I think college/graduate school has come to be seen as a commercial transaction, i.e., students feel like they're paying lots of money and thus buying a degree rather than earning one. As if they feel they're paying my salary and thus the boss of me, more so than I felt 12 years ago when I started working for universities.
I know back in the '80s when I was at Marquette, we definitely were aware of the cost of getting that degree, so we didn't feel like we had time to splurge on getting worked up about protesting, screwing around, or other ways that the Boomers spent their college time in the '60s and '70s. (And we were criticized by those Boomers for not being more combative--they said that we were lazy and/or mercenary, when we were really just trying to get through school in as short a time as possible.)
But, we were still earning the degree, not buying it from the school. The teachers were in charge, and even though I hated that stats prof, I didn't protest his decision to turn my name into the dean's office, because I was in violation of the attendance policy, so I felt I should have to pay the price, as stupid as I thought that policy was.
Some professors do require documentation of a funeral, but because I am occasionally fortunate enough to have a Kathy or a Shrift in among the rabble, and because I don't want to alienate the few bright minds who make it all worthwhile, I just accept whatever students tell me.
Bob Bob is still idealistic enough to let this stuff bother him. Once he gives up on the jerks he can start being surprised and delighted when he finds a bright, inquisitive student in the mix. Cynicism is oddly liberating that way.
Of course he could take a job at Reed or Oberlin or one of a few other places where the student culture embraces thinking for its own sake.
I get the kids who can't do the lighting call they committed to 2 months ago because they have a paper due tomorrow.
Of course he could take a job at Reed or Oberlin or one of a few other places where the student culture embraces thinking for its own sake.
I have to admit that (despite my initial revulsion at the thought) I grew to love the "no exams no grades" credo that they had at Bennington.
Hey aurelia - didja' get a car? How are the kitties?
I get the kids who can't do the lighting call they committed to 2 months ago because they have a paper due tomorrow.
And at the bookstore, I get the parents coming in for their middle school/high school kids, picking up the reference material they need for the paper the kid has due the next day. If I tried that back in my day, my mom would have yelled at me for waiting until the last minute, and then dropped me off at the library to pick up the books I needed by myself--why should she buy books that were only going to be used for the one paper? If it was too late to go to the library, well then, it was my fault and I'd have to turn in the paper late, because she wasn't going to spend the $30-50 at the bookstore. But, now we get the parents coming in without the kid, doing the research themselves. My mom would have laughed in my face if I asked her to do that for me.
I didn't get a car yet. I need to do some looking. This is one of those things that makes me not want to be a grownup.
The kitties are great. I'm gonna have to disturb Gilda (who is napping on my lap) so I can run some errands.
A regular part of my job was teaching students how to write (not just how to write in French). And I don't mean nuances, I mean things like "you should have paragraphs".
Which is why the colleges have pressured the SATs to include essay questions.
My mom would have laughed in my face if I asked her to do that for me.
See me laughing at K-Bug if she ever did that. One of the reasons I hope she picks a school outside the immediate area. I love that child, but I want her to get a bit of life away from here.
Yes I said it. Probably will delete in a minute when I really think about it.
