adaptation that Dewey believed was crucial for human advancement is a democratic form of life, not instituted merely by democratic forms of governance, but by the inculcation of democratic habits of cooperation and public spiritedness, productive of an organized, self-conscious community of individuals responding to society's needs by experimental and inventive, rather than dogmatic, means. The development of these democratic habits, Dewey argues in School and Society and Democracy and Education, must begin in the earliest years of a child's educational experience. Dewey rejected the notion that a child's education should be viewed as merely a preparation for civil life, during which disjoint facts and ideas are conveyed by the teacher and memorized by the student only to be utilized later on. The school should rather be viewed as an extension of civil society and continuous with it, and the student encouraged to operate as a member of a community, actively pursuing interests in cooperation with others. It is by a process of self-directed learning, guided by the cultural resources provided by teachers, that Dewey believed a child is best prepared for the demands of responsible membership within the democratic community.
DarkWater
Edited by DarkWater (11/11/05 09:29 AM)
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131722 - 11/11/05 10:14 AM
Re: John Dewey
[Re: DarkWater]
|
CoS Reverend
Registered: 07/28/01
Posts: 11178
Loc: New England, USA
|
>>"Dewey rejected the notion that a child's education should
>>be viewed as merely a preparation for civil life, during
>>which disjoint facts and ideas are conveyed by the
>>teacher and memorized by the student only to be utilized
>>later on." [DarkWater]
Actually, I concur with that. Education should be a little more than just a regurgitation of statements and going through it just for future career preparation. But...
>>The school should rather be viewed as an extension of
>>civil society and continuous with it, and the student
>>encouraged to operate as a member of a community,
>>actively pursuing interests in cooperation with others.
Bleaghh! This brings out everybody's worst memories of school.
_________________________
Reverend Bill M. http://www.devilsmischief.com: Carnal Comedy Clips, Netherworld Novelty Numbers, New hour every week. Download the mp3 now! http://www.aplaceformystuff.org: Tales of Combat Clutter and other Adventures (Wenn du Google's Übersetzer verwendest, um diese Worte zu lesen, dann bist du ein Arschloch.)
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131723 - 11/11/05 10:52 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: HammerOfDoubt]
|
CoS Reverend
Registered: 07/28/01
Posts: 11178
Loc: New England, USA
|
I had some professors with horrible spelling, which sad to say isn't too uncommon in the math & science fields. This isn't just because it's socially acceptable to be a "math guy" who's bad at spelling (or vice versa), but a lot of the professors I had were not native English speakers. I can't blame the school for hiring them, since the U.S. educational system is not surprisingly producing few math and science geniuses. Hell, this is a country where an embarrassingly high amount of people want to see "A big invisible man created the world in 7 days and people out of clay" being taught as science!
>>From the first day, she organized us into work groups.
I can understand forming groups because of limited classroom resources. Not all high schools have a budget for individual embalmed frogs and microscopes and computers for each and every student. But otherwise, the bottom line is that "teams" can be incredibly self-defeating.
I've always hated doing "group projects" in high school and college, because the same thing would always happen: one or two people did all of the work, and the rest just blindingly copied. It wasn't always the case that the copiers were outright dumb or lazy, though. Sometimes you'd get two people who'd immediately take the assignment and run off to completing it, not explaining or listening to others along the way as to what they're doing.
>>She frequently comments about American society being too
>>individualistic. Other usual hippie bullshit is also
>>stated, like war being evil, white man being the devil,
>>and the recent natural disasters being revenge from the
>>Earth Mother for raping her.
What the hell is the name of this class? If it has nothing to do with sociology, civics, or history, then she has no business inserting her irrelevant personal opinions. If it is a class on one of those subjects, then she should be welcoming debate, at least to some degree. I'd talk to the department head or even the dean about this. No way should you be paying for crap if it continues like this.
_________________________
Reverend Bill M. http://www.devilsmischief.com: Carnal Comedy Clips, Netherworld Novelty Numbers, New hour every week. Download the mp3 now! http://www.aplaceformystuff.org: Tales of Combat Clutter and other Adventures (Wenn du Google's Übersetzer verwendest, um diese Worte zu lesen, dann bist du ein Arschloch.)
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131724 - 11/11/05 11:05 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: Cholinergic]
|
CoS Witch
Registered: 07/25/01
Posts: 12942
Loc: The Solid State
|
Or, what bugs me is when a teacher has a particular ideology, and does a mediocre, poor, or nonexistent job of masking that and/or providing access to other views and opinions. I believe it is a teacher's job to teach a child how to think, not what to think---teach them solid facts about the world, teach them how to seek out and use resources, how to evaluate resources and claims, how to consider the third side, etc. There's scarcely anyone as scary or destructive as an ideologue or control freak who becomes a teacher.
I recommend an author called Edward de Bono. He does a series of books on thinking, and many of his methods are quite helpful.
_________________________
"Gentlemen, the verdict is guilty, on all ten counts of first-degree stupidity. The penalty phase will now begin."--Divine, "Pink Flamingos."
"The strong rule the weak, and the cunning rule over all." HS!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131725 - 11/11/05 11:06 AM
Re: John Dewey
[Re: Bill_M]
|
CoS Member
Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 784
Loc: SinCity
|
Quote:
Actually, I concur with that. Education should be a little more than just a regurgitation of statements and going through it just for future career preparation.
I agree on this point as well. Dewey was an intelligent man, and his motives behind the educational changes he effected were noble. Nonetheless, his belief of intimately weaving communitarian ideals and practices into the classroom experience, often at the expense of the gifted student to essentially ensure that even the dullest student would not be left behind, bequeathed an educational and cultural legacy that plagues us still today.
DarkWater
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131727 - 11/11/05 11:58 AM
Re: I have this teacher...
[Re: Bill_M]
|
CoS Member
Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 784
Loc: SinCity
|
Quote:
I've always hated doing "group projects" in high school and college, because the same thing would always happen: one or two people did all of the work, and the rest just blindingly copied.
I always hated doing “group projects” simply because I do not enjoy playing nicely with others...especially when they are stupid, as is usual.
George Carlin said something like this long ago:
Think about how stupid the average person is.
Then realize that half of all people are stupider than that!
DarkWater
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#131729 - 11/11/05 01:36 PM
Re: John Dewey
[Re: DarkWater]
|
CoS Member
Registered: 03/05/05
Posts: 252
Loc: NYC
|
Thanks for your educational post. I did not know who John Dewey was. I also agree with his point of view that education should be more than just preparation for the future or mindless memorization. The rest of the quote nauseated me. I now have a better understanding of what I despised about school as a child and teenager - having to participate in a society where everyone is forced to work together, at the same pace, listening to the same shit, expected to react to the aforementioned shit the same way. As for the original post regarding the lame teacher, I say take the easy A and complain about her to her superiors later. Unfortunately, even in higher education, many teachers are complete fools, and this definitely helps to prepare one for life in the "real world". Hail Satan! Ortrud 
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous Topic
Index
