WTF: "McDiplomas?"

No, I'm not making this up. There are some new programs in Great Britain, that would let McDonalds (and some others) give employees credit towards a high school diploma if they complete certain on-the-job training courses. Now, in general, I am all for on-the-job training and helping out people who dropped out of high school and now want to get a diploma or GED. But I do worry that the standards may not be as high as a regular high school. If the standards are lower, are we going to get borderline kids dropping out and getting a job at Mickey D's to finish high school?

One of the other companies is a rail company and the article mentions they want to give more advanced training and degrees, like a vocational or university degree. I actually don't have as much of a problem with a vocational degree. I mean, you can go to vocational school to learn to weld and this would be the same thing: learning to do railway type jobs while you're working. That makes sense as long as an educational board oversees the standards. It even makes sense for an airlines.

Maybe my problem is that I have a hard time seeing fast food as an option that someone would intentionally choose as a career. I have known quite a few fast food managers, but other than that, most people seem to be either working in fast food while they go to school, or are stuck in fast food because they don't have any other job skills. And it doesn't seem as if fast food skills would transfer as well - except for running a cash register. Does anyone have any other opinions?

Lots of Students

I've been busy and haven't updated for a while. School's been in session for two weeks now and so far I'm having a very high attendance rate. See First Day of School for my normal attendance statistics. This is kind of freaking me out, since usually the attendance has dropped by now. I'm wondering if it's because I'm NOT taking attendance. If there's some kind of reverse psychology at work, so that when I take attendance they intentionally skip. We'll see what happens after the first test.

What the F?

This little jewel popped up at me recently. Apparently a small town in Iowa has come up with this idea that giving kids a zero for not turning in their homework is a bad thing. If an A is 90-100%, etc. etc., then an F should be 50-60%. Right now this is just a suggestion, but it is something with which I completely disagree. One of the quotes from the article is this:

"If you get a zero on three assignments, for instance, maybe in the first two weeks, and you do all right in the rest, those three zeros still could mean you're not going to pass." "The message that comes across is, 'You don't have to do the work (anymore) because I've already given you a zero.'"

I would counter with: But if you give them a 50% for NOT turning things in, you're teaching them that they don't have to do the homework. How will this affect them in the long run? Does this mean if I don't feel like going to work tomorrow I still get half my pay for the day? Also, as an edumacator, I tend to take the long view of assignments. If someone does badly on one of my exams but improves on all the rest, then I'll take that into account when I calculate the final grade.

Personally, I like the policy mentioned in this article. It's referred to as "Do your work." If the kids don't make at least a 70 on the assignment (or if they don't turn it in) then they have to come in before or after school to do it again. Supposedly it's really cut down on their failure rate.

First Day of School

Overall, went pretty well. One of my classes is in a normal-sized classroom, the other is about a third that size. It's got 60 desks in the classroom, and 60 students, and the desks are crammed in like you wouldn't believe. They give me this classroom every other semester which really sucks. But space is at a premium, let alone a freaking Smartroom, and as a teaching assistant I'm a spud. Spuds don't get top choice. Last semester I got a Smartroom for the first time EVER and it was like a dream.....ahhh..... Anyway, today went well. I'm not taking attendance this semester (one of my main changes) because I feel like I shouldn't have to be the kids' mother. This should cut my class size down to about half, if not a third. Yep, you heard me. About half the students won't show up because I'm not taking attendance and they don't want to be there. I'm teaching a required freshmen class that a lot of people hate. And of course the earlier the class time the fewer attendees.

Example: Average attendance out of a class of 60 students
7:30 20
8:30 25-30
9:30 30-35
10:30 40-50

That's based on my actual experience teaching at those times, and it's not just me. Fellow TAs have said about the same. And that was when I TOOK attendance. So this whole no attendance-taking policy could get interesting. I decided to do it because I'm tired of looking out and seeing people sitting there asleep, or reading a book, or trying to chat to their friend, because the only reason they are there is for the attendance bonus points. I'll keep you updated as to how this goes.

Syllabus Woes Part Deux

Well, I got the damn syllabus updated and ready for the kiddies. It's sad when you have to specifically state that "if you make bad grades on the tests you will get a bad grade in the class." I can't tell you how many e-mails I get at the end of each semester whining for a better grade. "I know I made D's on all the exams, but I'll lose my scholarship if I don't get a C..." And they honestly expect you to give them the C. It drives me nuts. I'll say it again - damn millenials. [Note: it figures - I try to avoid Wikipedia on general principles so the encyclopedia I link to quotes them.]

Power to the People!

This is off-topic, well, maybe not, considering the perils to Academic Freedom. I found this over on I Miss fafblog, Spot! It's kinda catchy.

Damn Helicopter Parents

Luckily, I haven't had to deal with this too much. The BBC has an interesting article, including the 5 different types of helicopter parents. The worst I've gotten so far is an e-mail from a parent. But I am really expecting it to pick up. Not to sound like an old fogey, but in my day, we didn't want our parents around 'interfering' with our life. Nowadays, it seems like the kids never grow up! The parents keep doing things so the kids don't have to. So when they get to my freshmen college course, they're young and don't know what it means to try and be an adult. I'm not saying my generation succeeded at being an adult ;) but at least we wanted to try it out.

Syllabus Woes

School starts soon, so I'm in the process of updating my syllabus. It annoys the crap out of me that I have to put things in it like: don't read a newspaper in class. Or: don't listen to your iPod in class. Every semester it's a challenge to maintain control. There's the kid who's text-messaging, the one with the headphones in one ear, the one studying for an exam in a different class, the one coming in 15 minutes late, the one talking to her friends, the one reading a book (I guess that's a good thing!). I always start off strict, but by the end of the semester I could care less. Me and the kids are both ready for it to be over. When I'm trying to actually teach them something, it's a pain to stop everyday and say "take off the headphones," "stop texting," "stop whispering," "stop reading e-mail," "stop reading the paper," "stop doing WHATEVER." I'm not their freaking mother. By this point they should know better. I'm thinking of backing off some of my rules this semester and seeing what happens. If they listen to music during class everyday they shouldn't be surprised if they make an "F."