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[comp_queen]

As a coda to all those who've posted "scripts" of student conversations, the only clear rejoinder is:

Who's on First!

[comp_queen]

Oh man.  Thanks guys for sharing!

I'm gearing up for one tomorrow, and it helps to know that others have been through all of this.  I love DejaMOOO!
My student who is coming to visit is flunking my class and she's so hopeless.  She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 
It's a seminar.  Today she showed up to class without her copy of the assigned readings, and was taking notes.  There is no exam, hence, no need for note taking.   Uh, duh.  But a huge need to bring the readings.

Um, to remember the discussion later when you write your paper?  Or use the book in another class/context?  I took boatloads of notes in seminars, undergrad and grad.  Of course, many such notes were marginalia in the books I brought with me.

[pinky]

Some background context to this conversation: Students are taking an exam and there is a question asking them to give the RR of a particular situation XYZ.

Student (coming up to my desk at the front of class): Ms. Pinky, I don't know what an RR is?
Me: Well, that's a problem.
Student: Can you tell me anything else about RRs?
Me: No, not really.  It's kind of a thing that you either know or don't.
Student: Oh.  Well, did we cover this on a day I was absent?
Me: I have no idea when you were and weren't absent.
Student: Because that's the only way I wouldn't know what it is.
Me: There's really nothing I can tell you here.
Student: So there's nothing else you can tell me?
Me: Nope.

[pinky]

Double posting for another one from yesterday.

Background: I've handed back a set of homework to all other students about a week ago and posted a solution guide online. ( I've found this helps cut down on repetitive questions.)  At any rate, Perpetually Absent Student (PAS) wasn't there to get his homework back, so he received it back at the end of class about a week later.

PAS: (2 minutes after I've handed his HW back): I think my answers to these two problems are right.
Me: (taking a quick look).  No, you've made a couple of errors that a lot of students made.
PAS: But I think they're right.
Me: The solutions are posted online.  Why don't you take a look at them and compare your answers to see if you understand why your answers are wrong.  If you still have questions, I'll be happy to help you out.
PAS:  But I looked at them and I still think I'm right.
Me: (incredulously) You've looked at the answer key in the 2 minutes since I handed back your paper and read and analyzed the solutions??!!
PAS: Well....
Student behind PAS: *Snort*
Me: Go look at the online solutions and if you feel your paper was graded incorrectly, write up a brief description of why your solutions were correct and give it to me along with your original homework and I'll regrade it then.

Of course, I haven't heard from him since.  Thank goodness.

[ideagirl]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

[case_insensitive]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

A brave attempt, no doubt, to meet the length requirement. SHEESH!

[macaroon]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

She never came to visit me.  No, instead she went to visit my chair.  Can you guess how that ended?  With my chair laughing in my office.

[starfleet_grad]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

She never came to visit me.  No, instead she went to visit my chair.  Can you guess how that ended?  With my chair laughing in my office.

You're so lucky. My ex-chair would have sided with her, ordered me to allow her to make up the assignment without a penalty, and dinged me on my annual evaluation for not being student-centered. Guess why I left?

[gennidad]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

She never came to visit me.  No, instead she went to visit my chair.  Can you guess how that ended?  With my chair laughing in my office.

You're so lucky. My ex-chair would have sided with her, ordered me to allow her to make up the assignment without a penalty, and dinged me on my annual evaluation for not being student-centered. Guess why I left?

Because you thought you could be tourtured better somewhere else?

[macaroon]

She just handed in a paper to me where half of her paper was excuses as to why she couldn't do the paper. 

Oh, that's so fabulous.

She never came to visit me.  No, instead she went to visit my chair.  Can you guess how that ended?  With my chair laughing in my office.

You're so lucky. My ex-chair would have sided with her, ordered me to allow her to make up the assignment without a penalty, and dinged me on my annual evaluation for not being student-centered. Guess why I left?

I know I'm lucky!  And I got out of having the "favorite" conversation.   

[cc_alan]

I have multiple sections of the same class this term and one section is performing very poorly. We were discussing a concept last week and I talked a little about the next test when one of the students said that I should scale the exam scores.

Now, she wasn't acting rudely and there was a bit of humor (purposeful) in her suggestion. I responded that I was glad she didn't suggest that I curve the grades and I explained what curving meant. I stated that scaling simply raises everyone's scores.

Her reply was basically "and that's what we want". I looked at the class and said that while they want more points, the problem was that the class was not performing up to my expectations and hence the poor grades. She looked at me and said "we are trying".

It stopped me for a moment because I believe her. She and a number of students are currently passing but about 1/3rd of the class is doing horribly. My response was-

"I know that there are enough of you working very hard and I believe the grades and the class average will begin to change."

This easily could have soured the class for the day but it didn't and they responded well for the rest of the period.

I just checked my gradebook and pulled out all the people who should drop. Not only does the class average shoot up by almost 10 % but the passing rate shoots up a dramatic 33 %! I didn't pull out everyone who wasn't passing. Just the ones who obviously are not trying.

Hmm... I guess this is a little off-topic since it qualified as a favorite conversation rather than a "favorite" conversation.

Alan

[ratiosrule]

This isn't a favorite conversation that I had, but it's an interesting one. Just recently a female student of mine told me that she was stopped in the hall by another woman (probably a student) who said, "You have a really pretty face. You're a little thick, but you have a really pretty face."

I have been criticized by people in the past for my weight -- even in the past when I was starving myself in graduate school, living on cheerios and soymilk for breakfast and lunch. I just can't believe someone would tell another stranger that! Would you say anything back? What could you say?

[yemaya]

This isn't a favorite conversation that I had, but it's an interesting one. Just recently a female student of mine told me that she was stopped in the hall by another woman (probably a student) who said, "You have a really pretty face. You're a little thick, but you have a really pretty face."

I have been criticized by people in the past for my weight -- even in the past when I was starving myself in graduate school, living on cheerios and soymilk for breakfast and lunch. I just can't believe someone would tell another stranger that! Would you say anything back? What could you say?

Thank you. You have a nice face for a tactless b**tch.

[amlithist]

This isn't a favorite conversation that I had, but it's an interesting one. Just recently a female student of mine told me that she was stopped in the hall by another woman (probably a student) who said, "You have a really pretty face. You're a little thick, but you have a really pretty face."

I have been criticized by people in the past for my weight -- even in the past when I was starving myself in graduate school, living on cheerios and soymilk for breakfast and lunch. I just can't believe someone would tell another stranger that! Would you say anything back? What could you say?

See, I'm overweight, too, but my first reading was of "thick" as "stupid" or "dense,"  i.e., "you're a little stupid, but you have a pretty face."  That would make me a lot madder than the "fat" connotation.

[ratiosrule]

This isn't a favorite conversation that I had, but it's an interesting one. Just recently a female student of mine told me that she was stopped in the hall by another woman (probably a student) who said, "You have a really pretty face. You're a little thick, but you have a really pretty face."

I have been criticized by people in the past for my weight -- even in the past when I was starving myself in graduate school, living on cheerios and soymilk for breakfast and lunch. I just can't believe someone would tell another stranger that! Would you say anything back? What could you say?

See, I'm overweight, too, but my first reading was of "thick" as "stupid" or "dense,"  i.e., "you're a little stupid, but you have a pretty face."  That would make me a lot madder than the "fat" connotation.

I think "thick" was meant as "fat" -- I think this is true since apparently my student had never spoken to or seen this woman before that.

Hmmmm... is "thick" for "fat" a Midwest thing? Interesting...