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[fredb]

Conversation this week with a graduate student:

Me: I did <this>, <that>, and <the other> in response to our external collaborator's emails from today and yesterday.  I want you to send him the data he requested to work on the next task.

Student:  I don't check my email every day, but I'll check it tonight since I know that something important is waiting for me.

Me:  The standard communication means for professional collaboration is email.  Generally, people expect that you will check your email at least once a day on weekdays and it's a good practice to check it in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.

Student: <mutters something indistinct>

Me: I'm telling you the standard conventions and what we expect from our collaborators.

Student looks somewhat surprised, but does walk over to the computer and log in to check his email.


Of course, this is also the student who had occupied an office for months when one day I discovered that the phone wasn't even plugged in.  It turns out that the office didn't even have service.  I asked him about it and he seemed surprised to learn that anyone expected to have an office phone because everyone has cell phones.  Why wouldn't you give your cell phone number to all and sundry so they could reach you anywhere you happened to be at any time?

I didn't even try to make the case of "we old fogies have very good reasons to require people to make an effort to reach us during times that are convenient for us".  I just had a phone line activated for the room and plugged the phone in.  I don't know if he will answer the phone if it rings, but now I have use of that phone.

[frogfactory]

I firmly believe that not checking and responding to one's email at least daily should result in expulsion from the 21st century, unless one is spending protracted periods in the wilderness for legitimate reasons.

[john_e]

First time TAs are notorious for grading harshly (I still remember the lineups outside the TA office door after I handed back the first batch of papers I'd ever marked). But this is wild. Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask the prof to look over the midterm?

I tried to accommodate the prof's grading style.  She gave me a rubric, I graded some sample blue books, she said OK.  In the end we were only a couple points apart on our respective class averages. 

But yes, it would have been much easier for the student to have requested a review.  Or extra credit assignment.  Or anything, really, rather than demanding that the instructor not only re-grade, but give her whichever was the higher grade!

At least the girl's mom didn't call to personally complain and demand a re-grade.  That's happened in our dept. 

[comp_queen]

Oh! I had a weird conversation with a student last week. She teaches a professional course at a local CC, and her professional experience overlaps with my research, so she asked me to give a guest lecture in her class.

That's right. I've been invited to give a guest lecture by my student.

Oh come on now.  That's kind of cool. 

[grasshopper]

Oh! I had a weird conversation with a student last week. She teaches a professional course at a local CC, and her professional experience overlaps with my research, so she asked me to give a guest lecture in her class.

That's right. I've been invited to give a guest lecture by my student.

Oh come on now.  That's kind of cool. 

Oh, yes - very cool. She's a smart cookie, too. I intend to pick her brain.

[omaraz]

Background: I was in the middle of a lecture that addressed working abroad, applying for work visas and working holidays.

Me: One of the things that you have to consider about working abroad is your background; at some point you'll need to disclose your past criminal activities.

Student: Does that include working holidays?

Me: Yes it does...it's the same process.

Student: What about convicted felons...do they qualify for that program?

Me: Probably not...

The class fell dead silent as we all wondered..."what did this guy do?"

[infopri]

I hate those grade conversations. Once I had a student near tears with me explaining all the things that were missing from her exam answers. Her only response is that I should "assume" *she knew those things (and thus didn't need to write them out). Uh, no.

The instructions in my exams explicitly address this attitude, as well as ambiguous answers and bad handwriting:

"Your answers should be concise, but also complete; do not assume that I will somehow know that you knew the correct answer but did not write it down.  Also, please make sure that your answers are both clear and legible.  If am not sure of what you are trying to say (or if I cannot read your handwriting), I cannot give you credit."

As a result, I've almost never had serious problems from students looking for additional points.

[frogfactory]

Infopri, any chance I can borrow that?  I write something along those lines on the instruction pages of my exams, but you've put it much better.

[galactic_hedgehog]

I've usually gone with the snappier (but less complete) "If I can't read it, it's wrong."

[infopri]

Infopri, any chance I can borrow that?  I write something along those lines on the instruction pages of my exams, but you've put it much better.

Sure, feel free!  Truthfully, I adapted some of it from someone else, who worded it a little differently but expressed the same idea.

[octoprof]

Background: I was in the middle of a lecture that addressed working abroad, applying for work visas and working holidays.

Me: One of the things that you have to consider about working abroad is your background; at some point you'll need to disclose your past criminal activities.

Student: Does that include working holidays?

Me: Yes it does...it's the same process.

Student: What about convicted felons...do they qualify for that program?

Me: Probably not...

The class fell dead silent as we all wondered..."what did this guy do?"

Not a student conversation but along these lines...

A colleague and I went out to lunch on election day last November. We were shown a table and then the waiter came and said,"Hello ladies, did you vote today?" We both said,"Yes." And then I asked,"Did you?" And he said,"No, I'm a convicted felon."  Well...  Alrighty, then.

[conjugate]

Of course, "convicted felon" may mean lots of things, like "was caught with too much marijuana," that doesn't necessarily equate to armed robbery (for instance).  But it's still a little off-putting.  I have no idea how many of my students may be felons.  Maybe that's just as well.

[infopri]

In one of the courses I teach, voting-related issues is one of the topics we cover.  One of my students raised the point that convicted felons can't vote.  I have absolutely no doubt that he has first-hand knowledge of this fact.  And I don't think his crime (assuming I'm right) had anything to do with smoking pot.  And it wouldn't surprise me if a weapon was involved.

I was very happy to see him graduate and go away.

[rowan1]

Set up:  Student with some boundary issues (amongst other issues) who is one of my majors and attends my church (a UU Fellowship)

Student was in a very successfull production of the Vagina Monologs (not part of the theatre program - performed and presented by the local student NOW group) this past week. Much money was raised for the rape crisis center.  All good.

Sunday was a presentation by the children on what it means to be a UU - quiet fun and exciting as they put their own spin on the principles from the perspectives of a 5, 8 10 etc. year old.

Student brings chocolates to church.  they are chocolates on a stick, shaped like ... yup - atomacally correct vaginas.
She leaves them with the snacks for the fellowship time after the service.  Small children are running around licking, chewing, slurping, on chocolate yonis.

Now it is a pretty darn liberal group, but...

Student comes into my office this morning (for some reason I am getting calls from fellowship folk who were not happy when little johnny asked what it was he was eating - I have nothing to do with the VM production BTW)
I asked her why she left the candy out in the area where the snacks for the kids were.

S: "Oh, I thought they would enjoy them."
Me: "Some of the parents are not very happy about that."
S: "obviously they are repressive and anti women."
Me: "No, we just want to be able to plan when we have discussions with our kids about anatomy."
S: "Your son had one."
Me: "I know, I told him it was a flower."
S: "well I guess you will just have to live with it when he grows up to be a sexist." and off she goes, to spread joy and light through the universe.

Maybe she will stop dropping into to chat now that I am one of the badguys.

[a_fuzzy_lurker]

Student brings chocolates to church.  they are chocolates on a stick, shaped like ... yup - atomacally [sic - sorry!] correct vaginas.
She leaves them with the snacks for the fellowship time after the service.  Small children are running around licking, chewing, slurping, on chocolate yonis.

...

Me: "Some of the parents are not very happy about that."
S: "obviously they are repressive and anti women."
Me: "No, we just want to be able to plan when we have discussions with our kids about anatomy."
S: "Your son had one."
Me: "I know, I told him it was a flower."
S: "well I guess you will just have to live with it when he grows up to be a sexist." and off she goes, to spread joy and light through the universe.

50% - *activate spew shield*
50% - ::headdesk::