Students say the darndest things

Clueless?

Helicopter parents?

How old are these kids?

Talk to someone who's been on the faculty longer. See if this is a typical experience, or if the kids are testing you.

You should have shot the bastard (or bitch) the moment he/she opened their obnoxious little friggin mouth.

I hate those friggin student people.

Bastard people, I call them.

What grade?

Re: Students say the darndest things

This is why when I was still in the education trade, I threatened students with test failure if they left their seat prior to completion of the exam for any reason other than a medical emergency. Speaking (which included hushed whispers) was also grounds for failure as it indicated the possibility of giving or obtaining answers. In more than 20 years, only a handful of students ever took the risks. For those who left their seats early, the consequences were rather lenient, with a subtraction of 5% from their test score. For those students who spoke (while still at their desk) the penalty was a goose egg (a zero). The only exception was when Luke called out to say: 'Mr.Wilkerson, Eddie just threw up.' I ended the test immediately figuring the students might want to examine the chemical components of vomit. Okay, I just suspended the test to another day.

When teaching it is best to bellow loudly and carry a loaded Uzi (aimed at the students). Most importantly though, is to set a list of rules regarding what is and is not acceptable during exam time.

Gus, I couldn't agree more. What's wrong with these kids today?

If they're not prepared for the friggin test, they should do the right thing.... call in a bomb threat to the school so it closes down for the day. Then they have an extra night to study....Sheesh! Don't these kids have any brains...(shaking head)

Over the years there's been talk in my school about the attitude of students coming to college with a certain sense of entitlement, as if they were customers: they expect to get what they paid for, including good grades. It's a phenomenon that has been observed in other places as well... a few months ago the New York Times ran an article about students who spend their college careers transferring from one school to the next, accepting nothing less than total compatibility for their money. I can't say what the causes are in my particular school, but it's very strange.

Shapeless,

You mean this was a college kid who did this?

I was thinking it must be a 6th, 7th or 8th grader who was, as Eva said, just trying to test your limits.

Ok, I just went back and read your post more closely...I see that you said "undergraduates"......un...believeable...

I'm afraid so.

On an offhandedly related topic, I frequently get emails, assignments and even papers from students written in IM-speak... "u," "ur," "thru" and parenthetical "LOLs."

Those were COLLEGE kids?!?!?

The only time in college that I asked a prof. anything close to, "is this what you're looking for" was when I was a little unclear on the actual instrunctions.


For instance in a lit class once the test was aking for short answers, but didn't say how short. I never wanted help with the actual answers, just wanted to be clear on how I was expected to give those answers. (I've had teachers take off for too long of an answer on a short answer section if you can believe it)
Of course most Professors have some sort of review where they usually at the very least tell you what they expect in different sections of the test.



As far as the customer service thing I'm a little torn. I mean the wierd thing about college for me is that there is often so much work to do that it really is a job. It's more time consuming and difficult than many jobs, yet instead of getting paid, the "worker" is paying to do the work.

Of course the other side is that students are paying to learn skills and they do get the shiny degree at the end that proves they did the work and which opens all the doors for success.


BTW what subject was this? As far as counting off for the wring answer that question is more reasonable with certian tests and school subjects than others. i.e. in math a student may get the wrong answer to a complex problem, but still recieve partial credit for showing their work and thereby proving they know how to do the math but maybe just made a small error.

That's a crucial distinction. Yes, the students are usually the ones footing the bill, but presumably what they're paying for is quality teaching. They're not paying for the grades. They have to earn those.

The days of the "Gentleman's B" are nearly over, but the death pangs of of the custom are dramatic.