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We might idolize our university and college professors as authority figures who put the pursuit of knowledge and education above everything else. However, they’re as human as you or I. From time to time, these Ravenclaws take a break from unearthing the secrets of the Universe and show their gossip-loving Muggle sides in public. Or rather—online. Because the way that some students act makes it hard not to share.
Redditor Redmambo_no6 asked the professors of Reddit to share their stories about the students they encountered that made them shake their heads and wonder how they ever graduated. And, wow, some of these have made our eyebrows shoot into our hairlines. We’d say they’re unbelievable, but we’ve met students like this ourselves. Heck, we’ve been in some of these situations.
We’d love to hear which of these posts you liked the most. Be sure to slap the ‘upvote’ button and leave us a comment so we know! Now, let’s charge head forth into the weird land of (un)education.
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#1
I worked with students in a class that was supposed to prepare them for real life. Things like making resumes, finance, etc. Part of the class was job interviews. One of the stress questions often asked in interviews is, "What's your biggest weakness?" I always told the students to have something prepared for that because the only wrong answer is, "I don't have any weaknesses."
So I'm doing mock interviews and I get to this guy and throw out that question. Without missing a beat, he says, "I steal sometimes."
I now tell my students that there are two wrong answers.
RELATED:
#2
Student handed in a 1-page essay of complete gibberish. Like, utter stream-of-consciousness of a gerbil on LSD kind of garbage.
After receiving an F on this assignment, this muffin had the audacity to come to my office hour and demand that I explain this grade to them. After I walked them through their river of word-garbage, they tried to tell me that I just didn't understand their writing because I am not an English native speaker.
First time I almost kicked somebody out of my office.
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago
"You do not understand because it is too complex for you". It takes a lot of courage to say that straight into your teacher's face... And also some stupidity.
#3
I taught English as a Second Language at a community college for a decade. My colleagues and I were pretty tough on the academics, but it paid off when our students started regular classes. Often I ran into my former students around campus & asked them how things were going. I lost count of the number of times they expressed disbelief at how badly their native-speaking American classmates were at writing sentences, doing math, and giving presentations in front of a group.
The redditor’s thread got 6.5k upvotes and over 3k comments. This goes to show just how many university and college professors there really are browsing Reddit and other similar sights. This might just change how you view your own professors in the future: after all, you might be fans of the same online communities!
The anonymity that Reddit provides means that the professors can share their stories pretty much without any chance of others finding out who they are. It also lets these educators vent about their students without exposing their identities either. It’s a win-win for everyone, including online users who get to grab some popcorn and absorb all of these entertaining tales.
#4
I once got an exam essay that mentioned how much Mandela hated the Jews. After scratching my head for a bit and wondering if I’d missed some obvious signs of his anti-Semitism I realized she meant Mengele. As in Josef Mengele, the Nazi “Angel of Death.” Hard to think of a worse person she could’ve confused him for.
#5
My wife has had multiple students who are fundamentally technologically illiterate. Numerous students have had no idea how to use Word or Excel--including one who used their email as a word processor (the University provides students with Office). There have also been students who struggle with installing programs on computers. What's disconcerting is it's becoming an increasingly common issue--as an older millennial, the idea that kids are becoming less technologically proficient is so bizarre.
Henry Shane 3 years ago
Same way we did, by practicing and doing it. This is where the "stop needing your hand held" actually comes in to play. No one teaches you, College does not teach you. You teach your self, and if lucky will find and mentor or guide. Otherwise you learn it all by yourself, school doesn't teach you, it gives you assignments and papers you need to read and learn..you can ask questions, but you are teaching your self at all times. No one teaches kids to play video games or do anything else they love doing, they just start doing it and doing it until they are good at it. So if they are not good or can't do something its's on them for never having done it, especially when it's something so common. Kids are on phones and computer and game systems everyday all day. No excuse, you don't need to be taught anything...you just do it like a normal person and slowly get better.
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Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago
You can use a spreadsheet on your smartphone. Trust.
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Sean Kirkwood 3 years ago
Word and Excel are learned skills. If you have never used these before, why would you be expected to know them?
kathoco 3 years ago
Yeah, I have students who hit a hard return at the end of every line instead of letting the text wrap.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Give them a typewriter and tell them they're hipsters.
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But in all fairness, I went to a small country primary school and the only time we touched the school laptops was for writing on word. I also remember the school getting some tablets a few years before I left, but apparently they were never used. And I'm pretty sure a few of the teachers wouldn't know what excel is as a matter of fact XD. Btw, it's in Ireland.
NinjaWolfy94 3 years ago
This is the same for me. (Australia) Except, we had desktops in the computer room and there was only ever enough for half the class (Sometimes less depending on which school and how many kids in the class). It wasn't until 10th grade (16yrs old. About 3 yrs ago) that we finally got laptops. (1 year at that school left :/) We didn't learn much on the desktops though... Just Word and Google. (But we did had a family laptop at home thankfully).
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Dippin Dot 3 years ago
I work with a lot of older Gen Xers that don't know how to use a computer either. My dad, a boomer, was so convinced computers were the future he made me take keyboarding and a class on how to use Microsoft Office basics in high school (graduated 2001). Then while in college I had to take a semester on Excel and Access. Now, I'm pretty much the only one in my late 30's - everyone else is 10 years older or younger, and rely on me for pretty much everything Excel. I guess that's job security?
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
I’m 35 and an employer. I love people with good Excel skills. Not everyone has it. My dad is a boomer and he’s an Excel pro. I’m really not that great with it and end up googling everything.
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Jo Choto 3 years ago
It's a lot to assume proficiency. There are many, many young people who grow up in schools that are so poorly funded, that the kids never see a computer there, and that goes hand in hand with lower income communities, where the kids can't afford technology. Add to that, Microsoft now sells Office as an annual subscription that is out of reach for many people. Assuming stupidity says more about the writer than it does about the students.
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
Maybe they were just poor, went to poor schools and had poor families and therefore no experience with computers.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
I think the actual problem is that all consumer tech made in the last 10 years has been designed for the lowest common denominator. Long-gone are the days when you had to understand at least some of the inner workings of your operating system to actually get anything out of a computer.
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Sara Rodrigues 3 years ago
Well not every student has access to a computer, so they probably learn how to use the different programs during school time. This is quite normal for poorer families, which can't afford to buy a computer, let alone pay for the internet bill.
N G 3 years ago
They learn to use different programs during school time, yes. But not once during 12 grades? The post said these were University students - they've left high school with no computer knowledge. It's a poor reflection on K-12 standards if learning during school time means "get to university first"
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Ramona Rhein 3 years ago
This is a judgmental post. I just graduated from college with an English degree. I know word, but only because I had to learn it. As for excel, no one told me I needed it and I didn’t. So to make a statement like this implies stupidity when school doesn’t provide or require it. If you think it should be learned, create a core course in high school.
Aly Kohlman 3 years ago
I'm a millenial that's currently upgrading so I can go to university. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is done threw google classroom in our school division. This includes "word" and "excel" type programs. I don't blame the students at all. I use word and excel but my 12 year old has never touched the programs.
Elena Vasss 3 years ago
And what if they were not able to afford a computer to lear earlier? Yes, there are still families that cannot afford it. I will not judge them so easily and call them dump. It is dump to think that just because you have a computer from 5-10-20 years and had the chance to learn how to use it for so many years, the rest should have the same background as you.
Amanda Covet 3 years ago
Oh come on, who knows how to use Excel if you're not taught it specifically because you're going to be using it?
Vanessa Dines 3 years ago
We aren't taught that at school my teachers wont show me how to log into a test he just does it for me, so now when I have a test I have to walk to the teacher and waste test time.
Mariana Schneider 3 years ago
I had a coworker (mid 20-s) who couldn't use WinRar. She received a .zip file and said she couldn't open it, so IT went to her desk thinking it was a permission issue or she didn't have the software installed, but nope. Just an old case of ID-10T
Curry on... 3 years ago
Did those students have computers at home or in their schools? I hate it when criticism is lobbed at someone who either didn't have access or someone to teach them.
Capelli rosa e patate 3 years ago
I grew up with hardly any tech, I was buried alive when I had to suddenly do everything on a computer. 😖
White Paper Tsuru 3 years ago
In my work place (hospital) every 3 months they offer an optional course on how to use basic Microsoft programs. It's aimed for the older population but it sounds like the universities should be offering this as well!
Kathleen Gillogly 2 years ago
Also so bizarre to me, the boomer, that I am more technologically proficient than my students! But some of it is class - they come through underfunded k-12 systems and had no access to programs.
Lee MacKenzie 2 years ago
Exactly, Ryan- nobody is teaching Excel, unless you go to a college specifically for those classes. And I highly recommend it. I got a BUSINESS (AA) degree and realized no software had been taught the entire program.
Eglė Bukauskaitė 3 years ago
Office is expensive! No effing way i'll spend 200USD on that! I do use free'sh substitutes, but if a curriculum includes macros - that won't work
BlackLabOwner 3 years ago
ahh the reason our school makes us take tech. class from 1-12 2x's a week also most of us can now hack the computers and undo all the preventions so it kinda backfired on the school
Colette Connor 3 years ago
I think some people have been scared into thinking they can permanently destroy a computer by clicking on the wrong button. Unless you go digging around in the depths of your OS you are probably not going to break your computer. Read the pop up windows and don't delete anything that you haven't created yourself and you'll be fine! Click all the things! :)
Curry on... 3 years ago
This is true. I used to teach senior citizens how to use the computer. Most were so afraid of breaking something. I found that teaching them how to play solitaire really loosened them up, and from there it was easier to teach the office apps, etc.
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Logically Reasonable 3 years ago
I work in a healthcare companys billing office at the corporate level. When the pandemic hit and people had to start working from home, the people who had been working at this company the longest started freaking out, because they did NOT know how to work a computer!!! They knew what buttons to push in order to get where they needed to go in the programs, but they knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about working a computer or its basic functions!! And with ME being the only one in my department with actual computer skills, guess who had to "crash course" them in one hour???
John-Paul Cote 3 years ago
The best example is the car. When cars first came out, only earlier adopters bought them because they were strange and complex. There were no experts/mechanics so the earlier adopters had to know nearly everything about cars themselves. As cars become more user friendly, they become more popular and people buy them. They are easier to use. There are mechanics around. As a result the car owners become more and more ignorant about how the car operates. Today, 100+ years after the introduction of the car, no one knows how a car works. No one knows how a four-stroke engine works. What’s gas for? What’s a starter? What’s a radiator and why do you need it? Push a button and away it goes. Same with computers. All of our technology is so user friendly there is no need to understand how any of it works on any level other than push the post button.
Whatshername 3 years ago
Millennials grew up in a time where all this was new and exciting. We truly experienced the digital revolution and saw our options grow. That is some serious motivation to learn how to work that magic machine that would make our lives much easier and more entertained. Also, back then you couldn't do with just basic knowledge and intuition. So yeah, I do understand there is not much need as there used to be to learn how to use a computer.
Z Kalnina 3 years ago (edited)
Nobody taught us either - it's was just trial and error, but most of the things are intuitive and you only say "proceed".. so it sounds like they lack the spirit of adventure (they want to have a safe recipe for everything). And here I was thinking that the spoon feeding has truly ended..
Steve Wilson 3 years ago
They don’t teach technical skills or any civics classes. What do they teach, then?
Analyn Lahr 3 years ago
They're supposed to learn basic word processing in elementary school, aren't they? I don't know about excel.
Pilot Chick 3 years ago
I noticed similar issues while training new hires at work. I was really amazed until I remembered I never had a computer class after 8th grade and so much is done with chrome books now.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Well, when you use a computer to just play games and/or watch porn, what do you expect? I guess gone are the days of saying “just get the 14 year old kid next door to install and program your computer for you”. A kid from the generation that was born into the world where there are computers in nearly every home is becoming just as tech clueless as their 70 year old neighbor.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
My youngest godkids have no clue how to do anything unless they can swipe or tap a screen. Word and Excel require... data entry. Blows their minds tht my generaton (GenX) just figured it out using, y'know, a how-to guide and some thinking.
zovjraar 3 years ago
if it's not something they can install or use on their cell, they have no clue. it's sad. we should have computer literacy classes. I had one in my middle school- that was 25 years ago. i was also required to take home economics- which explained budgeting, balancing your checkbook, and mortgages. no cooking lol. i took keyboading (typing) as an elective, and it's what allowed me to land a cushy office job despite only having an high school diploma. all three of these classes should be at least electives, and parents should make their kids take them. (my mom made me take the keyboarding class- i wanted to take an art class. her theory was that i could independently research art if i was so keen on it. guess what, i wasn't.)
#6
Once had identical twin sisters who turned in identical essays. Both were directly plagiarized from a Google search and received identical zeroes.
I’ve been a student and I’ve seen my fair share of coursemates and professors. Some educators were (and still are) so magnificent that I miss their lectures like Harry Potter misses Quidditch. They’re the people who still make me consider doing my PhD sometime in the future. Meanwhile, others were petty, bureaucratic, and concerned only about following the curriculum instead of being beacons of knowledge.
However, just like there’s a range of professors, from great to gruesome, there’s a spectrum for students, too. On one side we have young adults who are diligent, ambitious, and see education as a gateway to bettering themselves into veritable giants of intelligence. On the other side, we’ll find the slobs, the endless party-goes, and the cheaters who want the diploma without the hard work. It’s the eternal debate between doing things the right way vs. doing them the easy way.
#7
I had a girl come in with a research paper bibliography that listed "my mom" as a source several times.
When I pressed, she told me her mom looked up everything and sent it to her and she just...put it in the paper. She told me she had always done it that way.
Sleepyhead 3 years ago
That’s sweet, but I also hope her mom knows how to Google credible sources.
#8
A friend who taught in the politics department received a paper about ‘gorilla’ warfare in South America. It was so poorly written she couldn’t tell if it was a typo, or if they genuinely thought Colombia had been overrun by a Planet of the Apes style revolution.
This was in the UK and English was the student’s first language.
#9
One student wrote in a discussion board about Lord of the Flies, 'I like how they saved all the flies. That was my favorite part.' If you've read the book, you can guess the look on my face.
Being a bad student is as easy as gobbling down a greasy kebab or slice of pizza after a fun night out. Stepping up, taking charge, and being a good student is much, much harder, however. It’s less about getting good grades and more about who you are as a person and your attitude towards hardship.
#10
I had a student include numerous emojis in a term paper.
A different student came to my office a week after the final, and asked me why she had failed the course. She hadn’t turned in a single assignment, or written the final.
White Paper Tsuru 3 years ago
All the comments so far are about the second student not doing jack sh1t. I'm still tickled over the emoji student!! :p
#11
I had a student put in their presentation, 'Women's suffrage has destroyed the American family structure,' and 'feminism has turned women away from their naturally obedient nature.'
#12
My dad taught junior college biology and A&P, and at times zoology and botany, for 25 years. He has soooooo many stories, from multiple people showing up with roadkill for him to identify, asking advice on growing weed and shrooms, and thinking he was a medical doctor. The one that sticks out to me was a poor girl who lingered after class to ask "if pregnancy tests can ever be wrong, because I took a bunch this morning". He explained about human growth hormone and told her false negatives are possible, but not false positives. He said her face just kept falling as it slowly dawned on her. She told him, "three were negative". He asked if any were positive and she said yeah... he asked how many and she said, "Twelve... so... you're saying... it's not possible that I'm NOT pregnant?" He was like, "Sorry honey, unfortunately yes, that's what I'm saying. You need to go see a doctor". She came back a couple semesters later and let my dad meet her very adorable baby.
You’ve got a paper due in a month. What do you do? Do you put it off until literally the last moment, working through the night and pounding energy drink after energy drink, only to turn the paper in ten minutes before the deadline? Or do you get started right away, getting to grips with the issues, tackling the problems, and handing it in early so it doesn’t weigh on your mind? It’s everyday choices that draw the line between a good and bad student.
#13
I had a football player in class, and he could barely write on the sentence-level. I think he had just never been expected to learn how to write since he was an athlete. When he failed his first paper, he came to me and asked how to improve. We agreed that he’d come to my office hours, and we would work through the process of writing a research paper together. Y’all, this kid worked so hard. Every week he’d show up, and we’d talk about how to write an intro paragraph or how to build evidence in the body of a paper, etc. He wasn’t going to get an A in my class or anything, but he was definitely on track for a C- (with a little extra recognition for how hard he worked all semester).
When he turned in his final paper, he had SIGNIFICANTLY improved over his previous paper. I pulled him aside and asked him about his process this time around. With absolutely no guile, he told me that he told his brother what he wanted to say, and his brother wrote it down for him.
I was bound by the Honors Council and a sense of duty to my other students to do what I saw as the ethical thing, which was to fail him, but I do think about him sometimes and that was 20 years ago. He tripped at the very last step.
#14
One student wrote a paper about the causes of the Salem Witch Trials. She sided with the accusers because she'd 'seen some stuff,' clearly not understanding the assignment.
#15
I was a graduate instructor for a scientific writing class, where students were trained in how to consume and report on research in the form of a literature review. One student kept quiet the whole semester and declined help when I reached out to him periodically throughout.
His term paper came in with the rest, but it was…uh…markedly different. He had written 20 pages on why science was a tool of the devil, complete with quotes from the Bible, and didn’t even format the paper the way I had been teaching students all semester. Included in the paper was a snippet of an interview he conducted with his pastor.
I gave a failing grade on the paper and recommended to him that he change majors to religious studies or something.
Excelling in your studies requires discipline and having structure in your life. If you wake up whenever you want and only study sporadically, in between parties and meeting up with your friends, you’ll be relying on luck rather than skill.
#16
My old History of Modern Art prof loves to tell the story about an exam essay featuring the topic of "the male gays" instead of "the male gaze".
#17
I have taught numerous students who are unable to read for meaning. They can read the words on a page out loud to you, but ask them to explain what they just read, they will repeat the words on the page. Our country's education system is very broken.
#18
Teaching an English subject on academic writing, including the structure and importance of paragraphs, and a student then handed in a first essay that looked more like poetry - one sentence per line.
When queried, she insisted "they don't have paragraphs where I come from".
Turns out she was British...
The more orderly and less chaotic your schedule, the easier it will be to focus on your studies. Naturally, that means avoiding distractions like having Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter open while you’re supposed to be doing research. Multitasking isn’t as efficient as focusing on one thing at a time because you’ll have your flow broken. (Pssst, this works for everything, not just devouring books and articles for your studies.)
#19
Two girls were swapping thoughts on the exam and a asks b who she wrote about. B says ‘I wrote about Lenin’. A says ‘really? I don’t remember him mentioned in the lectures a lot’. B says ‘oh I know but I know a lot about him. My mum is a huge fan of his music.’
She had written about John Lennon. Not Vladimir Lenin, who’s name was clearly printed on the exam paper.
This is the same girl who, while we’re being taught about the Holocaust and shown pictures of dead inmates, said ‘what diet do you think he was on? I want my ribs to show like that’.
We were in a teaching degree, btw.
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago (edited)
It is called the "genocide diet". But most doctors actually don't approve, and neither do basically decent human beings.
#20
I used to cover for some of my profs in their intro classes. I thought it was ridiculous, but one of the profs decided she wanted to test her students on the states.
Yes, a map of the states that they just have to fill in the name of the state. The students knew a month in advance and she said they did a lesson on it.
I had to proctor and grade the test 3 times. The international students passed with flying colors just as consistently as the American students epically failed. She kept making them retake it until they, at the very least, made something more than an F.
Pilot Chick 3 years ago
I wonder about the backstory for college level assignments like this considering this was a test I took in fourth grade.
#21
I used to TA for undergrad organic chem lab courses. Had a... challenging student once who was not great at reading directions or thinking critically. We were setting up an experiment that required GENTLE heating of a volatile solvent. I explicitly told the class, multiple times, “only turn your hot plates up to 2 when heating, these things get very hot.” Maybe 30 minutes later I’m making my rounds through the lab and I pass said guy’s fume hood and notice his reaction is smoking. I look closer and see that all of the liquid in his flask is gone and its just a charred, black smoking mess (which is still heating). I ask, “Student! What’s going on with your reaction??? What’s the temperature set at?!” The guy goes, “oh, I wasn’t sure how hot to heat it, so I just turned the plate all the way up to 10. Is my reaction going to be ok?” No, no man, it’s not going to be ok... he literally boiled the thing dry
Meanwhile, being a good professor has more to do with how you communicate with people rather than how disciplined and orderly your life is. Even the most brilliant specialist, a true Einstein in their chosen field, will be derided by their students if they’re full of themselves, dismissive of others’ views, and poke fun at their ‘colleagues-in-learning.’
#22
There have been disturbingly high numbers of students on a performance based music degree who can't read music. Not musicologists or conceptual composers who could in theory get away with it. No, these were people turning up expecting to study western classical performance.
Sleepyhead 3 years ago
I always felt the same way about guitar tablatures, but to be honest, I haven’t memorized by notes either. Fun fact, my phone doesn’t recognize tablatures as a real word, so is tablature a singular noun? Please lemme know
#23
In undergrad I was taking an American history course. Our professor was from Maryland and was probably in her early forties. This kid asked her if she was one of the pearl harbor survivors. He couldn't grasp the fact that she was very much not alive at that time and that Pearl Harbor was not a harbor in Maryland.
Marcellus the Third 3 years ago
My kids keep asking me how stuff was in the Olden Days. I still don't know when these were --- I suppose they keep sliding? It used to be the 19th C, then the Interbellum (1920s--1930s), so now it's when...?
#24
I was teaching a class about college campuses in the 1960s and 70s centering on protests and activism during that time. The final paper asked the students to take an example from that time period and compare it to a more recent instance of activism on campus.
One student chose to write about instances of Martin Luther King, Jr. visiting college campuses to speak on issues of equality. That's when the student said that he had won the Nobel Prize in Sports and I just had to stop. I reread that paragraph about 10 times before I confirmed with myself that this student did indeed write what I thought they did. The rest of the paper was equally well researched and, needless to say, they did not get a good grade.
On the plus side, Martin Luther King, Jr., sports superstar, has become a running joke among my friends who were around at the time.
‘Inside Higher Ed’ suggests that educators should look at students as real people and complex individuals instead of a grey and problematic mass that’s full of the new generation’s issues. There’s a lot to be said in favor of treating people as, well, people in all areas of life. Crafting genuine connections with others will always, always trump a purely mechanical approach where every student is seen as interchangeable and a ‘temporary nuisance.’
When a professor sees their students as partners in learning (however cheesy that might sound!), learning becomes a collaboration, an unending brainstorm of ideas, a feedback loop where everyone’s a learner and a teacher at the same time.
#25
I worked at my university writing center and saw a lot of really terrible writing. SO MANY poorly written essays. I really don’t know how you can graduate from high school without at least being able to perform simple tasks like “Point to your thesis statement.”
The whole point of a writing center was to teach students to correct their own work, but there was a direct correlation between how awful a paper was and how likely the student was to throw it at you and say “I’m going to go have lunch. Will you have it fixed in an hour?” then try to leave.
The tutors all got really good at an authoritative, “Stop right there! Sit down. Now let’s talk about how YOU are going to improve YOUR paper.”
The most frustrating papers were the science majors. I could never tell if the paper was terrible or I just wasn’t following the details of their experiment on chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons or whatever.
The absolute worst was the ENGLISH MASTERS DEGREE STUDENT who came in several times with absolute gibberish. To be fair, English was his second language but... are you absolutely sure you do not want to consider a career change, my good sir?
#26
One time we had an indigenous guest speaker give a lecture about misrepresentation of First Nations culture in media at my art university. During the Q&A a student MEANT to ask the question “how do you feel about cultural appropriation of imagery from your culture by corporations?” Instead she asked “how do you feel when like H&M sells like... underwear and stuff that has like feathers on it” I have never cringed so hard in my life. The guest speaker had no idea what she was even asking him.
Julia Atkinson 3 years ago
Gross overuse of the word "like" when it serves no purpose in a sentence is a crime in itself
#27
Professor at a middle of nowhere medium sized state school with a 80-ish% acceptance rate. Had a graduate student who couldn't code for the life of him but was a software engineer at an undisclosed incredibly large aviation company. He couldn't accept that other students who didn't have jobs were better than him and that the people grading him "didn't have jobs". Sent death threats because we failed him on an assignment where his code didn't run.
He complained to the higher ups and got a C.
However friendly a professor might be, they still have to have authority in the classroom. So if their students are taking advantage of their good nature or trying to pretend they’ve read a text when they clearly haven’t, the educator has to risk being blunt and call them out on this. Politely but firmly. Bluntly but with a knowing smile.
#28
I taught a new remedial algebra class for students who had a non-traditional pre-college experience or who hadn’t taken enough math in high school to take even basic college level math.
An early section on exponents really tripped up one student. When a professor saw his grade, he instructed me to meet with the student to try to help get him on course. Upon reviewing his exam, I realized he had problems with negative numbers. I quickly sketched up a lesson about how exponents worked with negative numbers, but I was floored when his first question was “What are negative numbers?”
I spent an hour and a half working with him to no effect. I’m not even sure he even believed there was such a thing as a negative number.
Deborah B 3 years ago
Well... it's a weird idea, if you think about it. Less than nothing. If you have a glass of water, and you empty it, you have zero water...you can't have negative water. If you have temperatures, and you go below 'zero' 'zero' was an arbritary point. In personal banking, it is a change in relationship, from saving to borrowing. If you have five apples, and you give away five apples, you have zero apples. You can't give away more than you had to start with, there are no negative apples. You can promise someone more apples, and have apples you owe someone else, but these are imaginary future apples, and they still aren't negative. I was very confused by negative numbers at about age 8, and the teacher finally explained it as 'numbers moving in the other direction' and we did imaginary steps backwards from the zero line.
#29
As a college freshman I took Advanced English with a student who didn’t know how to write a research paper or even possibly read (I don’t know). When I realized she didn’t know how to research, I gave her my sources and showed her how to navigate them. The next class when we were supposed to edit each other’s rough drafts. I handed her my paper to edit, she gave it back to me after 10 seconds without reading it and said it was good. She then handed me her “paper” and it was just a list of random dates.
#30
I had a student who told me, being 100% serious, that he wouldn’t be presenting on his assigned day because he 'didn’t do the assignment and he’d go the next day.'
What do you think ?
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Stop worrying about their computer skills at age 5-13 and teach them grammar, please. I am appalled by the fact that my friends and family who speak English as a second or third language use better written English than most native speakers. (This includes US, UK, NZ, Australia, &, yes, Canada.) And BAN AUTOFILL/AUTOCORRECT. Give quizzes on meaning of similar words. If I see "palatable" for "palpable" one more time? And that is in a *medical setting*... Palate and palpate are *reallllly* different, FFS. Argh. *headdesk to tenth*
More Thinking Needed 3 years ago
Educators have a tough job. But this is nothing more than teachers complaining about how poorly their students have been previously taught. It's not amusing, it's sad.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
My one friend recently retired fro teaching high school. She often had to re-teach them common concepts like sets and fractions before she could begin basic algebra. It's a tragedy. "No Child Left Behind".... Not so much.
Load More Replies...
Raine Soo 3 years ago
How did these college students even make it this far in life? That is a mystery to me.
Tim Haight 3 years ago
it was dubya's no child left behind bulls**t. Teachers taught to the test to get the test scores so the school gets more money. Fail them. No can do. Pass them on to the next level so now their snowflake is some one else's problem.
Load More Replies...
Zuko 3 years ago
I've posted this on bored panda, ill post it once again. I knew a kid, let's call him LikeBoy, or lb because he says the word like a lot. Anyways, our class was having a discussion post about reducing are carbon footprint and all the eco friendly stuff like that. We are all asked a question and we discuss about it. The question comes to cutting down trees, and LB is asked what he thinks about it: "Like, you know, I think, like it would, like, be bad for the, like, environment, to like, you know, cut down all the, like, trees, but I guess, like, all the rich people, like need, their like, fancy golf courses, and like, mansions, so maybe like, it's ok, like". (Sorry, about like, all the, like, 'likes')
Javiera Gotelli 3 years ago (edited)
It makes me sad to see a large portion of people in the U.S don't know basic grammar. Whether it is the broken school system or people being lazy, I don't know, but grab a damn book if you don't know how to spell!
Pervinca 3 years ago
I think that instead of showing dumb students this post shows poor education. Calling them dumbs would not improve the things. The problem is in the early education thay got, both from schools and from their parents.
Matthew Hoskins 3 years ago
When highly articulate and erudite professors get hauled over the coals 3 times for compromising the institutions security by falling for Phishing attacks. The students seem relatively harmless.
Load More Replies... Logically Reasonable 3 years ago
There's a difference between STUPID and IGNORANT. Stupid means that someone does not have the appropriate mental acuity to understand that what they've learned in their little private bubble of existence, does not work or relate to anything or anyone in the outside world, or in reality. They will never "get it". Ignorant means that someone was raised without the proper tools to learn. These people are open to learn, and most actually like to learn, because they understand the concept of what is needed to function in society and the real world.
Maureen Matthew 3 years ago (edited)
Sorry but why is anyone surprised. We have put education into the hands of governments who have shown over and over and over again that they are pretty much incompetent at implementing most things. And then we as a society decide that the results are just fine. Those with money can take their kids out of failing schools or get tutors, the rest can't but we do nothing about it. In may ways I'm glad that I'm 65 and given my family history probably have 15 - 20 years left, because by that time the Western world will be toast.
Jo Choto 3 years ago
I honestly think that two things cause students to fail so badly. The first is bad teaching. The world is full of atrocious teachers who have no business being in a classroom. The second problem is ridiculous expectations of the good teachers, who are expected to get through preposterously overstuffed curricula in overcrowded classrooms, while being required to accommodate any number of special educational needs students, and often having to pay for their own tools, supplies and resources. There are two things that determine a civilized society: investment in healthcare and investment in education. So many nations have failed badly.
Maureen Matthew 3 years ago
I agree - we have lowered the standards for teaching (while at the same time demanding teachers get paid more and have more resources) and we have lowered the standards for student results. But your second point is important - schools have become the dumping ground for any society problem - bullying, drugs, sex education, etc. etc. etc. There is no way that teachers have expertise in any of those things (they barely have expertise in the subjects they teach - don't get me on about math and science 'teachers). So schools spend more and more time on issues like bullying rather than teaching johnny to read, and then we are shocked when johnny can't read or write, or add or multiple, or know anything about basic science. Which might be the plan - if your population is ill educated they can be easily lead.
Load More Replies... Matthew Hoskins 3 years ago
When I was studying computing in the 80s we had an assignment to write a program in machine code and I duly got on with it, 3 days before the due date a pal asked to see my working code which I said was awful but he could take a look. I then rewrote the whole thing and handed my new code in. When the assignment was due to be returned to us the Lecturer sent me and a couple of others off the have a coffee with a stern look. As we left feeling very anxious we saw the head of the first year entering the room after us. Later I learned that the whole class bar myself and the other 2 had handed in my dubious first attempt verbatim. this collective act of plagiarism was a major scandal as it meant a major telling off and 40+ students with permanent black marks on their records. I got 90%.
Joyce Blodgett 1 year ago
Precisely why my niece taught for only one year, then changed to a much better position within the school system (IT, but not teaching it). She said that it was mighty discouraging to see the 'work' the so-called "gifted" students she taught turned in. One year, and she chose to get out of teaching altogether. Can't say I blame her. She's a lot happier now, and both she and her husband have excellent careers without having to deal with the idiocies of teaching.
DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
I worked with a girl who was a senior in college who didn't know how to use a broom. She literally held it on front of her and patted the floor...
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
I had to stop reading this before I facepalmed myself into unconsciousness. The educational [sic] system in the U.S. is in desperate need of a serious overhaul!
Tim Haight 3 years ago
In the case of the for profit colleges like ITT Tech and Corinthian College, they make money pressuring students to take out these predatory loans. ITT Tech charged something like $20K for an AA degree that can;t be transferred. Most likely they recruiters (more like used car salesman) went to the unemployment offices and homeless shelters. Then when they default they are screwed.
Load More Replies...
Kuroka 3 years ago
Once I was in a 9th grade class (world history) and the teacher had us do an assignment where we'd go over and label the continents. Apparently there was an issue with kids not knowing where/what the continents were. Then the teacher went on to say that anyone who had a problem with the assignment had a ''high superiority complex'' and that he was ''glad you have such an ego, but some still have to go over it.'' Mind you, the kids in class were 15-16.
u brio 3 years ago (edited)
Now do professors. I once had a professor come to my office and asked me how to use the microwave. I said just put the food in, press how many minutes and then hit the start button. She asked me to show her in person. I did, even though I had never used this particular microwave before. I will make an allowance for her since even though she had a PhD, it was in women's studies. Similar issue with copiers. All the professors had a Phd, but all asked how to use the copier. No one showed me how to use it, I just figured it out. But I had to show all the "brains" how to use it.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Stop worrying about their computer skills at age 5-13 and teach them grammar, please. I am appalled by the fact that my friends and family who speak English as a second or third language use better written English than most native speakers. (This includes US, UK, NZ, Australia, &, yes, Canada.) And BAN AUTOFILL/AUTOCORRECT. Give quizzes on meaning of similar words. If I see "palatable" for "palpable" one more time? And that is in a *medical setting*... Palate and palpate are *reallllly* different, FFS. Argh. *headdesk to tenth*
More Thinking Needed 3 years ago
Educators have a tough job. But this is nothing more than teachers complaining about how poorly their students have been previously taught. It's not amusing, it's sad.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
My one friend recently retired fro teaching high school. She often had to re-teach them common concepts like sets and fractions before she could begin basic algebra. It's a tragedy. "No Child Left Behind".... Not so much.
Load More Replies... Raine Soo 3 years ago
How did these college students even make it this far in life? That is a mystery to me.
Tim Haight 3 years ago
it was dubya's no child left behind bulls**t. Teachers taught to the test to get the test scores so the school gets more money. Fail them. No can do. Pass them on to the next level so now their snowflake is some one else's problem.
Load More Replies... Zuko 3 years ago
I've posted this on bored panda, ill post it once again. I knew a kid, let's call him LikeBoy, or lb because he says the word like a lot. Anyways, our class was having a discussion post about reducing are carbon footprint and all the eco friendly stuff like that. We are all asked a question and we discuss about it. The question comes to cutting down trees, and LB is asked what he thinks about it: "Like, you know, I think, like it would, like, be bad for the, like, environment, to like, you know, cut down all the, like, trees, but I guess, like, all the rich people, like need, their like, fancy golf courses, and like, mansions, so maybe like, it's ok, like". (Sorry, about like, all the, like, 'likes')
Javiera Gotelli 3 years ago (edited)
It makes me sad to see a large portion of people in the U.S don't know basic grammar. Whether it is the broken school system or people being lazy, I don't know, but grab a damn book if you don't know how to spell!
Pervinca 3 years ago
I think that instead of showing dumb students this post shows poor education. Calling them dumbs would not improve the things. The problem is in the early education thay got, both from schools and from their parents.
Matthew Hoskins 3 years ago
When highly articulate and erudite professors get hauled over the coals 3 times for compromising the institutions security by falling for Phishing attacks. The students seem relatively harmless.
Load More Replies... Logically Reasonable 3 years ago
There's a difference between STUPID and IGNORANT. Stupid means that someone does not have the appropriate mental acuity to understand that what they've learned in their little private bubble of existence, does not work or relate to anything or anyone in the outside world, or in reality. They will never "get it". Ignorant means that someone was raised without the proper tools to learn. These people are open to learn, and most actually like to learn, because they understand the concept of what is needed to function in society and the real world.
Maureen Matthew 3 years ago (edited)
Sorry but why is anyone surprised. We have put education into the hands of governments who have shown over and over and over again that they are pretty much incompetent at implementing most things. And then we as a society decide that the results are just fine. Those with money can take their kids out of failing schools or get tutors, the rest can't but we do nothing about it. In may ways I'm glad that I'm 65 and given my family history probably have 15 - 20 years left, because by that time the Western world will be toast.
Jo Choto 3 years ago
I honestly think that two things cause students to fail so badly. The first is bad teaching. The world is full of atrocious teachers who have no business being in a classroom. The second problem is ridiculous expectations of the good teachers, who are expected to get through preposterously overstuffed curricula in overcrowded classrooms, while being required to accommodate any number of special educational needs students, and often having to pay for their own tools, supplies and resources. There are two things that determine a civilized society: investment in healthcare and investment in education. So many nations have failed badly.
Maureen Matthew 3 years ago
I agree - we have lowered the standards for teaching (while at the same time demanding teachers get paid more and have more resources) and we have lowered the standards for student results. But your second point is important - schools have become the dumping ground for any society problem - bullying, drugs, sex education, etc. etc. etc. There is no way that teachers have expertise in any of those things (they barely have expertise in the subjects they teach - don't get me on about math and science 'teachers). So schools spend more and more time on issues like bullying rather than teaching johnny to read, and then we are shocked when johnny can't read or write, or add or multiple, or know anything about basic science. Which might be the plan - if your population is ill educated they can be easily lead.
Load More Replies... Matthew Hoskins 3 years ago
When I was studying computing in the 80s we had an assignment to write a program in machine code and I duly got on with it, 3 days before the due date a pal asked to see my working code which I said was awful but he could take a look. I then rewrote the whole thing and handed my new code in. When the assignment was due to be returned to us the Lecturer sent me and a couple of others off the have a coffee with a stern look. As we left feeling very anxious we saw the head of the first year entering the room after us. Later I learned that the whole class bar myself and the other 2 had handed in my dubious first attempt verbatim. this collective act of plagiarism was a major scandal as it meant a major telling off and 40+ students with permanent black marks on their records. I got 90%.
Joyce Blodgett 1 year ago
Precisely why my niece taught for only one year, then changed to a much better position within the school system (IT, but not teaching it). She said that it was mighty discouraging to see the 'work' the so-called "gifted" students she taught turned in. One year, and she chose to get out of teaching altogether. Can't say I blame her. She's a lot happier now, and both she and her husband have excellent careers without having to deal with the idiocies of teaching.
DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
I worked with a girl who was a senior in college who didn't know how to use a broom. She literally held it on front of her and patted the floor...
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
I had to stop reading this before I facepalmed myself into unconsciousness. The educational [sic] system in the U.S. is in desperate need of a serious overhaul!
Tim Haight 3 years ago
In the case of the for profit colleges like ITT Tech and Corinthian College, they make money pressuring students to take out these predatory loans. ITT Tech charged something like $20K for an AA degree that can;t be transferred. Most likely they recruiters (more like used car salesman) went to the unemployment offices and homeless shelters. Then when they default they are screwed.
Load More Replies... Kuroka 3 years ago
Once I was in a 9th grade class (world history) and the teacher had us do an assignment where we'd go over and label the continents. Apparently there was an issue with kids not knowing where/what the continents were. Then the teacher went on to say that anyone who had a problem with the assignment had a ''high superiority complex'' and that he was ''glad you have such an ego, but some still have to go over it.'' Mind you, the kids in class were 15-16.
u brio 3 years ago (edited)
Now do professors. I once had a professor come to my office and asked me how to use the microwave. I said just put the food in, press how many minutes and then hit the start button. She asked me to show her in person. I did, even though I had never used this particular microwave before. I will make an allowance for her since even though she had a PhD, it was in women's studies. Similar issue with copiers. All the professors had a Phd, but all asked how to use the copier. No one showed me how to use it, I just figured it out. But I had to show all the "brains" how to use it.
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