Dear every teacher I've ever had...

[Homercidal]

I'd just take it to the teacher and ask what's wrong. If they don't know the definition, then you can provide it, or ask why they didn't look it up. Obviously not every person is going to know the meaning of every single word in the English language. If I were in that teacher's position, though, I'd try pretty hard to be on top of all that, even if I had to look it up (I have a feeling that they don't have THAT many students using strange words).

 

[the_bird]

It's impossible to know without seeing the sentance in full context, but it's possible they were viewing that sentance (and the word choice) as being pretentious. My first college-level English course, my teacher ripped my first paper to shreds (figuratively speaking). I *was* cocky about my writing, I thought I knew what I was doing... but I quickly learned that I was being too showing, needlessly complicated. You don't always need to use ten dollar words. Maybe it was a reaction that she/he had along those lines?

 

[flyangler18]

The teacher is there to teach, which includes correcting mistakes. The purpose of marking up a document is to indicate what is wrong with it, not to exercise your personal stream of consciousness.

I completely disagree. I've done my share of teaching first year comp and lit classes as an adjunct, and the purpose of marking up a document (in my context) is to indicate errors in logic, mechanical errors, malapropisms. If I circle a word and mark it w/ a question mark, that indicates to the student that there is something amiss in their writing. The real exercise is critical thinking. If a student doesn't understand a notation that I've made, I expect them to come to me and ask for clarification. The most successful sophisticated writing always has clarity in mind first.

As an aside, I always encouraged my students to read their paper aloud when revising- it is incredibly instructive in pointing out awkward sentence structure.

 

[MrNate]

It's impossible to know without seeing the sentance in full context, but it's possible they were viewing that sentance (and the word choice) as being pretentious.

It was written in response to a question that asked me to expound upon my weaknesses. Context, however, does not excuse laziness.

 

[MrNate]

the purpose of marking up a document (in my context) is to indicate errors in logic, mechanical errors, malapropisms. If I circle a word and mark it w/ a question mark, that indicates to the student that there is something amiss in their writing.

We agree, in other words, on the purpose of marking up a paper.

The real exercise is critical thinking.

The real exercise is doing your job. Mine is to learn. Yours is to teach. In the case of writing a paper, the objective, the skill I should be learning, is how to adequately express myself in writing. It is NOT to try to decipher your notation or intent.

Lead by example. If I have to do your job as well as mine in order to be successful at the task, you are superfluous to the process and should be eliminated.

If a student doesn't understand a notation that I've made, I expect them to come to me and ask for clarification.

If you expect a student to come to you in order to understand something that you wrote that was inherently unintelligible, you have failed in your task. You might as well have simply shot the stack of papers from a distance with a paintball marker and waited for the entire class to come ask you what it all means.

If, instead of circles and question marks, you instead chose a notation system comprised of hand-drawn bunnies and flowers, would you expect the student to understand? No, because it is inherently meaningless to anyone but you. Should students be forced to come to you every time they see a new combination of bunnies and flowers in order to understand your meaning?

We have language for a reason. Failure to exercise it, either in your attempts to understand my usage of it or your own usage of it in your outward communications, is pure laziness. Your attempt to spin it as a learning exercise is pure, egotistical BS.

If you don't recognize a word I have written, look it up or shut up about it. If you aren't familiar with it and you think I used it wrong, you had damn well better look it up to make sure before you mark me off on it. My job is not to catch your stupid mistakes. Your job is to catch mine.

If I were a cop, and I constantly hauled you in for questioning without so much as a word as to what I suspected you'd done, would that be fair? Should you have to drag it out of me and prove me wrong before you can go about your business?

Anyway, whatever you do, communicate your intent in f**king English or don't communicate it at all.

 

[BierMuncher]

Please get with the program...

Mr Nate.

 

[Freezeblade]

It's a rock and a hard place really. If you step out and call it, then your work will be scrutinized either overtly or surreptitiously...but it will be scrutinized. If you're always right on the subject then it's no big deal, but sometimes it's just not worth the effort to pursue it.

This is exactly what happened to me just this last year in classes. I pay good money to go to a architectural school, and every teacher I've ever had there was great, except for one. This is not to say that she didn't know her material, she did. However, she was so incapable of teaching it to a class of students (a combonation of not seeming to have a proper grasp on the english language, disrespect for us as people, and a total inability to admit when she was wrong) that on the final test over 2/3 of the class got below a 60% on the final test, which had nearly nothing on it that we actually covered in class. She showed up 45 minutes or more late to classes, yet yelled at us if we were late and marked us off, and even went so far as to show up an hour late to our final in the class, with no notice, arriving with a stack of warm tests fresh off the copy machine in her hand claiming traffic stopped her up (this happened in two seperate classes I had her in).

Needless to say, one of the only things I can't stand in a teacher is incompatance and total lack of respect or professionalism, leading to a very large head-bumping session in which she overly looked at my work and tried to do everything in her power to fail me in the class, and actually ended up with me speaking to the dean of the school about how she is so unprofessional and completely incapable of teaching any technical classes. In the end I had a lower GPA and the total contempt of a teacher in the school who turns out to be the 3rd year department chair (I have no idea how she achieved this). If I would have just shut up and let her go on with her fraudulant and incapable teaching, I would have ended up better off, but without my dignaty. It's really a tradeoff.



BTW, this was the worst teacher I have ever had, and I have pity on any person that has to deal with her. Just because you know your material does not mean you have the ability to teach it in any compasity what so ever. My appoligies on the rant, I'm still a little raw from it.

 

[flyangler18]

Your entire tirade is meaningless until you actually ask your teacher for clarification about her intent in circling 'hubris' in your paper. If you bring me a paper and I've graded it, you shouldn't accept that as the final say. Question me about my reasoning so that I can understand yours.

Frankly, I am amazed at your arrogance. Nay, your hubris. My job as a writing instructor is develop and encourage a student's individual writing style and developing writing competency.

I think you will do much better as a student when you stop thinking of the student-teacher relationship as being purely transactional. Good luck.

 

[BierMuncher]

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[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

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View attachment 7991

lololololololoololoololoololol

 

[MrNate]

Your entire tirade is meaningless until you actually ask your teacher for clarification about her intent in circling the word.

How so? Meaningless to me? To her? To you? To anyone? Please, clarify and enlighten me as to how my opinions are meaningless without an explanation from a 3rd party as to what their doodles mean.

 

[Freezeblade]

Lol, ok, that was funny. I was ranting and didn't have firefox spellcheck at work.

 

[MrNate]

BTW, BierMuncher wins the thread.

 

[TheJadedDog]

Circling a word and placing question marks next to it is not meaningless doodles. It is a generally accepted method of copy-editing notation. If you are confused as to why your paper was marked that way, go and ask the teacher, it is not the teacher's responsibility to write a novel about why they don't like your word choice. Maybe it's just me, but the onus for learning is on you, not the teacher, if you are confused about something, question it.

 

[MrNate]

If it's not meaningless, what does it mean? Not "What can it mean?", what does it mean in this instance? A novel is not required to convey this. A few words would generally suffice. It is not my responsibility to "go ask for clarification."

As stated, my job is to learn. I do not feel that probing the depths of this particular teacher's ignorance on this particular matter is required to that end.

Her job is to teach. Part of that is communicating. In this instance, with this act, she failed. I do not care what her rationale is. I do not care what anyone has convinced themselves of in doing likewise. It is a fundamentally lazy and arrogant act.

You can poop on my pie all you want, but don't call it ice cream and expect me to eat it.

 

[flyangler18]

One final thought and then I'm done with this thread- are you planning on asking her what she meant and actually move beyond this 'failure to communicate' (my nod to the late Paul Newman)- or are you more content to rant about it on an internet forum?

If your job is to learn, you need to question- plain and simple.

Best of luck in your studies.

 

[MrNate]

The failure to communicate with her is my choice. It serves no purpose. Ranting on here, however, does serve a purpose. By going off on the macro issue of this common, ignorant act, I spare myself from leveling the same tirade at the teacher in question.

 

[A4J]

The real exercise is doing your job. Mine is to learn. Yours is to teach.

You seem to think that the only way to teach is to spoon feed students the information. I agree with flyangler18 when he says "[t]he real exercise is critical thinking."

 

[MrNate]

You seem to think that the only way to teach is to spoon feed students the information. I agree with flyangler18 when he says "[t]he real exercise is critical thinking."

You are incorrect in your assesment. I think the correct way to communicate is by adequately expressing your thoughts in such a way as to be readily understood.

Abstract concepts require critical thinking.

Concrete concepts require direct and clear communication.

How did you learn multiplication tables? Spoon feeding?

 

[the_bird]

You sound so certain that the only reason the word was circled was because the teacher didn't know what it meant. There are other possibilities as well; she/he questioned the reason you chose THAT word (again, we're lacking full context), or maybe you could have written the sentance more clearly... who knows without asking? What's it hurt to ask?

 

[A4J]

How did you learn multiplication tables? Spoon feeding?

Basic concepts require spoon feeding. Spoon feeding is only necessary at the grade school level.

And if you must know, I wasn't taught the multiplication table. I was taught how to multiply. Again, there's that whole notion of spoon feeding [memorizing the multiplication table] vs. critical thinking.

 

[MrNate]

You sound so certain that the only reason the word was circled was because the teacher didn't know what it meant. There are other possibilities as well; she/he questioned the reason you chose THAT word (again, we're lacking full context), or maybe you could have written the sentance more clearly... who knows without asking? What's it hurt to ask?

I'm assuming that because she didn't say anything else about it. I recognize that there are other possibilities (though they are all incorrect in this case as well), but that of course brings me aaaallllll the way back around to my original point: What's it hurt to write down what you meant in the first damn place?

 

[MrNate]

Basic concepts require spoon feeding. Spoon feeding is only necessary at the grade school level.

And if you must know, I wasn't taught the multiplication table. I was taught how to multiply. Again, there's that whole notion of spoon feeding [memorizing the multiplication table] vs. critical thinking.

Please read my posts before commenting on them.

 

[the_bird]

So, be the bigger person, dammit, and ask your freakin' professor!

They probably made an incorrect assessment that their intent would be obvious when they made the notation. Impossible to know without context, if I saw the whole paper I might pick up what they were getting at. Maybe the statement conflicts with something else you said elsewhere, who knows?

Think of it this way... how many students does this teacher have? How many teachers do you have? Be the bigger person and approach them after class.

 

[MrNate]

So, be the bigger person, dammit, and ask your freakin' professor!

They probably made an incorrect assessment that their intent would be obvious when they made the notation. Impossible to know without context, if I saw the whole paper I might pick up what they were getting at. Maybe the statement conflicts with something else you said elsewhere, who knows?

Think of it this way... how many students does this teacher have? How many teachers do you have? Be the bigger person and approach them after class.

Why? To what end? To debate here is harmless. It costs me nothing. To debate there carries with it the possibility of retribution, and debate would be inevitable.

 

[A4J]

Please read my posts before commenting on them.

I did, but what do you mean by that statement? Did you just draw a red circle and put a question mark on my comment?

 

[MrNate]

To say back to me in different words the very same thing I just posted tells me either you didn't read my post or you are trying to be a prick. I simply assumed the best of you.

 

[Beards Brews]

Well, as an English teacher, I'll chime in here, even though you seem pretty defensive and only want to hear things that are agreeable with your position.

First, when I'm grading 150 essays over the weekend, I'll use the same technique you're complaining about. I balance that with margin notes and notes at the end of the paper with comments on the paper as a whole, but I do not have the time or the inclination to explain every mistake to students I teach. I do teach my students how to proofread and revise, though, in my experience they rarely do either.

Secondly, I want to respond to the sentence in question. I would mark this as well. It wouldn't be because I didn't understand the word, but because I do and I'm questioning your syntax and style. Hubris is a noun and you do use it as such in your sentence. However, that is about as far as I would consider the correctness of its use. Typically, hubris is something one is considered as being guilty of, not in possession of. Therefore, to misplace one's hubris suggests that there is an appropriate placement of hubris, which the definition of the word does not support.

I tend to be cocky, arrogant, and intolerant, no matter how misplaced my hubris may be.

My suggested revision: I tend to be cocky, arrogant and intolerant, no matter how misguided such attitudes might be

Or, if you really want to use hubris: I have been known for my hubris, as I tend to be cocky, arrogant, and intolerant, no matter how misguided this may be.

Personally, I do not see this as something to be proud of, but whatever floats your boat. Good luck, Icarus.

 

[BierMuncher]

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[Beards Brews]

Thanks! I'm printing that off and putting it on my fridge.