The "Education" Thread

[Zephyrus]

If they don't care then that's largely on you as the teacher. You've gotta do a better job of connecting the content to their lives and making it relevant. Ask yourself: Why do you believe it is important for your students to know this material especially considering 95%+ of them will not not make a career out of this? What are the enduring understandings you want them to leave the class with? How can you show them how those ideas are relevant to their lives?

If I remember correctly you're doing the classics, which have a ton of great themes that are relevant today. However, if you're students don't see that relevance then they don't really have a reason to care, unless they already have an intrinsic interest.

Just my pedagogical 25 cents.

Thanks, but if I were teaching an actual Classics course, I would be following your advice religiously. I perfectly understand that the degree of enthusiasm a student will have for a subject is a function largely of the teacher's enthusiasm. If I were teaching Latin, or Greek, or Roman History, or Greek Mythology, as most of my fellow grad students are, I'd be on fire every day.

However, I'm stuck teaching Rhetoric for 2 years. It's basically an English class that while heavily grounded in Classical theorists, is designed to address contemporary controversies.

It's a required course for the university, and it's designed largely to teach students how to engage in productive academic discussions, write effective and persuasive papers and deliver strong speeches and presentations. It's a nuts-and-bolts course that does not enrich me at all, and the students don't care for it either, despite the fact that, and I explain this constantly to them, what I'm teaching is incredibly useful to them in all areas of academic and professional life. 95% of them WILL need this to succeed.

Any time I try to make it fun for myself by incorporating the Classics into the mix, it flies over my students' heads and I have gotten evals that complain about "too much ancient stuff." I can't win.

Once they get me back in the Classics department, I'll be feeling free again.

 

[Matt]

Vanderbilt has a duel economics PhD and JD program that has me highly interested, if I can get it and/or get funding for it. It sounds extremely difficult though.

 

[Dak]

Vanderbilt has a duel economics PhD and JD program that has me highly interested, if I can get it and/or get funding for it. It sounds extremely difficult though.

Must be new. The processes & efficiencies in killing someone who hath besmirched you whilst dodging the blade or bullet meant for thee?


Tooting my own horn, officially made the Chancellor's List for last semester. Not a surprise, but nice to see it in print.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I get the question all the damn time, why is math relevant to real life? And I give a different example every time. Because, jesus, math can be applied to everything. Almost anything can be quantified and calculated.

IRT above: I prefer lecture. I don't want their input or opinions. Then again, as a math professor, they are generally wrong opinions.

I'm pretty open minded though. I show different paths to the correct outcome if they ask if another way would work.

I'm really surprised you get that question a lot, because frankly science and math are really the only subjects (in a broad, sub-subject including spectrum) that I'd say have relevance to everyone and every day life.

 

[Zephyrus]

On a utilitarian basis, perhaps. Life doesn't just have to be eating, working and sleeping.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

On a utilitarian basis, perhaps. Life doesn't just have to be eating, working and sleeping.

Oh yeah absolutely. It's especially nice when you're the kind of person who can learn to find joy in math and science though, for instance I view the calculation of our distance from the sun more relevant than an artistic or philosophical take on it.

However... a great deal of people whose interests lie in these areas are incapable of truly critical thinking when not presented with a chart or system to fall back on. I'd say they're the ones for which the arts would actually be more beneficial than math or science.

I think philosophy, speaking of that, can be assuredly stated as a bridge between the left and right thinkers/ sides of the brain.

 

[Baroque]

On a utilitarian basis, perhaps. Life doesn't just have to be eating, working and sleeping.

Most people get an education to enhance the 'working' phase of their life, which is unfortunately necessary (with few exceptions).

Math is almost universally useful for that aspect of every day life. It is also useful in the arts, regardless.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I would say English/language skills are just as essential.

And I agree that philosophy is the greatest merger of left brain/ right brain thought.

 

[Einherjar86]

I've submitted an article to American Literary History, which is a publication of Oxford UP. It's in the crème de la crème of academic journals, so it would be awesome to get accepted; but not surprising if it gets rejected.

It's called "'Infinite possibilities': Science Fiction and the Utopian Form of Ellison's Invisible Man"

It's a bit unorthodox to suggest that Ellison's novel is very much in tune with SF at its core, so I'm not sure what kind of reception it will get...

 

[Dak]

gut Glück!

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

And I agree that philosophy is the greatest merger of left brain/ right brain thought.

Even though left right brain is a myth?

 

[unknown]

I remember I submitted an article to Critique on House of Leaves. I sent it there because they're one of the few journals that has published scholarly articles on HoL. They sent me the best rejection letter. It said, and I'm loosely quoting, "There are some articles which should never be published, and this is one of them." It's like they were genuinely offended I sent them my essay. I just laughed.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Even though left right brain is a myth?

Is it? I always kind of thought it was, but having never studied brain science, wasn't sure.

Anyway, if you want to avoid those terms, lets say philosophy is the best blend of logical and creative thought.

 

[Jimmy... Dead.]

Yeah, I think the left right brain dichotomy is still simpler to understand than the evidence against it, so its persisted.

Sounds good to me.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

I remember I submitted an article to Critique on House of Leaves. I sent it there because they're one of the few journals that has published scholarly articles on HoL. They sent me the best rejection letter. It said, and I'm loosely quoting, "There are some articles which should never be published, and this is one of them." It's like they were genuinely offended I sent them my essay. I just laughed.

Haha, harshness. What a bunch of douchebags. I'm sure I'll be interested in reading that article soon cuz I plan on reading 'House of Leaves' next

 

[Matt]

I remember I submitted an article to Critique on House of Leaves. I sent it there because they're one of the few journals that has published scholarly articles on HoL. They sent me the best rejection letter. It said, and I'm loosely quoting, "There are some articles which should never be published, and this is one of them." It's like they were genuinely offended I sent them my essay. I just laughed.

that's both unfortunate and hilarious

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Is it? I always kind of thought it was, but having never studied brain science, wasn't sure.

Anyway, if you want to avoid those terms, lets say philosophy is the best blend of logical and creative thought.

Thank you for that. Goddamn grammar nazis.

Concerning left/right brain... it's just a generic way to explain somebody's personality on the spectrum in a short sentence. Actually I never gave the scientific basis much thought, positive or negative, but it is interesting to know it's been debunked.

 

[Dak]

that's both unfortunate and hilarious

.

 

[Dak]

I was told my writing is too dense for APA style, and that I need to "lighten it up". Wtf I don't even. An A graded paper available as reference looks like it was written for middle school kids or something. Damn dumbing down of America.

 

[CF87]

I have taken my GeD when 17 and recently at 26. I just have to pass math. I actually enjoy learning now, but I can't stand math. I was taking a GeD class in a town about 10 minutes from here and one in Schenectady. I had this really hawt cute chubby teacher around the same age as me and the classes were at night. It was fun. I liked her personality a lot, she was a really good teacher. I use to skip school because Math in the morning. I'd like to go to a community college one day. I JUST HAVE TO PASS MATH, FUCK. God damn.