<p>As I read this an ambulance passes me, blaring its siren.</p>
<p>Let’s hope it’s a routine, positive issue such as a new mom being rushed to the hospital to have a new baby or a little boy with a broken arm because he was jumping on the bed or an elderly person who is bruised from trying out a difficult break-dance routine or a college student who was having a wild dream and fell out of her bunk bed - - - not all ambulance sirens have to be life shattering. . . .</p>
<p>I am a concerned parent and have seen that the school doesn’t even watch over what the teachers, TAs in particular are assigning (level) and teaching the students. My son has a T.A. for a mere freshman writing seminar with over 10 pages assigned a week when the FWS ONLY calls for only 25 pages the whole semester. It has interfered with the all the kids in this class doing well in everything else. The majority of my son’s teachers are TAs who can’t teach, never taught before and making the first year high pressure and unnecessarily difficult. Kids are afraid to complain for fear of their grades going down.
The frats pressuring the kids to join also didn’t help with the stress! Just my opinion. The school needs a reality check for god’s sake.</p>
<p>These TAs (grad students) are teaching the whole course not assisting any prof by the way.</p>
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<p>…do you really think that most of what you have listed would be different at any other upper-tier college/heavy research institution?</p>
<p>Cadmiumred, you need to chill the f&^* out.</p>
<p>Get a grip on what is and isn’t reasonable. The FWS guidelines provide a bare minimum. My FWS taught by a tenured full professor assigned over 10 pages a week, and over 8 essays throughout the semester. So no, your son’s not being picked on. And I have found for several of my classes that my TAs are better teachers than my professors. </p>
<p>And the courses that are only taught by TAs are heavily monitored for content and difficulty. Especially since they are usually taught off of a single curriculum developed in concordance with a professor.</p>
<p>If you have legitimate concerns, feel free to try again.</p>
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<p>The requirements are for 25 pages of polished prose. Not in draft form. The only way one learns to write is to read, write, and write some more. </p>
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<p>Majority? I doubt it. Name the courses. I can’t think of one of my peers who had more than one TA-led course their entire time at Cornell. And my TA for my Freshman Writing Seminar (who went on to get a professorship at Duke the next year) was one of the best teachers I ever had.</p>
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<p>Well, at least we can agree on one thing. I wish rush was delayed until second semester sophomore year, a la Dartmouth.</p>
<p>It sounded like cadmiumred was talking about 10-page papers assigned every week, which does seem excessive for an FWS.</p>
<p>Every academic institution will always offer a range of course challenge and difficulty as well as a range of teacher style and rigor. It’s important for students to talk with their instructors when the rigor becomes too tough. It’s also important for students to research the courses they are selecting well particularly if their learning style requires particular elements for success. In some cases, it may be that an institution or major isn’t a fit for a student, then there’s the opportunity for a transfer.</p>
<p>This thread is dealing with a very important issue and I think it’s most important that students see themselves as the ones who have the power to navigate their lives and seek help when needed from instructors, counselors, friends and family members. Empowering students to make positive choices and deal successfully with challenges and obstacles is very important. Blaming doesn’t help.</p>
<p>Wonderful posts, momwhowantsthebest. Thank you.</p>
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<p>It’s hard to figure out what exactly she was saying. But do you honestly believe anybody would assign 140 pages of ‘new’ writing over the course of a semester? They would never want to grade all of those papers.</p>
<p>That’s longer than my senior thesis.</p>
<p>Now, it’s completely possible that you are required to write a 10 page draft. And then revise it for one week, and then revise it again for another week. Is that 30 pages or 10?</p>
<p>I think what is most important is communication between parents and their children. Up to this point, I am quite sure that most of the kids that have accomplished enough to get into Cornell, have done so under great stress and constant pressure from their parents.</p>
<p>Guilty as charged here for sure.</p>
<p>Now that these kids are there on their own. It is very important to know that they are supported, regardless. You know, that unconditional love thing.</p>
<p>If these kids don’t think they can fail and still go on, well then what do they have. The majority of the kids at cornell might be experiencing failure for the first time in their lives. Add to that, all the social pressure and the pressure to please the parents, it can be overwhelming.</p>
<p>As for the curriculum. I have a D here at Cornell and a son who is a junior at the US Air Force Academy. From what I can tell. When the two are compared. Cornell is very doable for the kids that get accepted. That is not to say it won’t be stressful or difficult. Just that it should be doable for the large majority of the kids that “earn” their acceptance to Cornell.</p>
<p>Well said. When tragedies happen, every parent worries. We love our children so much and want the best for them. I agree, that it’s so important for students to realize that failure is a part of life, a difficult part, but an inevitable part. It’s a challenge to let them go and forge their own path; and at the same time let them know we’re there waiting with a hug, a good meal, a listening ear, and a place to relax. Spring break will give many parents the chance to do that. </p>
<p>At the same time, my love and prayers go out to those families who have suffered these great losses. We never know where life’s path will take us.</p>
<p>These tragedies are not a result of “Cornell pressure”.</p>
<p>Suicide strikes all schools, all ages, all walks of life. </p>
<p>As was intimated earlier, bad TAs and too many pages assigned in freshman writing classes belong on another thread.</p>
<p>It is disrespectful to equate those relative trivialities to the recent suicides.</p>
<p>i think it’s safe to say that people who decide to take such a drastic measure are likely to be overwhelmed by many things, not just one or a couple.</p>
<p>we don’t know why exactly these kids did what they did, but what really needs to be addressed is the lack of assistance there is for people with psychological issues here, despite what skorton or anyone else says.</p>
<p>there have been articles about kids seeing help at CAPS- as far as i know, you can’t meet with a true psychiatrist via gannett, only counselors. when some of the patients expressed concern about suicidal thoughts, they were told to get inpatient treatment elsewhere or to leave the school. fantastic thing to do, take vulnerable kids and put pressures of psych wards and dropping out on them. one girl a few years back was a depressed anorexic who fell into this category, and had to spend a winter or summer (can’t remember which) in one of these centers and attempted to ‘act as normal as possible’ when she got back so the school didn’t suspect danger in order to attempt to finish her degree. sadly, she chose to end it as well.</p>
<p>Cornell really needs to stop trying to brush this under the rug as they have tried to in the past. Clearly there is some problem and it needs to be addressed. The first step is to provide tier-one mental health care.</p>
<p>This is just so heartbreaking, and our prayers go out to all of the parents, friends, and the Cornell community. It is hard to imagine what these young men were going through to end their lives. It is the lack of answers that make this so difficult to bear. Blessings to each of them, and to those whose lives they have touched.</p>
<p>I am so very sorry for the family and friends of these students. </p>
<p>My H and I just dropped our D2 off at her sister’s, D1 (senior at Cornell), for a few nights visit. D2 is on spring break from her school. We (H and I, D1, D2, and D1’s friend) talked about these suicides while we were out to eat. The current students were very concerned about these events. They felt, thank goodness, that failing a test or course was not worth your life. But you never know. </p>
<p>D2 just finished some tests before spring break, and thought she did poorly. She called us (H & I ) crying.</p>
<p>We as parents (this is addressed to me as well) need to back off the pressure. Our children are smart and have the potential to do great things. But small things matter just as much.</p>
<p>We need to listen, love and support. This is not meant to preach. I might even be talking more to myself. I realize I want my kids to be alive, happy and functioning in whatever capacity it takes. I realize that each of my kids have different goals and drives regardless of their intellectual tests.</p>
<p>I know as a parent I wanted my kids to be the best they could be and that meant top in their class, etc. I also now know how short sighted and shallow that was. </p>
<p>The important thing is to realize we only have one life. Live it to the fullest. If you don’t, why not? Make one step different. Too hard? Harder than ending your life? I could go on…So go on and get in touch!</p>
<p>If you are desperate, at least try some counseling. Something may help. Understand, you are leaving behind grieving, family, friends and folks.</p>
<p>Cayuga:</p>
<p>This grad student who teaches the FWS doesn’t hand anything back. They are not assigned one 10 page paper a week but a series of 3 to 4, 3 page papers PER week.The kids are afraid to do anything about it. This overage of writing assignments is not trivial like another poster suggested.It adds to the pressure of trying to manage an excessive workload and displays a lack of management of the Writing Institute program. The school needs to face reality about unnecessary excessive pressure.</p>
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<p>It sounds like either the grad student doesn’t know what they are doing or that the papers are mere response papers. Either way the simple solution is to go to the Knight Institute directors.</p>
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<p>I disagree. Skorton speaks the truth. There is plenty of assistance for students who seek it out. EARS. CAPS. Residential advisers. Faculty advisers. Academic advisers. Club advisers. Friends. The problem is that some students don’t have the abillity/encouragement to seek it out.</p>
<p>I encountered a rough spot my senior year, and within 30 minutes of talking to my academic adviser I was talking to somebody in CAPS. I ended up having a wonderful relationship with CAPS for a semester and it has continued to benefit to me this day. The counseling and support that one receives in an academic setting like Cornell is light-years ahead (both in terms of practice and cost) of what exists in the real world.</p>
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<p>Again, I vehemently disagree. Cornell is seen as engaging in best practices when it comes to student mental health management and most other institutions look to Cornell for advice. And if a student is in danger to herself and to others, the absolute best course of action is to remove the person from the situation. Nobody is talking about “dropping out” – they are talking about “getting healthier”. </p>
<p>And you really need to get your facts straight. The girl from the Time article below is still very much alive. She didn’t choose to “end it.”</p>
<p>[When</a> Colleges Go On Suicide Watch - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1194020,00.html]When”>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1194020,00.html)</p>
<p>I’m not saying that Cornell can’t be better from a mental health standpoint. I think that the University should seriously consider going gradeless for first semester and delay fraternity rush until sophomore year. But they aren’t doing anything “wrong” – there are hundreds of thousands of happy, healthy alums to attest to the fact.</p>