# In which I pit a certain subclass of my students **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 5, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490 "2006-05-05T02:04:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/21 "2006-05-05T17:16:24Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Thread title changed from “In which I pit a certain subclass of my …” to “In which I pit a certain subclass of my students”. > > As much as everyone likes the excitement of cliffhanger titles, if they’re too generic it sort of defeat the purpose of having thread titles in the first place. Also, everyone hates them. ARE YOU CALLING HIM A LIAR? QUIT OPPRESSING US! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/22 "2006-05-05T17:18:52Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Isn’t that called “freshman orientation”? I don’t think I attended my orientation back before college, but (because) I thought that’s the sort of thing they covered. It sure seems to me like it’d be a good idea. > > On the one hand, I think most college students already know that they need to do all this stuff: it’s laziness and lack of discipline that keep so many from doing it. On the other hand, hearing someone in authority tell them explicitly what they need to do might just make an impression on them, give them something to think about when they’re feeling slackish. > > Daniel I don’t remember ever going to a freshman orientation, and I’m not sure this college offers one or what is covered in such orientations. Anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/23 "2006-05-05T17:50:22Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I have never, and would never quit a job without notifying my employer no matter how much I hated the job - because in a job, the employer has been paying me and so I would feel obligated to let them know. > > In the example I gave, I had been paying the school (a lot of money) and simply didn’t feel like I owed them anything additional - I’m sure they’ve figured it out by now, and if it meant a little extra work for them, I’m not playing my violin. Then may you someday work for an employer who decides to close the business and leave town without telling you. Hey, he’s been paying you, right? He doesn’t owe you anything additional. So it means a little extra work for you, I’m not playing my violin. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > Actually, when I transferred from a college in CO to a college in IA, I called the Office of Admissions or whoever (it’s been 20 years) and asked about this. I said I was leaving and did I have to notify anyone? She said no-just don’t pay the tution bill or the dorm fee or sign up for classes and that was that. That’s somewhat different, though. Transferring out **between** semesters is comparatively simple—you just don’t fill in any paperwork and don’t get your name on any of the new lists, and they quickly figure out that you no longer exist, academically speaking. Dropping out of the courses you actually signed up for **during** an ongoing semester without telling anyone, as the OP and presumably **Rigamarole** were talking about, causes much more of a bureaucratic pain in the ass. Again, what’s particularly galling about it is that the quitter in such a case is venting his/her resentment against college life by spitefully inflicting those bureaucratic hassles on people who aren’t even in charge of the policies that s/he resents. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/24 "2006-05-05T18:29:33Z")
I went to mine. It was kind of pointless. First we were hearded into a large auditorium, where someone lectured us on how much we needed to study compared to class hours. We then went to something at the particular school were in, i.e. College of Arts and Sciences, Architecture, Engineering, etc. Then there was something in the Student Center about student activities, but I had already decided that I had gotten the point and that I didn’t need to spend the rest of a nice day doing the orientation. This was pre-cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/25 "2006-05-05T18:44:08Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Old people are so ignorant about technology! You don’t eat cell phones, you make calls on them. Haha. :rolleyes: 🙂 In the nursing college-woe be unto those who chewed gum in class! :eek: > [@](#): > > “People derive most of their energy from consuming and breaking down \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” Umm, food? Carbohydrates? Protein, if they’re on Atkins? > > “Respecting yourself, others, property, and the environment is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” Uh, nice? Admirable? Nifty? The sign of a loser? Good citizenship? > > “This is a substance that affects your mental state, or otherwise may change the physical condition of your body:\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” You know, prof, I _know_ you mean “drug,” but white flour, salt, and hollow-point bullets are drugs by this definition. > > College is just fun for everyone, students and profs alike. > > Daniel Jesus. And dayum. College is stupid these days! :eek: Those questions sound like a health test taken by my second grader! And they are very poorly worded indeed. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/26 "2006-05-05T18:45:49Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I know I’ll sound like an old fart, but when I was in college, we didn’t dare to eat in class–cell phones not having been invented yet. I know I’ll sound like an older fart, but I remember taking a sociology class in 1975 where the professor let us smoke (cigarettes) during class. Good times, good times. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/27 "2006-05-05T18:49:00Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Jesus. And dayum. College is stupid these days! :eek: Those questions sound like a health test taken by my second grader! And they are very poorly worded indeed. Well, she’s adjunct: her day job is teaching elementary school PE. I observed one of her classes, and she’s fantastic at that. When we’re in class and she shows us activities to do with kids, it’s been wonderful–I’ve learned both games and techniques to get kids moving. She’s just not a book-learning kind of person, so her written exams suck. 🙂 Good class, bad evaluation. Ah well. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/28 "2006-05-05T19:35:14Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Well, she’s adjunct: her day job is teaching elementary school PE. I observed one of her classes, and she’s fantastic at that. When we’re in class and she shows us activities to do with kids, it’s been wonderful–I’ve learned both games and techniques to get kids moving. She’s just not a book-learning kind of person, so her written exams suck. 🙂 > > Good class, bad evaluation. Ah well. > > Daniel So, was the exam one to be taken by her elementary students or is that the level of vocab and concept mastery that is expected of you? Either one is kinda skeery, frankly! The smoking thing I could see. I could even wrap my head around bottled water or drinks (non alcohlic of course). It’s the complete lack of civility, respect or attention that boggles my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/29 "2006-05-05T19:49:44Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > I know I’ll sound like an older fart, but I remember taking a sociology class in 1975 where the professor let us smoke (cigarettes) during class. > > Good times, good times. I started at UC San Diego that year, and they had just instituted a smoke-free classroom policy. But in the lecture halls you could still see an ashtray on the back of every third seat or so. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/30 "2006-05-05T19:54:15Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > So, was the exam one to be taken by her elementary students or is that the level of vocab and concept mastery that is expected of you? > > Either one is kinda skeery, frankly! No, no, this was the test we took. Some of the questions were better (“Which of the following describes a proper cue for teaching students to throw a ball?” “What is the proper procedure for reporting suspected child abuse?” “A lack of which nutrient produces the following symptoms?”), but all in all, it was a poorly designed exam. When I asked her about the questions, she kind of smirked at me and said, “You’re really trying for a hundred, aren’t you?” and I was like, well, **yeah**. I don’t want to get a bad grade because I don’t even know what you’re asking. Still, it was a good class, and I’d rather have a useful class with a crappy exam than vice versa. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/31 "2006-05-05T20:44:16Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I started at UC San Diego that year, and they had just instituted a smoke-free classroom policy. But in the lecture halls you could still see an ashtray on the back of every third seat or so. I went to art college here in town in 1990/91 and you were still allowed to smoke in the classrooms. Well, not around the flamable paint ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/32 "2006-05-06T02:25:54Z")
At least put a gratuitous “fuck” in the title, so as to make the thread fit in with all the other offensive, not-safe-for-work threads in the Pit… As an uber-moderator for some other forum, I do the title adjustment thing too. About student group work…yes, the bane of the new collective commie pedagogy mommy state. I hate those things, at least for credit purposes. Now, in-class/out-of-class collaborative groups as teaching/learning/study aids. great. The annoying bit about the wanderers is that the faiulure rate is artificially inflated, which can have carreer consequences, unless one actually stratifies the real F’s and the wanderer F’s. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/33 "2006-05-09T23:29:56Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I could even wrap my head around bottled water or drinks (non alcohlic of course). Heh. When I went back to college a few years ago, I got pregnant in the middle of the semester. The prof was a great guy and was so excited when I told him! I explained that I was pretty nauseous and might have to dash out suddenly. Now understand, this guy ran a tight ship- his lecturing voice was several decibels below his normal speaking voice (so you had to listen up and not chatter, even in the back), there was no getting out of your chair once the lecture had started (unless you wanted to drop the class or fail, then by all means go right ahead), and NO eating or drinking of anything at any time. Period. So there I sat with my water bottle and saltine crackers, getting up at least twice per lecture thinking I was going to hurl! I think the word got around the teeny-boppers that I was some sort of teacher’s pet (I was in my 30’s, they were all about 19…) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/34 "2006-05-10T06:06:34Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > The smoking thing I could see. I could even wrap my head around bottled water or drinks (non alcohlic of course). A friend of mine heard this conversation in his studio art class a few years ago: Professor (standing up straighter to look at someone in the back): Are you drinking _beer_ in my class? Student (embarrassed, but obviously caught): “Uhm… uh… yeah.” Professor: “Okay, next time you do that, you have to bring me one.” I’d have a hard time doing that, but if it’s okay with the professor… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/35 "2006-05-10T13:42:46Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > plagiarizing like crazy despite all the warnings And another quote to you, from the best teacher I’ve ever had: > [@](#): > > Dammit guys, if you’re going to copy, at least tweak enough that I can claim I didn’t notice! Whatever you do, Do It Right. ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/36 "2006-05-10T14:05:27Z")
I had a prof in law school who announced on the first day of class that if he heard your cell phone more than once in his class, you were loosing one grade point for every additional ring. An A+ would drop to an A, etc. He also announced that he would _answer_ any phone he heard ring in his class and inform the person on the other end that you were unavailable because you were attempting to fail Contract Law, and to find out if they had a reason for interrupting his class. If the person got off the phone before he got to it to answer, he’d use the phone memory to call them back and explain your lack of scholarship to the caller, and find out what was so vitally important that they were interrupting his class. One asshole got pinged five times in the first two weeks of class - enough to drop his highest possible grade from 4.0 to 3.0. The last call was from a firm he was attempting to secure an internship with and the professor did his little bit, then gave the phone back to the student, who was informed that he would not be invited to an interview. The student complained to the dean, who told him if he wasn’t bright enough to listen to and heed rules not only explained on the first day of class, but printed in the syllabus we were all issued and expected to read (to get assignments among other things), perhaps law school was not the correct place for him. It was the big scandal on campus for a couple of weeks. Oddly though, that was the second to the last cell phone that rang in class that semester. The last one was a guy who actually had an excuse good enough to pass the prof’s muster - his wife was in the last trimester of a high-risk pregnancy. He got permission. She and the baby were fine, but she \*did \* go into labor during class. Next semester, that prof’s cell phone policy was commonplace. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/37 "2006-05-10T14:14:28Z")
Seriously, that’s all that needs to take place–an instructor with balls, backed by an administration with same. Kudos to them. Jeebus–you’re there to get educated and learn something about Life. Cell phones you are already expert at. Argh. This kind of thing makes me crazy. Shut the fuck up about who is shagging who and at what kegger you plan to “do” Kyle at and LISTEN TO THE PROF AND DO THE GODDAMNED WORK. college is supposed to be MORE than a 4 year party. I loved the freedom of college after HS and all, but the most we did ('80’s) was miss class or show up hungover. I’m sure kids tried to get extensions etc back then, too (it never occurred to me, sadly), but I hear shit like this moron and it makes my blood boil. You’re not entitled to go to law school-you’re damned fortunate. Never mind; I’ll just mutter under my breath about the state of the world for awhile. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/38 "2006-05-10T14:23:29Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > college is supposed to be MORE than a 4 year party. I loved the freedom of college after HS and all, but the most we did ('80’s) was miss class or show up hungover. Really? I thought eighties college was all about cocaine-fueled orgies. Live and learn. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/39 "2006-05-10T14:36:14Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Really? I thought eighties college was all about cocaine-fueled orgies. Live and learn. > > Daniel Whatever–only the rich kids could afford coke. I was never stupid enough to try it. Weed and cheap beer were enough. Hey, if you’re into coke, whatever floats your boat–but don’t bring it to class and don’t come impaired to class/lab. That’s all I’m saying. And leave the narcissistic, entitled habits at the door as well–the cell phone, the gameboy, the makeup, the food. Go to school, Joel-learn something. :rolleyes: (know you were just being light, but irked nonetheless) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490/40 "2006-05-10T14:55:56Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > (know you were just being light, but irked nonetheless) Sorry, don’t mean to irk. I was just teasin’–and reminding folks that there have been crazy asshole college students since there has been college. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-i-pit-a-certain-subclass-of-my-students/355490.md?page=3)