<p>A professor at Johns Hopkins is suggesting that the word "hu" be substituted for the cumbersome "he/she" that is currently deemed necessary.</p>
<p>Wolfpiper:</p>
<p>There are many many conscientious students who would not dream of cheating or blowing off assignments. There are some, however, who take short cuts and and some who feel entitled to good grades without doing the work. They do so in high school, and do not stop in college. The phenomenon is not new.<br>
There were term papers for sale when I was in college--forty years ago! But it was harder then to catch plagiarists easily. One had to go to the library and work on a hunch. In fact, some graduate students did just that. I remember one catching a bit of plagiarism because she had only recently read a book that was being plagiarized. Nowadays, the internet makes it even easier to plagiarize. There are websites to sell term papers on practically any topic you care to think about. In fact, I read an article grading some such term papers.
Profs used to vent to one another in corridors, in faculty meetings, etc... Now they have another resource for catching out plagiarism and for venting--the same internet.</p>
<p>Wolfpiper:</p>
<p>Well, I'd welcome you as a student any day (Xiggi, too!).....I'm sure I could expect spirited, insightful, civil classroom discourse. No, you don't sound like a grade grubber (my definition--one who expects something for nothing, makes lame excuses, copies someone else's work and passes it off as his/her own, etc.); rather, I would say you are grade-conscious. Nothing wrong with that--it used to bother me when students would take grade consciousness to an extreme, leaving me wondering if that was all that they cared about (the grade and not what they should be learning). But it finally occurred to me that I wouldn't find my own work quite so fulfilling if it didn't result in a regular paycheck, and if it were suddenly less than expected, I would certainly make inquiries.</p>
<p>I will say, though, that I agree with the other posters who found the CHE grade grubber thread amusing rather than offensive. I've worked in two other settings in the past-- a medical office and a small-town bank. In both of those jobs, we had our own brand of shop talk that would have surprised some of our "favorite" patients/clients (for example, those affectionately known as "Percodan Polly" or "Overdrawn Oscar"). I remember commenting once shortly after starting at the clinic that the lunch room talk sounded just like M<em>A</em>S*H, and that really made the doctors' day. Were we unprofessional? I don't think so--it never went beyond us. In fact, absolute regard for confidentiality is a requirement common to the medical profession, banking, and education (as well as the legal profession and many others--I'm sure their shop talk is pretty entertaining). I see the CHE forum as very similar; although it is out there for all to see, it is anonymous, and when it comes right down to it, harmless.</p>
<p>Regarding your point about reading level and IEP, actually, several of my IEP students are among the half of the class that does read at or above grade level. After I looked at my own post again, I realized I sounded like I was trying to make myself out to be super-teacher. My intent was merely to point out that dedicated (and especially, stressed) professionals do engage in talk among themselves that others on the outside might consider unprofessional (and indeed, it would be unprofessional of us to not keep that talk confidential/anonymous). There are those occasional tough days when that's the only laugh we get.</p>
<p>I think it is important to read that thread in context and with a sense of humor about you. It is also illustrative of the amazing leaps of illogic students will sometimes use in their quest for the perfect GPA, despite not having a similar quest for performing well in school...</p>
<p>
The forum points out the negative attitude of students, and one can understand the frustration of teachers.
Actually...a few <em>threads</em> on the forum do that. Calling it the whole forum would be like saying collegeconfidential was set up to discuss happy hour (the horrors!)</p>
<p>I haven't read the entire thread, but I wanted to post one bit of info from The Chronicle forums.</p>
<p>That board has 3,751 members and includes faculty, administration, staff, graduate students, and students from schools around the world. I wouldn't make broad statements about those who work in academia based on what is posted on that forum.</p>
<p>DeanJ, there was no intention to make a generalized comment about the profession; my comments were directed at a specific "group of individuals", namely the group that, in my opinion, displayed a rather cavalier attitude on the CHE forum. </p>
<p>As you pointed out, there are only a few thousand members registered at the CHE. However, the screenname and publicly shared information left no doubts about the affiliation of the commentators, and in several cases, their judgemental predisposition. </p>
<p>For the record, I take good note of the professional "lounge talk" references. I do, however, also point out that the CHE is not a private forum, or an area where the posters and commentators DO have an expectation of privacy. </p>
<p>While it is easier to find examples of wonderful and dedicated educators, there are also unfortunate and less desirable cases. At the risk of being labeled naive or idealistic, I believe that our education could benefit from holding everyone to higher standards, be it students, parents, professors, and administrators --especially in the secondary education sector. </p>
<p>One could always hope that higher standards and higher forms of mutual respect might help our country raising its percentage of 9th graders who graduate from college above the current ... 18%.</p>
<p>How do screenames and publicly shared information show judgmental predispositions?</p>
<p>^^-^^</p>
<p>I guess that a sense of humor is needed to appreciate a screen name such as Dr Evil!</p>
<p>
I guess that a sense of humor is needed to appreciate a screen name such as Dr Evil!
Well...yes, one is. I find it hard to imagine anyone thinking someone is literally evil or prejudiced from a screenname of "Dr Evil." I can only imagine that someone has not seen Austin Powers.</p>