Note to Education Undergrads...

Thursday, April 26, 2007

I am grading the exams for the class I TA'ed.

82 exams.

82 exams with three essay questions.

If I read the phrase "Children are our future" one more time, I swear to god I am setting the whole stack of exams on fire.

As soon as I see this phrase, my eyes glaze over and I actually vomit in my mouth a little.

I think they are trying to inspire someone - but god knows who that person is..unless it is to inspire me to knock off four points of their possible ten....

Oh, and Education undergrads? Don't try to bullshit me. I KNOW what existentialism is - really. Like I have read Sartre and Camus - the real books, not just cliff notes. Throwing in words and phrases that you honestly don't know anything about will confuse me a little at first, but then it will annoy me. That does not bode well for your final grade.

In addition, the phrases "cultural mosaic", "melting pot of diversity", and "Teaching multiculturalism will help curb racism/intolerance" also pisses me off a little - cause I did a Masters Thesis on this topic. I'm not one of those feel good politically correct white people.

"Children are our future" .....hahhahahhhahahhahhhahahhhahha.

15 Baleful Regards:

Mignon said...

I think at this moment in time, unlike any other, including some of your mental health posts, I'm glad I'm not you.

And I thank all of the gods that you were never my TA. I probably wrapped all that shit up into one tidy blue book bouquet.

Anonymous said...

What was your thesis? And what did you say? The reason I ask is personal, my kids, ask lots of questions and sometimes I am one of those "feel good politically correct white people"- Don't get me wrong I'm not naive and I don't over simplify, but - For instance what should I have said when my son asked about inter-racial dating?

Anonymous said...

Those kids need to take a sociology class.

I taught undergrads, too. They learn a couple of buzzwords or academic phrases and pound those suckers into the ground. It's sort of amazing. And annoying.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, well try working with law student interns. Talking about getting a hold of a catch phrase and pounding it into the ground. geesh. How can someone with a college degree under their belt be so totally without a clue?

Caryn said...

Did these questions have anything to do with Whitney Houston? You post it spot on, I think most of us have been guilty one time or another of latching onto a meaningless phrase and using it to death.

Anonymous said...

All I can think of is that line frm Bridget Jones and she's interviewing at a children's tv network and she's asked
"so why do you want to work here?"
"Well, children you know...they are the fu-chah*"

"do you have any kids?"

"Oh God no, ...blech..."


*(that's a brit accent btw)

Anonymous said...

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess insiiiiiiiide... give them a sense of priiiiide to make it easier... let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be!

(are you scared now? I sure am.)

Anonymous said...

...as sung in "coming to America!" LOL!!!

Meghan said...

I beleive the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they posess inside. Give them a sense of pride. To amke it easier. Let the children's laughter remind us how it used to be.
Do I get an "A"?

Meghan said...

Just saw that Nancy wrote the same thing. I figured there was NO WAY I was the first to get THAT song stuck in my head (and now yours).

HA!

Whitney gets an "A" too. Specially now that she dumped that no good husband.
In addition, my word verification is: U R D WAB. UR De WAB BABY!

Anonymous said...

And I thought my little freshmen English students were pretentious. Sounds like an oh-so fun time; glad our semester here is over!

MrsFortune said...

Dawn, I think it may be time to rethink your pedagogical paradigm. Is the assessment of which you speak truly authentic, or ...

HAHAHA, I am just kidding.

BUT, I can tell you that over the past month I have spent about 30 hours per week scoring essays written by 4th graders about how life in the 1800s was different from today. Talk about vomiting in my mouth a little (although I can comfort myself by saying "they're only 4th graders").

Love you. :)

Suburban Gorgon said...

OH, I'm such a child of the 80's. Thanks, Dawn - I now have that wretched Whitney Houston song stuck in my head.

Anonymous said...

You mean quoting a crack addict doesn't necessarily guarantee you an A? Huh.

kate said...

Ha! I am currently an Education undergrad (though I'm 34, mom of two, and doing this degree in another language, so I'm probably somewhat more world-wise than your students...) The funny thing is, I too have been using a bunch of catchphrases over and over in my papers ("taking an active role in his/her own learning process", for one.) In my defense, though, I've been reading these same catchphrases over and over in the assigned readings and notes, too, so it's obviously what they want to hear!

We don't get "Children are the future," though. Thank goodness.

 
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