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science_expat
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« on: October 26, 2006, 12:55:40 PM » |
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Just thought I would share this.
I was bantering today with a first year student whose pen I had borrowed for a minute. She was asking me to write her essay as it would take me 10 minutes and her 5 hours.
When I responded along the lines that 5 hours wasn't very much and would be good for her, she announced that "I've never done 5 hours of work in my life".
Unbelievable!
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It's not procrastination. It's "just in time" delivery.
Nutso is the new normal.
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francie_
The Really Cheerful
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 3,815
The Voice of Reason
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« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2006, 01:06:10 PM » |
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Wow. That's a new low. Are you sure, however, that your student was serious?
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Oh realfrancie, so clever!
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2006, 01:13:13 PM » |
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I'll bet that the student WAS serious...
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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science_expat
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« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2006, 02:16:53 PM » |
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Wow. That's a new low. Are you sure, however, that your student was serious?
Absolutely! The conversation went back and forth for another couple of minutes and it was completely clear that she meant exactly what she said. |
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It's not procrastination. It's "just in time" delivery.
Nutso is the new normal.
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fizxdude
Junior member
Posts: 80
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« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2006, 03:34:00 PM » |
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Do students have less of a work ethic, or are we just forgetting how we once were?
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acrimone
The Red Queen's Court Assassin
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 4,049
I am not a professor at all, despite what I say.
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« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2006, 06:10:38 PM » |
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I'm sure she meant 5 hours doing anything academic... which seems perfectly reasonable as high school, even AP classes, can be aced without much effort by the quick and the well-read.
Also, she's probably thinking of the ten hours spent reading a book as ten one-hour "things."
But it wouldn't surprise me to know that even most high school students never spent five hours on a paper.
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"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
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fishbrains
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« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2006, 06:17:18 PM » |
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I seem to have quite a few students who are so lazy--(Audience: HOW LAZY ARE THEY?)--they think that "Manual Labor" is the President of Mexico!
Ha! Where's my rim shot?
Sorry, I couldn't stop myself.
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"My face is going green behind the mask . . ." ~ Peter Shaffer's Equus
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avaya
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« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2006, 11:45:37 PM » |
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Sad but true. I have students who say, "You mean I have to read the book?" How does one answer that? It's not even worth justifying with an answer.
science_expat, did any students around her express agreement or disagreement?
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Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -- Albert Einstein
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acrimone
The Red Queen's Court Assassin
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 4,049
I am not a professor at all, despite what I say.
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« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2006, 12:27:48 AM » |
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For the record, I don't think I spent more than 5 hours on anything for high school, either. So it doesn't surprise me. She's a frosh... whatever. This is the time to learn to actually WORK.
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"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2006, 04:49:37 AM » |
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One thing about the UK is that how much study time is expected is spelled out in the module descriptor (comparable to the catalogue descriptor). For a standard 15 credit module (think 3 hour class in the US) the study time is somewhere around 150 hours... of which perhaps 24 of those are spent in contact, leaving 126 hours for independent study. Semesters in the UK are short... 12 weeks... so this leave the student with 10.5 hours per week per module for study. In the UK also, we have fewer assessments... generally one essay and one exam per module.
So... when/if a student says 'I have never spent 5 hours on anything.' Then we can say... 'Time to do so now.'
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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acrimone
The Red Queen's Court Assassin
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 4,049
I am not a professor at all, despite what I say.
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« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2006, 09:54:49 AM » |
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So... when/if a student says 'I have never spent 5 hours on anything.' Then we can say... 'Time to do so now.'
My thoughts exactly. |
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"All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"
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slac_vap
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« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2006, 10:03:14 AM » |
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This thread jogged a memory for me from last semester. In the few minutes before class was starting, I was chatting with a couple of students. One of them, a junior, was complaining that she had gotten a flat tire on the way to school, and had to wait in the rain for AAA to come fix it. She also forgot her homework for another class, so she had to accept a late penalty. Finally, she was complaining that she had to study for two tests that week and was tired already. She ended her rant by looking exasperated and saying "Today is the worst day of my entire life!"
I thought she was joking, and I smiled. She looked at me and said "No, I'm serious. This is the worst day ever."
The only reply I had for her was "If that is true, and I sincerely hope that it is, then you should be really thankful."
She looked surprised, but didn't say anything else. Maybe I should have been more understanding. I'm sure some students found me to be utterly "rude" and "disrespectful" for not commiserating with the student...
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"...the world between reality and fantasy improv nonsense is blurred in Columbus." -David Gaus
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newbie
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« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2006, 10:17:51 AM » |
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I was talking with a much younger relative who just started college this year yesterday, and he's thinking about dropping out and becoming a cop or fireman. Why? Well, he was going to major in engineering, but he's getting Bs and Cs in his classes, and he's not really studying. He tried to study a bit, but as he was sitting at the computer, he said he thought that he did not want to be sitting at a desk working for the rest of his life.
This relative did pretty good in high school, but he never had to schedule his life (his extracurriculars forced a certain schedule that his parents helped support), and he seems pretty indifferent to everything. Given his lack of passion, it seems like it's hard to get motivated to work. College may not be for him, or he may need to consider another major, but I also felt like his indifference was really a problem.
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expatinuk
Has spent over 1000 pounds but now holds a Brit passport!
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 6,653
From SC living in UK
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« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2006, 10:20:02 AM » |
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I thought she was joking, and I smiled. She looked at me and said "No, I'm serious. This is the worst day ever."
The only reply I had for her was "If that is true, and I sincerely hope that it is, then you should be really thankful."
This reminds me when students tell me how broke they are... my answer is usually along the lines of. ' You're not broke until you have no money, and your child needs new shoes. Then you realize what being broke really is.' |
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Expatinuk seems to be a Soviet Satellite in stationary orbit over the UK
It is what it is.
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