A produvtive day?????

high school teacher? i've never said this to any of my students, but there's been times when i've thought it (almost out loud)...:teacher:

caputo1989 said:

Yes, it is my high school english teacher.

Click to expand...

Then I bet he spelled it all correctly. You may want to listen to him in this case...

i teach chem...sorry about your teacher. i would NEVER say that to any of my students. it's been 4 years, and though i've had some real *winners*, i've avoided saying that to any of them. truth is, most of them are probably fine now...

He is an ass. Get over it. High school doesn't particularly matter unless you get a 4.0 anyway.

blue said:

He is an ass. Get over it. High school doesn't particularly matter unless you get a 4.0 anyway.

Click to expand...

I'm sure having a 3.0 or 4.0 vs a 2.0 can make a difference as to what college you are getting into. I also know that no matter what your grades are, the entrance essays and exams mean a hell of a lot more. So spelling college, burden and wreckless correctly, may come in handy.

Transcend said:

I'm sure having a 3.0 or 4.0 vs a 2.0 can make a difference as to what college you are getting into. I also know that no matter what your grades are, the entrance essays and exams mean a hell of a lot more. So spelling college, burden and wreckless correctly, may come in handy.

Click to expand...

yet more evidence of how spellcheck and text messaging has created a new monster...

Transcend said:

I'm sure having a 3.0 or 4.0 vs a 2.0 can make a difference as to what college you are getting into. I also know that no matter what your grades are, the entrance essays and exams mean a hell of a lot more. So spelling college, burden and wreckless correctly, may come in handy.

Click to expand...

Actually grades mean more than anything else in the college application process, according to my nationally recognized college advisor.

stephanie said:

yet more evidence of how spellcheck and text messaging has created a new monster...

Click to expand...

You know, I used to think that. However, I work online and have since before I graduated highschool in 1995. I am now online pretty much 24 hours a day, send text messages every few minutes and am constantly connected to about 5 messenger services on my laptop or PDA.

I still manage to spell things correctly, except definitely...what the hell is my problem with this word? It is my nemesis.

It has nothing to do with technology, it has to do with sheer laziness.

How many times have kids on this very board posted something along the lines of : "Sry I dont spend tme to edet my posts on a foram. Ur stoopid." They just don't seem to care.

Regardless of what grades mean, if the teacher laid it out like that, he is a pile of sh*t and should lose his job. What the hell is wrong with teachers respecting students and parents the same way they wish to be respected???

Kopiklokoli said:

Actually grades mean more than anything else in the college application process, according to my nationally recognized college advisor.

Click to expand...

I have attended 3 universities. My grades out of high school were pretty much standard, nothing extravagant. My entrance essays got me into the programs I wanted to be in without any entrance interviews (including journalism).

If you are applying to a science based program, this is probably the case. For anything besides this, grades just prove you aren't a complete moron who slid through. High grades really don't count for much, and can easily be made up for if you are the least bit intelligent.

I know some people who graduated with 4.0s, who couldn't put together a coherent sentence and didn't get into their first or second choice schools.

loco said:

Regardless of what grades mean, if the teacher laid it out like that, he is a pile of sh*t and should lose his job. What the hell is wrong with teachers respecting students and parents the same way they wish to be respected???

Click to expand...

Good luck. Teachers unions > you, me and the rest of civilized society combined.

Transcend said:

Good luck. Teachers unions > you, me and the rest of civilized society combined.

Click to expand...

If that's what they rest on, like the rest of the pathetic pukes in any union I have been around, I feel for them. It's not right to treat a kid like that. This kid, while not spelling correctly, stated he has an issue. That's uncool in itself, but he deals with it. From all the kids here, he seems the least menacing to me. It's not like he is a raving idiot. The teacher had no right. It's like they aren't diggin' the lesson plan so they decide to sh*t on a dyslexic kid's self esteem??? Bullsh*t. :mumble:

loco said:

If that's what they rest on, like the rest of the pathetic pukes in any union I have been around, I feel for them. It's not right to treat a kid like that. This kid, while not spelling correctly, stated he has an issue. That's uncool in itself, but he deals with it. From all the kids here, he seems the least menacing to me. It's not like he is a raving idiot. The teacher had no right. It's like they aren't diggin' the lesson plan so they decide to sh*t on a dyslexic kid's self esteem??? Bullsh*t. :mumble:

Click to expand...

Oh I am not saying he is right, far from it. Just saying that teachers unions are pretty much an impenetrable barrier of stupidity, unless they actually sleep with the student.

However when they hit college, they need to be berated for being an idiot/not trying/not caring.

I am talking about getting into college, not specific programs; I am a high school senior and have spent many hours in the college advisors office. Obviously I don't know much about specific programs in college, but the reason colleges do not pay as much attention to prospective students essays these days is because now students get tutors, teachers etc to spend hours perfecting them. That is the same reason some colleges do not even ask for essays. Take the University of Oregon for example, if you have a GPA over 3.25 they accept you guaranteed, and you don’t have to write the essay. I strongly suspect that if you gradated high school with flawless grades (4.0) you are at the very least capable of putting together a coherent sentence. Although maybe I am being incoherent myself and don’t even know it.

Transcend said:

Oh I am not saying he is right, far from it. Just saying that teachers unions are pretty much an impenetrable barrier of stupidity, unless they actually sleep with the student.

However when they hit college, they need to be berated for being an idiot/not trying/not caring.

Click to expand...

Ahh - I'm with ya.

I agree on the college part. I don't even have my associate's degree yet because no one really explained it to me. I was a slacker too. It's funny - when I grew up (some) I did well in college, but then I started working and quit going, 2 classes shy of an associate's. I should work towards a bachelor's instead, but I don't like that much structure in my life.

Kopiklokoli said:

I strongly suspect that if you gradated high school with flawless grades (4.0) you are at the very least capable of putting together a coherent sentence.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't count on it. I know people who graduated from University who still cannot do that. It is so bad, that a few local universities are giving EXIT exams in english. If you don't pass, you don't graduate and you have to take remedial english courses. There really is no excuse.

I was a TA and graded papers. You cannot even fathom the amount of crap that college students hand in as serious papers. They use paragraph long run-ons, 3 ideas in one sentence, lousy to non-existent punctuation, an inability to put together a thesis statement etc etc. It is mind numbing.

I make typos, you make typos, we all make typos. But holy cow, some of the nonsense that professors have to wade through makes the baby jesus cry.

I type quickly, but like a hack. I have to go back and correct typos all over the place. The most annoying thing (for me) was journalism courses; 3 typos and you fail the assignment. Ouch.

Things have changed since I first applied to school for the first time (1996). I also did my first applications in Canada, where you don't just apply to the university, you apply into your major. No exceptions. After that they carry over your Post Sec work, so it doesn't really matter after that.

However, just getting into the school is only step 1, you actually need to be accepted into a program. It'd suck to do a year or 2, declare a major that you intended to do all along, and then not get accepted...

College sounds easy if thats going to be my competition, i was actually thinking of majoring in journalism.

Transcend said:

I also know that no matter what your grades are, the entrance essays and exams mean a hell of a lot more.

Click to expand...

Not in the United States.

loco said:

Ahh - I'm with ya.

I agree on the college part. I don't even have my associate's degree yet because no one really explained it to me. I was a slacker too. It's funny - when I grew up (some) I did well in college, but then I started working and quit going, 2 classes shy of an associate's. I should work towards a bachelor's instead, but I don't like that much structure in my life.

Click to expand...

I had teachers in high school try and set me straight. It didn't really do anything. My first year in University I had a few very influential professors who did manage to help, once and awhile by berating me in their offices...it worked. I now have more paper than i ever needed, and don't really use any of it for my job.

However, I am not blind to the world around me like so many, and have several job opportunities waiting for me should I decide to up and change careers. It was also fun as hell, and I got to have other people pay for school for me because I ran really fast in circles.

Best 7 years of my life.

My intent is not to be a jerk Transcend, it just seems crazy that with the intense competition to even be admitted to college at the very least every student should be proficient in basic writing.

Kopiklokoli said:

College sounds easy if thats going to be my competition, i was actually thinking of majoring in journalism.

Click to expand...

I can guarantee that you won't be getting into that program anywhere without some pretty serious competition, and some MAJOR entrance essays and interviews.

I managed to skip the interviews (barely) due to my essays and my large portfolio of published/broadcasted work at the time.

Kopiklokoli said:

My intent is not to be a jerk Transcend, it just seems crazy that with the intense competition to even be admitted to college at the very least every student should be proficient in basic writing.

Click to expand...

You'd think, wouldn't you? Sadly, that isn't the case.

blue said:

Not in the United States.

Click to expand...

I went to school down there.

A) Where?

B) Why?

C) Grades/SAT?

I think the lesson to be learned is "who gives a F what other people think of you?"

Asking that kind of question, particularily to a person who doesn't care for you, is like slow pitching to Albert Pujols. Not only could that person point out every little thing that bothers him about you, he could also bring out every weakness in him.

Lets say your teacher is a worry wart, afraid to jog down the staircase, lest he trips and breaks his neck. He might resent the average mountain biking teenager for the seeming carefree attitude he has towards danger.

I feel my strengths and abilities are no different now that I am in my 30's than when I was a teenager. But I was so unconfident, I could not think or speak clearly. I sought answers from people who were not my friends, and I was hurt by it.

Today, I know how I think and react, and in my twenties, I started to learn how other people thought and reacted as well. Now I feel very confident and happy, and I while I acknowledge other people's opinions of me, only the people I love do I really care what their opinions.

Here is a saying I think applies here:

"Know thy enemy and know thyself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know thyself but not thy enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not thyself, wallow in defeat every time."

Bah.

My problem seems to be that I really don't see the value in going to school, so I have no motivation. I got a 3.8 and a 28 or 29 on my ACT (Utah thing...don't know why), but I'm perfectly happy doing what I do now, riding my bike and making sandwiches for seven dollars an hour. I don't know why going to school for four years and giving thousands of dollars to a public institution is supposed to make me a happier and/or better person.

blue said:

Bah.

My problem seems to be that I really don't see the value in going to school, so I have no motivation. I got a 3.8 and a 28 or 29 on my ACT (Utah thing...don't know why), but I'm perfectly happy doing what I do now, riding my bike and making sandwiches for seven dollars an hour. I don't know why going to school for four years and giving thousands of dollars to a public institution is supposed to make me a happier and/or better person.

Click to expand...

Because $7 an hour buys you a ****ty trailer somewhere when you have real bills to pay and a family later on in life. It also blows.

I enjoyed what I did in school tremendously, I enjoyed partying with absolute abandon, and enjoyed being on some of the top athletics teams in the nation. College is fun, no matter what anyone tells you.

When you leave, you also realize that the education you received there was absolutely priceless. You see the world around you in a completely different light. (Well, I did J school and Poli Sci, this probably doesn't apply for computer nerds and number crunchers).

I enjoyed working as a journalist much more than I would have flipping burgers, but didn't dig the 24 hour a day job. To get good at that game you have to stick with it for dozens of years, and I honestly don't think I could stand reporting on what amounts to human misery, day in and day out. It got old REALLY fast.

I like what I do now, working on my own terms as a freelancer. I still string for some of the larger organizations and can pay the bills pretty easily from the web stuff. I wouldn't have the drive, organizations skills, time management skills or people skills (heh) that I do if I had not attended university. (Yes I have people skills, i prefer to save them for my clients and business contacts however).

Transcend said:

I have attended 3 universities. My grades out of high school were pretty much standard, nothing extravagant. My entrance essays got me into the programs I wanted to be in without any entrance interviews (including journalism).

If you are applying to a science based program, this is probably the case. For anything besides this, grades just prove you aren't a complete moron who slid through. High grades really don't count for much, and can easily be made up for if you are the least bit intelligent.

I know some people who graduated with 4.0s, who couldn't put together a coherent sentence and didn't get into their first or second choice schools.

Click to expand...

I'm on my second university. I came out of HS with a 3.4, didn't really try too hard. 1220 on the SAT, good enough to get me into the majority of good schools. Even so, it was the essays that got the scholarships. I'm not brilliant, but I know what counts, and I put my greatest effort towards that. Caputo, don't listen to that ass.

kinghami3 said:

I'm on my second university. I came out of HS with a 3.4, didn't really try too hard. 1220 on the SAT, good enough to get me into the majority of good schools. Even so, it was the essays that got the scholarships. I'm not brilliant, but I know what counts, and I put my greatest effort towards that. Caputo, don't listen to that ass.

Click to expand...

BINGO. I think I had a 3.2 or something. It wasn't very high at all because I honestly just didn't care. I did well in Gym, English, Geography and History. Not surprisingly, the only subjects I was interested in.

When I was first contemplating grad school, a professor i was TAing for who happenned to be an awesome friend as well told me that "if you have to pay for grad school, you shouldn't be there".

If you can put together some bad ass papers and jump through the entrance and scholarship hoops, you can go wherever you want for free. Grades don't mean a thing.

Transcend said:

I enjoyed working as a journalist much more than I would have flipping burgers, but didn't dig the 24 hour a day job. To get good at that game you have to stick with it for dozens of years, and I honestly don't think I could stand reporting on what amounts to human misery, day in and day out. It got old REALLY fast.

Click to expand...

I spent my sophomore year dreaming of being a journalist. Worked hard in the classes and did quite well, but in the end I looked at it and knew i didn't have the drive to do it in the real world.

I'm glad to hear that the writing skills have paid off for you. Currently I'm doing marketing and PR writing for a small company, but planning on sending some applications off to see what I can get as a copy editor or copy writer for some place larger. I don't mind my current job, meet cool people, eat good food for free, take photos, work with interesting companies, but I think I might need more structure. I am not cut out for the freelance gig yet, which is what the job is turning out to be in some ways.

As for me, college was well worth it (though I didn't pay, my folks did...thanks mom and dad ). I studied my ass off, learned more than I could imagine, partied more than I ever thought I could, and even got to see some of the world. If I could go back I'd have joined the XC team freshman year instead of dropping out of running and I might have gone to a CC for the basic classes (save some money). Other than that I'm quite happy with what I did. We'll see if it pays off.

Anyone who says that to a kid in high school doesn't deserve to teach. I have lost count of the high school slackers I knew who have rocketed forward in college and the oh-so-bright ones that went belly up after high school. You change too much for any teacher to be able to say that. Personally I'd be reporting him.

As for grades, I was one of the semi-bright ones. 1400 SAT (780 Math, 620 English) and a 3.6 GPA. Bunch of sports crap too. And I wrote some mighty fine essays too, go into every school I applied to, wish more of them had offered some $$$.

Transcend, did you go to grad school? I've had multiple teachers tell me the same thing. I'll be jumping through that hoop in a few years.

The Ito

Transcend said:

BINGO. I think I had a 3.2 or something. It wasn't very high at all because I honestly just didn't care. I did well in Gym, English, Geography and History. Not surprisingly, the only subjects I was interested in.

When I was first contemplating grad school, a professor i was TAing for who happenned to be an awesome friend as well told me that "if you have to pay for grad school, you shouldn't be there".

If you can put together some bad ass papers and jump through the entrance and scholarship hoops, you can go wherever you want for free. Grades don't mean a thing.

Click to expand...

That's what worries me right now, I'm not sure that I have what it takes for grad school. Realistically, I can work my ass of and just not do that great; I'm a smart guy but I hate playing to the professor, and it shows in my grades (3.0~3.1). Still, I want to go to grad school, and I do expect to end up paying for it, at least some.

To Caputo and everyone who thinks the teacher is a jerk:

Maybe we're not hearing both sides of the story here. Sure, teachers shouldn't crap on their students as a matter of course, but, I imagine there was some sort of buildup to this situation.

Wreckless? Does this have to do with riding your bike? If so, that's none of his business so he can screw off. But if he's just sick of you being an ass in his class, or you have been demonstrating some sort of lack of respect, then maybe you should heed his words. Inwardly at least...could be a blow to the ego, but I think that some kids need that nowadays. In MY day.....

I just didn't like the tone which was closer to: "Yeah man, teachers are assholes, man. Keep tryin' to bring me down, man" , or whatever...

At AOF, the teachers can really say whatever they want. Literally, cursing, insults, it's all fair game. It can be sort of fun sometimes. Makes my english class alot more interesting.

Often times people need a reality check to get themselves back on the right path. What your teacher said may have been off based and uncalled for, but I'm sure in a percentage of students it makes them ponder how they have indeed created a path leading nowhere. Granted it does not mean that they have to take this path, but it brings them to the realization before they are too far to turn back. Some heed the warning, others do not, and I can't say that I fault him for being so blunt.

Da Peach said:

To Caputo and everyone who thinks the teacher is a jerk:

Maybe we're not hearing both sides of the story here. Sure, teachers shouldn't crap on their students as a matter of course, but, I imagine there was some sort of buildup to this situation.

Wreckless? Does this have to do with riding your bike? If so, that's none of his business so he can screw off. But if he's just sick of you being an ass in his class, or you have been demonstrating some sort of lack of respect, then maybe you should heed his words. Inwardly at least...could be a blow to the ego, but I think that some kids need that nowadays. In MY day.....

I just didn't like the tone which was closer to: "Yeah man, teachers are assholes, man. Keep tryin' to bring me down, man" , or whatever...

Click to expand...

I'm with you.

I have often bit my tongue in order to keep my job. I choose not to engage in all of the "water cooler" talk about students when with other faculty. I would rather form my own opinions. When I form an opinion that way I know it is my own and not influenced by others.

I also think that the several times that a teacher knocked me down a few pegs, it always seamed to motivate me. As a teacher now, I have the job of finding out what buttons to push to motivate my students, for some of them you just need to tell them what to do, others you need to find creative ways to get them focused on the bigger picture.

We can only wait and see if his assessment of you is accurate or if you take it as a challenge and motivate yourself to not be that person in the headlines!

If you are acting like a jerk in his class, my advice to you is stop, you are probably only a short time away from summer vacation, just calm down and focus.

blue said:

Bah.

My problem seems to be that I really don't see the value in going to school, so I have no motivation. I got a 3.8 and a 28 or 29 on my ACT (Utah thing...don't know why), but I'm perfectly happy doing what I do now, riding my bike and making sandwiches for seven dollars an hour. I don't know why going to school for four years and giving thousands of dollars to a public institution is supposed to make me a happier and/or better person.

Click to expand...

Somebody needs to save this post and send it back to blue in 15 years.

Da Peach said:

To Caputo and everyone who thinks the teacher is a jerk:

Maybe we're not hearing both sides of the story here.

Click to expand...

You can be *SURE* that when caputo is speaking that there is WAY more to the story. I'll bet dollars to donuts that the teacher's words weren't even close to what was reported.

Sack up caputo, dig in, and prove your teacher wrong.

caputo1989 said:

I also happen to have extrordanary grades in math and science.

Click to expand...

Don't worry too much about it kid. You sound a little like me when I was your age. I'm dsylexic / adhd. I did miserably my freshman year in HS but I was smart enough to figure out the system and got good grades with out actually doing anything for the rest of my years in HS.

College was a little different. I had professors in college that told me I would never amount to anything, that I should give up engineering and do something else because I would never get it. I just used that as motivation to work even harder. F*&^ them! Anyway once I got past all the core courses (and power tripping professors) and into my major classes I did really well. In fact now I'm a professor.

You'll run into some good teachers and some bad. Learn as much as you can from the good ones and don't worry too much about the assholes. They probably have something going on at home that they have no control over and so they take it out on you, the easy target.

Good luck.