This teacher is weird

[Tyrael]

Hmm, I really can't understand the motivations of my Study Skills teacher.

First, he wants us to keep a journal and write in it at least once a week. Then he wants to read it and grade it. I can't really understand what the point of this little exercise is except to give us something to do while we're outside his class. Besides what's the point of keeping a journal if you let people read it. Kinda defeats the purpose of the thing. The next thing I don't like is he wants me to use a planner. One of those day by day planner things you use to write down important appointments on....which shall be graded as well. Doesn't he have anything better to do than wonder what I'm going to be doing over the weekend?

It just seems like a waste of time to me.

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Hmm, I really can't understand the motivations of my Study Skills teacher.

First, he wants us to keep a journal and write in it at least once a week. Then he wants to read it and grade it. I can't really understand what the point of this little exercise is except to give us something to do while we're outside his class. Besides what's the point of keeping a journal if you let people read it. Kinda defeats the purpose of the thing. The next thing I don't like is he wants me to use a planner. One of those day by day planner things you use to write down important appointments on....which shall be graded as well. Doesn't he have anything better to do than wonder what I'm going to be doing over the weekend?

It just seems like a waste of time to me.

Most Study Skills teachers use similar assignments to get you in the habit of writing things down. When you start with something like keeping appointments with friends, you slowly learn to build the habit, which transfers itself to your home work, or whatever. The journal is to get you to think about what's going on in your life, and therefor help you think about what you need to plan around. Personally, I don't like the idea of a graded journal either, but generally, I wrote most of my entries in class journals before class. Switch out pens, and handwriting styles, remember the dates correctly, and vary the length. You should be fine.

 

[Tyrael]

Heh, what friends/life?

I don't know bout you but there are some things a college teacher just has no business asking. Details of my personal life being one of them. If I wanted him to know about my private escapades, I'd tell him.

The whole grading part rubs me the wrong way to. Suppose he doesn't approve of something I write? Besides, how can he possibly grade it to begin with?

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Heh, what friends/life?

I don't know bout you but there are some things a college teacher just has no business asking. Details of my personal life being one of them. If I wanted him to know about my private escapades, I'd tell him.

I don't agree with it either, but it supposedly works. Personally, it taught me how to bullshit assignments quicker, and the tricks I mentioned above. For yourself, keep a list of what you did each week, so you don't repeat, and don't fall into a pattern. You only have 2 grandmothers and 2 grandfathers, and there should only be a resonable amount of dead aunts and uncles, otherwise your teacher might get an inkling. Good Luck!

 

[Tyrael]

Hmm, I'll give it a shot. It's going to be quite difficult though to keep the material changing.

Too bad I can't write erotica in my journal....this guy is the posterboy for "Stick-Up-the-Ass", Inc. Heh....

 

[Weird Harold]

Hmm, I'll give it a shot. It's going to be quite difficult though to keep the material changing.

Too bad I can't write erotica in my journal....this guy is the posterboy for "Stick-Up-the-Ass", Inc. Heh....

Just out of curiosity, why are you taking "Study Skills" anyway?

I don't see why you can't write erotica in your journal, it's a recording of what goes on in your life, no? Since you have to write in it at least once a week, just record your regular friday night through Sunday evening orgy.

On a more serious note, if you go into any class with the idea that what the teacher asks you to do for that class doesn't make any sense, then you're not giving the teacher a chance to teach you. presumably, you're in a class instead of teaching it because the teacher knows more than you do about the subject. There is usually a method to the madness behind any class assignment that you could see if you already knew the material.

 

[SilverVeil]

Monday- Submit new beastiality story to Lit

2pm- pick up rope and handcuffs

6pm- meet cyber slave online for session


Tuesday

Confirm appt for ball waxing on Wed

10am - build cross for punishing new subs on this weekend

3pm- troll the mall for sex partners

Wednesday

Have balls waxed





Sorry I could not resist this.

 

[riff]

I would feel the same way you do. However-

Keeping a journal of anykind is a good thing. Writing is just one form of thinking and the more you do it, the better you get. So far as I am concerned, anything textual thing is a journal entry. If you doodle, your doodle will describe your day. If you draw or paint or play music (and record it), these will describe your day too. All of these things are poeisis (sp?)... the act of creating, making, and if you put yourself into what you make, you've made your journal entry.

Hmmmm.... If I rolled a joint, would that be ajournal entry? Dunno?

Your writings here are journal entries. You know where your head was at when you wrote them.

As for the planner, using one successfully is a skill that takes practice. I use Franklin Covey and I agree with the philosphy of it, though I am not a micro-manager and some people take these things to the extreme. I can tell you that using my planner helps me get focused, set goals, get things done. I had slacked off on using it and guess what happened, I got slacky (not such a bad thing considering how over worked I was last year and the year before). But I am looking to this year as a year of change and I am gonna need that focus using my planner gives me to get the things done that I want to get done.

But again, I would feel uncomfortable having someone look at myt stuff.

 

[cymbidia]

The journal writing may be to get you used to doing something you might not do all on your own at a regular time and place on a daily basis.

The "grading" will likely be a pass/fail thing; either you did it or you didn't. If he's not telling you it'll be pass/fail, it's probably cuz he doesn't think he can trust you to do it if you knew you weren't going to get graded. I've never done this as part of a class or assigned it to students as part of their class work and not have the "grading" be pass/fail.

You have to keep a planner so you'll know when stuff is due and when tests are coming. Again, you need to have it graded so you'll do it.

I feel really sorry for your teacher having to teach such a class to people who really ought to be independant enough not to need it. I teach all my 7th and 8th grade students the same thing you're learning now, explaining to them that no one will give a flying fuck whether they know how to keep track of thier time in college. (I, uh, use different language to them.) I guess i've been lying to them; people get coddled and catered to even into college.

Buck up, dude. Do the work. Quit whining.

 

[seXieleXie]

guess what, your professor doesn't want to hear about what you did during the weekend. he wants you to learn how to keep track of your schedual. he wants you to immediatly apply the skills you are learning to your life.

you'd be amazed at what you can learn from a journal. if you wrote a little blurb about your day every day for 30 days you'd be amazed at what you'll find out about yourself.

give the teacher the benefit of the doubt. sometimes the weird ones are the ones who teach you the best

 

[Tyrael]

Hmm, "Quit whining"...that's fucking rich.

I'll have you know that's I have been doing the damn assignments keeping a seemingly decent journal and keeping track of all my assignments. Of course I've been keeping track of my assignments since I was in 5th grade so I think I understandf how to do it.

The whole point to the questions I asked I how in the hell me writing a journal about my personal thoughts is going to help me pass exams?

Why am I taking it? Because the classes I'm taking now involve a lot of memorization and knowing the meanings of like hundreds of different words, their suffixes, prefixes, and how to combine them correctly. And I'm not going to lie...I suck at memorizing things so I had hoped this class would teach me how I could best learn this.

I would gather the reason most student don't do things they are not graded on is because they have a hell of a lot of other stuff to do that IS being graded and is required for the particular program they are in. I didn't have to take this class but I did in the hopes I could learn a way to best learn terminology based lecture classes.

All I asked for was a basic explanation as to how a journal would help...and I get a "quit whining"....fine.

 

[riff]

Hey man!

I didn't tell you to quit whining.

But I teach. I am one of THEM. Should have kept my mouth shut.

 

[Tyrael]

Sorry, Riff. I was not speaking to you. You actually told me something I could use. That I wasn't giving him a chance and should try to see it from his point of veiw. But I can't do that til I understand his motivations. I'm gonna swing by his office early tom and ask him about that. It's the best wat to find out, wouldn't you say?

 

[riff]

You are smarter than I am.

Simple. You fucking nailed it on the head. Go for it!

 

[Mischka]

• You're in college. If you don't understand the point of an assignment or lecture, go talk to the professor during his office hours. It's not only encouraged, it's expected.
• You are in a class named Study Skills. Keeping a journal reinforces the idea of repetitive tasks over a period of time. Studying is repetitive. The assignment is designed to help you learn patterns.
• To borrow from cym, your professor could give a flying fuck as to your innermost personal thoughts. This is not Creative Writing. You could ramble on about the slice of cheese on your sandwich at lunch today. The point of the exercise is the act of writing, not the content.
• The daily planner is key to well organized study habits. Again, the professor expects you to be filling it with your study sessions, not your personal life. If your personal entries about keggers and movie nights are taking up that much space, you need to reevaluate your study habits as it is.
• You were whining. Complaining about assignments without discussing them with the professor first is tantamount to whining. But I assume you're a freshman - it's expected.

 

[Tyrael]

Ah shit.. I was whining. Well I am a freshman I'll grow out of it. Sorry bout the outburst. I guess I'm too sensitive and perceived constructive criticism as a personal attack.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Weird Harold]

Why am I taking it? Because the classes I'm taking now involve a lot of memorization and knowing the meanings of like hundreds of different words, their suffixes, prefixes, and how to combine them correctly. And I'm not going to lie...I suck at memorizing things so I had hoped this class would teach me how I could best learn this.

It doesn't sound like "Study Skills" is the course you need. "Study Skills" is a class designed for people who haven't had cymbidia or her peers as a teacher -- students who haven't been keeping track of their assignments since fifth grade.

Other than the late night infomercials that promise you a photographic memory without any effort, I don't know that there is a course taught anywhere that can improve memorization skills -- it's just not proper to teach by rote memorization, doncha know.

The only ways I know of to memorize anything are reptetive drill, and menomic triggers. Repetitive drill is pretty much self explanatory.

Mnnemonic triggers are thing like "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to memorize the lines of a musical staff. Most things that you're taught that will be necessary in everyday usage of the career you're studying for will have well known mnemonics to go with them. (the color coding of wires and resisters for example. which I don't remember because I havven't used it for fifteen years or so.) Important dates/events in history usually have some poem or catch phrase associated with them that is used as a mnemonic trigger by those who think it's important to remember.

Ask your instructor if memorization techniques will be covered in your course. If they are, hang in there and lookfor the little tips and techniques that you don't already know until you get to the memorization skills part of the class.

 

[riff]

Professor doesn't give a shit about personal thoughts?

Maybe his doesn't. But I am very interested in my students' lives and ideas. I am not nosey, but it's not much different from here, where one of the main attractions for me is pondering your (meaning all posters) particular angle on the universe.

From a grading standpoint, I am sure that the personal stuff doesn't matter.

 

[cymbidia]

From a grading standpoint, from the perspective of someone who has graded her share of these kinda things, i just want to see that you've done it. I've definitely got enough work to do without reading all of your journal entries, and all the journal entries for all the students in all of my classes, to see if you always wear a condom when you fuck around, you know?

And that planner will be a handy habit throughout your life.

I'm sorry i was brusque.
I just got another speeding ticket.


Hypothetical question: If you're fucking a cop, don't you think you should be exempt from speeding tickets?

 

[Tyrael]

Actually he likes to read mine...he says they are funny and he needed a good laugh that day.

I got another ticket last week.

They should put some notice when they suddenly decide to put a stop sign on a rarely used backroad. It's scary when your cruising at 45 and then a stop sign that wasn't there last week jumps out at you after you go around a tight curve.