Camel Teach - Students and Spilled Milk

Just When You Thought It Was Safe....Wait...When Did I?

I don't think I ever mentioned this student, but he crept so, I will.

So this student is complaining and is going to challenege me because I will not accept his first essay...it was two weeks late. His excuse: he can only do school work on Sundays for 4-6 hours because he works for the rest of the week and apparently can't EVER in that time period do work.

And he thinks this is a viable reason for me to accept work. Can you imagine if face-to-face classes were like that? How is that even a VALID excuse? I would be embaraased to go to my professor with some bullshit like that.

Aside from that, the informational page for online education clearly states the opposite of what he has done to "prepare" for taking online classes.

These students are tripping on too much huffed freon.

posted by Camel @ 4:03 PM 0 comments

It Just Keeps Going On

This is a definite never-seen-this-shit-before. Yet another student out of the woodworks who thinks they own this course. She expessed concern because she has only ever written in APA style and writes for publications like the New York Times and she is only taking this class because they would count hers from the dark ages because it was only 2 credits then. I explained to her that unlike journalism courses, composition courses use MLA. That is standard. Always has been. The rare difference would be CMS. APA is strictly a journalism standard. This is what I get from her:

Well, in all my College classes,we always used APA. At
this point, how do you expect me to learn MLA? My work
will be APA, if not expected, I will challenge this with
the school.

Mind you, she never turned in her first essay so she is taking issue with a writing component for which she has fulfilled zilch. The fact that she refuses to even learn a different style just shows how lazy some students are and assuming that she is of some age, given the context clues, it is embarassing that as an adult and a professional she is going to pull that on someone. I can't wait to see what happens when she tries to challeneg this.

I swear these students are fucking morons. I have NEVER experienced anything like this and it is still bewildering. What is it about online education that makes students become despots of unintelligent ramblings and misabused power that does not even exist.

Once again...I walk away disgusted.

posted by Camel @ 12:48 PM 0 comments

And the Saga Comes to an End

Although I may be a hard ass as a teacher because I refuse to listen to dumb excuses and have zero patience for laziness, I do think it is my responsibility to try and help all kinds of students move past whatever barriers they have. So I attempted to contact the student from the last two posts one last time to reach out to her. Seems she didn't bother responding to my last e-mail and just decided to blast me. This time, I got a response, and what I read just affirmed and confirmed my believe about education in this country. It also confirmed for me that this student is a nut and does not belong in a university.

Her complains boiled down to the following: how dare I assign such disgusting readings and not see how Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man si Hard to Find" is horrifying and disgusting, that I was too brutal on my comments in her paper because I pointed out all her errros, that she blamed me for not being clear on my instructions, and then felt she would do better at a Christian college.

I hate bible thumpers. Plain and simple. They give religion and "true" Christians a bad name. This student is no exception. Maybe she has some kind of psychological barriers and imbalances that make her think these pieces of literature are real. She becomes paranoid in public and can't sleep. Now I am a true believer in the affective power of literature, but that is going too far.

Her claims were all bogus and are typical of student blame-shifting. She decided to withdraw from the class....thankfully...but it did not stop me from addressing her concerns again. Last-Word Syndrome, I guess. But she needed to know that this was not about me or the works, but about herself.

What I find even more dangerous, and what is compelling me to write an essay and submit to an academic journal is that she manahed to have some kindof power over my classroom. And I don't complain about this egomaniacally , but acaedmically. I could not imagine ever telling any of my professors that they did not know what they were doing, that they owed me something, and that I knew better than them. I was paying for the PRIVILEGE to be in their classroom and to learn something from them. Contrary to what most students believe, their tuition goes to pay for other things. This consumer attitude towards education is what is hurtling us into a very dangerous era.

Couple that with program directors and department heads who are so concerned about looking good that they will manipulate and force their teachers to do things that go against basic morals and ethics. This includes, and is not limited to, changing grades behing their backs...which has happened to me twice. So I am told to shut up, comply and give in to the student's need(s) because I would not want my name attached to a "complaint" in the ivory tower. Forget that the complaint might be invalid, or that I might have rights, or that I am totally justified in my actions and how I conduct my classroom. It is all about the numbers, the demographics, the reputation. It is not about education. It is not about honesty and respectability. It is not about backing up a teacher, asking them their side of the story, supporting their pedagogy. We are being subjected to the same kind of bubble gum factory ethos. And that worries me...

Luckily, I have only experienced this at one of the colleges. One from which I was a proud graduate. One which I now look at with complete derision and utter disgust because it has become a fourth-string institution of learning where education and growth is not important. Giving the customer full satisfaction and ignoting the policies is paramount.

We are sending out undereducated people and telling them that it is ok if they are substandard. That it is ok to complain about nothing and to use thinly veiled reasons to get what they want. That it is ok to nto work hard and still get what you want because there are no consequences.

And where do I draw the line? How do I negotiate what I want to accomplish as a teacher, with what they want, with what the college wants, and with what my banj account needs. I am a victim to the dollar and I am being raped by the system because I am an adjunct. I am horrified. I am scared. I am no longer positive.

BUT....my silver lining is that my USF students and my UT students, despite their arrogance and apathy, still hold what I feel are the proper attitudes and personalities and qualities needed for success. I just wonder if that will be enough.

posted by Camel @ 3:36 PM 0 comments

Let the Age of the Consumer Shine Brightly

Well then...I am moritified...

In a continuing series of reasons why education in this country sucks, I bring you the disrupted night's sleep excuse.

So I wrote to my department head about the previous student's concerns about losing sleep over reading "The Lottery" and some other director told me that I should allow her to read something else and that I should do the extra grading work because the college feels that students who might be offended by reading something should not be forced to read material.

First of all, that whole policy is ridiculous because it is so damaging to a teacher's pedagogy and empowers a student in a bad way and allows students to be shut off and ignored from the real world.

Second, the student must have been blowing a lot of bad smoke, because as you can see from her e-mail, her concern was with getting nightmares. Not being offended. And how does she know that the story will disturb her if she has never read it?

Third, it is "The Lottery"!!!!!! HOW IS IT OFFENSIVE AND HORRIFIC!!

For a second I thought about just giving in, but then I did not and wrote this back:

Hey PERSON'S NAME HERE -

Thanks for getting back to me, and I hear you. What troubles me about this is that it further pushes this consumerist attitude and view on teachers so that our syllabi, lessons, pedagogies and goals are at the whim of students who can complain about anything and get their way simply because they pay tuition fees. Is granting her request something that is set forth in a policy that I could read?

What also bothers me is that she has formed an opinion of the story without ever having read it. It is Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," a story I am sure you are familiar with. I am not sure what could be horror-inducing about it and I feel weird allowing an alternate reading because she feels she will get nightmares because of it and feels sensitive to "stories like that." Her issue was not with finding anything offensive in it, but how it would disrupt her sleep pattern.

In addition, I e-mailed her my own concerns, provided her with possible solutions to reading the story and moving beyond her fear so that she could nejoy all of literature, and she did not respond at all. I would think it would be better to help her interact with the material, and thus all kinds of material, rather than enforing her fear and apprehensions.

Understand, I am not trying to be difficult but trying to understand as this is the fourth experience with a student I have had at SPC where a teacher's classroom has been completely superceded for what I feel are banal reasons. But I do want to get a firm grip on how I need to change my pedagogy and educational stance to better fit the college and whatever it is trying to achieve. Let me know and thank you SO much.

Pretty to the point without being an asshole. The decline of this country and the state of education truly is threatened by this false belief and idea that because students pay for the PRIVELEGE to get an education, it means they can control classrooms and make teacher's lives hell. That shit may work in high schools, and even in that case I think it is damaging and ridiculous - and I know this from first hand experience-, but it has NO place on the college campus. I am sickened to my stomach to see how far the corporatization of the university and the bubble gum factory ethos is going to such awful extremes. It makes me feel like just giving up on teaching. My saving grace is I work at least one place where the teacher still has the final word, still does make the decisions, and still can tell students to fuck the hell off...nicely.

Ugh....what a fucking travesty.

posted by Camel @ 7:20 PM 0 comments

THIS is Why I fear for the U.S. and THIS is There is a Shortage of Teachers.

I am still in awe of this e-mail I received this morning:

How will we know our grade on the essay? Is there a place we go to look it up? I didn't see anything about that, but I will read the syllabus again. Also, I wanted to let you know, I will not be reading the lottery, I do not like horror stories such as that, I saw the movie "The town of New Hope" I think it was called and I still have nightmares so I guess I will just have those 10pts taken off unless you want to give me an alternate story to read and respond to instead. I went to Martha Campbell, the director of communication etc for Tarpon last semester because of having to read stories like these like "A good Man is Hard to Find" I am so glad to have not seen that on the list of readings. I still think of that story and for a while I had nightmares. I am very sensitive to things like that.

First of all, her 1st question is CLEARLY answered in a welcome letter I sent them. Guess the student did not bother reading it.

Secondly.....ANYONE who has read those stories knows they come nowhere NEAR horror stories. They are comments on society...ergo...ignorance of the truth and reality of the world...ergo blissful ignorance....ergo ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

posted by Camel @ 1:01 PM 0 comments

Lucky Number 13

Leaving these gaps is no doubt something that will endup hurting my record of events, so I will try to encapsulate as much asI can. I find it hard to just sit down and write and get things done because I am always so exhausted when I get home from teaching all day. This job is not what it is cut out to be at all. My expectations were definitely not met in any way shape or form. These students are parriahs to say the least.

Halfway through they day yesterday, I was ready to just quit. I had enough. And I still feel that way today. I am simply running out of patience with the apathy and lazines. This school will not doubt go from its C rating to an F rating very quickly because their students are simpy all ill-equipped to handle the basic needs of student life. They are also incapable and unwanting.

Yesterdayls fiasco began with my 4th period E1, also known as the lazy aass slackjaes, not taking any notes on the Harlem Renaissance video and then comopletely bombing their note quiz because they could not pay attention long enough to write down a few important details. The quiz was pretty simple, name 2 figures mentioned and write 3 imp facts about the period. Over half, once again, did not do so. Then I entertained, much to my foolish mistake, a conversation ONCE again about hwo I am nothing like Miss Ross and how she is easier and I am harder and blah blah blah. ONe astudent, Alex Zola, had ther nerve to tell me that sh worked better with a boring teacher....a sideways compliment if ever I heard one. I had mentioned how I was going to move to teraching honors and AP kids nextr year and she had mentioned how she was goin to be in honors nwext year. However, I mad it very clear to her that there was no way in hell she was going into honors since she could not even handle being in a regular English class. She literally does not work whatsoever and thinks she can pass an honros level course. I told her I was de-recommending her.

My 5th period, usually my smarter and growing smafrter by the day class, really pissed me off by not even listening ot my introduction lecture. For the first time, I gave up in a classroom. I stoppd and said: You know what, I give up. i jsut don;t care anymore. I plugged in the video told them to take notes and went on my merry way back to my desk. Secveral students asked what happened, and Tayra Dugrot, a great girl, said: He doesn;t care anymore because we don;t care. If the last class was lax in taking notes, this oen won the prize and over half did not even bother taking out a piece of paper to pretend. Needless to say, they flunked their simplistic quiz as well.

I walked into the TPA room during lunch and announced I was quitting and I Had had it. I did not spend 8 years and get four degrees to suffer the banalities of teaching high school and to work under my potential. I don;t know if I can last the rest of the semester waiting for some promised light at the end of the tunnel that may be snatched away. I don;t know if i have four months of this left in me. Flavio Mello, who has a law degree and comes from Brazil, and whom I have befriended, feels the same way. She wants out. Several of us do. I even asked Sara Alston if she encountered the same problems with homework and tests...needless to say, most of the teachers I have talked to experience that. These students are simply just lazy. They are NOT going to survive the next four years, or even college for that matter. But they will get processed through like all the other losers because "no child gets left behind." And these are the future leaders of this country. God help us all.

The CTS classes are no better as the kids and I realize that the classes are worth shit. They offer nothing helpfiul andf make no sense in any way shape or form. They are a waste of a period and just reiterate what other classes do. Whythey are mandated is beyond me....other than for the reason of creating more jobs. And tio make the school look like an A school.

This morning, I decided tocome in late. There was no point in my waking up early to come sit in my room for 3 hours waiting for the imprending doom of stupid children. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely but was filled with such ire as I parked and walked up the stairs to the TPA room. I have no desire to have any connection with any of these people today. I just want to get in and get out and be on my way.

I had no desire to teach the unreachable to day and assigned bookwork instead. A LOT of it. Alex Vierra asked over and over again: Are you mad at us? I didn't respond. I didn;t care to. Why should I? Figure it out for yourself. If they want things to be like they were, fine.; Do the bookwork and the busy pointless work and learn nothing. Betetrto become a statistic than to be kown for something.

posted by Camel @ 7:03 AM

Name Calling

Of immediate importance is the fact that in my 7th period class, a student called me an asshole in a volume which he assumed was muttering. I told the class that they were to bring their novels to each class session, which I guess translates into: I'll bring it when I feel it. Well, I told them today I would start knocking off points if I didn't see them reading. Immediately, several students protested by showing me their novel, even though they were not reading them when asked. This particular student was trying to tell me how he was studying and I nodded in compehension, but apparently he felt the need to keep talking about it. He must have thought I could not hear him, but I heard him say: God, what an asshole. And i turned around and said, "Excuse me? Did you just call me something?" He turned bright red immediately and I could see he was embarassed. "Just so you know I heard that. And just so you know, I heard you the first time and I took off the points. Any other teacher would have sent your ass out of here on a suspension with no questions." He looked away embarassed. I continued, "I believe you have something to say to me." And he muttered sorry. I actually did not get irate and angry that he called me that. I told Rudie in between classes and she asked me if I wrote him up. That always seems to be the first step, and while I agree in sever circumstances, and some would say that calling a teacher an "asshole" is sever, I do think there are other ways of handling things. Accidents and mistakes do happen and I really did feel no ire toward the kid. He's a good student and always does his work and he just took my apparent misattention too personally.

The TPA room was fun this morning. It never ceases to amaze me what things teachers will talk about. THey mostly center around shit and bowel movements followed by burping. I have had to see ass crack with thongs, have my hand placed on a breast, and listened to something about sticking something in a hole of mine. At least they are not boring and keep life interesting. Gives me an incentive to go there every morning. Was especially glad when Cloyd gave me the dates for AP workshops this summer as it moves me one step closer to getting the hell out of 9th grade teaching. Although today went rather well. Both my E1 classes were into the SVA stuff and my 4th period finally pulledtheir heads out of their asses long enough to understand what I was doing. I think I can pull through this year with the expected ups and downs. A little acclimation goes a long way.

posted by Camel @ 11:03 AM

ARGH!

This is one of those days when I hate freshmen. And I mean LOATHE. I spent an entire class period yesterday meticulously going over subject-verb agreement. Handed them worksheets, met with groans of course. Come back today. Les than half of them have done the work, and those that did, did so half-assedly. I start going over the exercises on the overhead and not only do they keep getting every answer wrong, they have NO clue what rules I am referring to or how to even explain correct/incorrect answers. There is a TOTAL lack of accountability. I turned off the overhead projector, told them they were wasting my time and had them get grammar books and do work out of them. What a bunch of morons and mindless idiots.

Now my second E1 class, 5th period, which, according to their grades, are supposed to be my "lower" course plessantly surprised me by actually going along for the ride and contributing. Albeit, they droveme insane by not understanding what I mean by "Raise your hand" and I struggled to get them quiet. But they were learning and getting it and finally able to answer the questions to my standards. Very odd how suppositions get turned upside down.

Things have been somewhat strained in the department. There seems to be this heavy air. People seem upset and depressed about something, but not sure what it is.

posted by Camel @ 7:23 AM

My First Referral....of Sorts

I knew today was going to be rough when I had problems driving to school and almost fell asleep at the wheel.

posted by Camel @ 2:02 PM

Monday again

Well, here I am again on Monday hating my life. Recieved news towards the end of Friday that Clody did NOT get the job. have only heard this from Q however. I guess I am not surprised, but really disappointed. It depressed me all weekend, the thought of returning to the freshmen and having to deal with irrationally juvenile behavior while I try to impart some kind of education to them.

Stephen's husband died that day. She kept calling home and he was not picking up the phone. Neighbors went over and coudl not wake him. He had a heart attack. Only 50. Pity.

TPA room was filled with fun as we talked abotu Rudie's ass crack showing through her overly-stretchy stretch jeans. Seems to be a lot of talk about shit, from composition to smell. THe ladies seem to love dropping bombs and then announcing to everyone: You don't want to go in there! Sometimes I feel like I hanging out in a men's locker room. The stereotypes are NOT true. They defy all of them. They are funny ladies, however. Very caring

Feeling very depressed today and wanting to just leave it all. I just don't knwo how much I can deal with this.

posted by Camel @ 8:21 AM

Starting Something New, Part 2

I am in my 6tn period class. Critical Thinking. One of the more ridiculous courses to ever evolve out of a curriculm for students. And they know this too. The class is just a boom-boom course. I see nothing useful behind it. Everything the course offers is what they learn in other courses. Should be useful right? No. The course is treated like kindergarten for high schoolers where they participate in frivolous projects of arts and crafts sometimes. They may be freshmen but pandering to their lowest level of thought and intelligence does no one any good.

posted by Camel @ 9:19 AM

Starting Something New
I figured that I would never get around to compiling notes for this first year teacher book if I did not do it online. I simply don;t have the time or patience to hand write everything, although that seems more nostalgic. You know, looking back on yellowed pages containing the hysterical history of my time in the secondary education system. But sloth prevails in this situation, but for good reasons.

It has been three weeks since I started and the last time I collected any notes were from my first week of teaching before winter break. That was a whirlwind of fast learning. Things have been progressing....well....they have been progressing. I realize that my memory may fail me in capturing the vital details of the first few weeks, no doubt the most important, but I think I can recall everything, forgiving the chronological faux pas.

Oddly enough, I am writing this during my fifth period English I class (whom I affectionately call, The Gibbon Monkeys). They are busy copying down vocabulary words and defining them for a test on Monday. This was my one act of clemency as their own laziness prevailed over copying down the three words I place on the board every day. I don;t think I will ever get used to the incessant whining of children not wanting to do work. I don;t think they understand how crucial all of this is now and will be for their educational future. The sad reality is that many of them will not pass this year let alone their senior year. They will be the percentage that fills the dropouts. A frighteningy large and evergrowing statistic. So I muster through and bear the ill winds of their young minds as they try to make sense of all the work I give them.

I don;t seem to remember high school being like this. I got a reality check today when one of my students, Brittany Angell, a street smart 15 year old witha tough exterior, mentioned something about a sonogram to me, and then showed me pictures of the life growing inside her. Just a while ago, I spied her taking out the picture and just staring at it. While I feel some sympathy for her, I feel a growing need to explode in rage and shake her violently and yell: WHY DIDN'T YOU THINK!?!?!?!? This is the same girl who showed me a piece of her poetry regarding, in graphic sensory detail, the act of oral sex. At 15 to be concerned with a child. You never realize the impact of the situation until it stares you in the face. What will her life be now?

On the other side of the spectrum are the kids so self-absorbed and apathetic that they will simply never get it. I had to come to high school to realize that people truly CAN be born stupid. They are a product of their own lazy parents and a media driven society that has them relie on everyone else and accept no responsibility for their actions and inactions.

posted by Camel @ 8:00 AM