20 actual lectures out of 29 possible class sessions

[woodsmoke]

And 12 actual lab sessions out 17 possible sessions. aaarrrgghhh

This is a sad indictment on what has happened in what used to be at least a reasonable school system.

First, I have NEVER believed that "U.S. education is worthless", I have seen the politicians manipulate the numbers on the ACT, etc. depending on whether they wanted to get elected or show that they were the only people who had improved things.. it is all crappola depending on whether "they" include "non - college bound" etc.

My dear state had a "miracle" in education, just like Nevada did decades ago. When the colleges actually INCREASED requirements then the schools actually stepped up and produced better scores ( before the feds got involved ).

My dear state didn't "improve" on ACT we didn't need to, but we walked all over the "standardized testing" so the bureaucrats just started comparing apples to oranges and the numbers went back to "bad".

BUT THIS IS JUST PITIFUL.

My community college, very technical, biotechnology, aviation, you name it has always walked all over the state "reviews" we always have better exit scoring and more graduates than the four year colleges and universities.

But... our "introductory" classes have to "align" with the local big university after all they have nationally ranked football and basketball teams! We have...ummm we don't even have a chess club! lol

The "semester" actually has of seventeen ( 17 ) weeks in which there could actually BE a "class session".

Of the seventeen possible weeks there are no less than three HOLIDAYS... which take up one day or two days in the week that means taking up lecture sessions AND LAB SESSIONS.

Because of the Affordable Care Act the colleges all went to two lectures of an hour and a half ( like Mon and Wed ) as opposed to three hour sessions, M, W F. TO SAVE MONEY AND FORCE PEOPLE onto the AFA.

Because of that, even though there may be " a week " available to have sessions, only one session might meet because of a holiday on the other day and therefore also there will BE NO LABORATORY...

THE UNIVERSITY ( s ) have...four exams in the semester not counting the lab final and actual final.

ONE WHOLE CLASS SESSION IS TAKEN UP WITH...REVIEWING FOR THE EXAM...

And...the NEXT class session is... the exam...

This leaves...

This leaves an actual eleven ( 11 ) actual WEEKS with two lectures or one lecture.

for a grand total of twenty or twenty one... ( 20 or 21 ) depending on how one counts...for actual lectures

That is just MIND NUMBING...that a UNIVERSITY in ALL of it's "introductory" biology sections has WASTED four days on review and four days on exams.

What ever happened to the great wonderful world of "the student being responsible for his or her own learning" and ONLINE REVIEW from the textbook publisher and ONLINE EXAMS?

WHAT a JOKE!!

And that is because... hybrid classes ( one face to face lecture and the normal lab) meet on FRIDAY...out of sync with the two session seated classes.

what is amazing is that, because I am doing a "hybrid" class I actually have FOURTEEN class sessions in which to lecture.

ON THE SCHEDULE there is the ILLUSION that that I only have ten actual sessions.

This is the sad state of affairs which has been engendered by federal mandates of everything.

A NOTE:

The latest "syllabus" has...one third of a page for the ACTUAL SYLLABUS...out of 29 PAGES of "federally mandated rules statements".

The actual syllabus is now a...sad...very sad...one sheet with a calendar of events... as a SEPARATE PAGE because...everybody knows that the students stopped reading the syllabus probably ten years ago...it is all gobbeldygook...

Another NOTE:

When I figured out just how many days I actually have available to TEACH as opposed to the wonderful politically correct elite professors...I was dancing in the apartment! lol



Third note:

The deans said a) my class would not make, and it made in two weeks, it filled. b) the students would "expect too much from me" because "you can't jam two lectures into one lecture and they get disappointed and drop".

ok...so...i'm not going to "jam two lectures into one lectures"...

like the stair climber advert..."just don't fall ( down the stairs )...

I'm going to let a plenum nano reef aquarium fill the place of three lectures at least! lol

THIS is why students are rioting ...nothing to do... you should actually view syllabi from colleges that your kids or grandkids go to and actually TALK to professors...

woodwasdesperatelytryingtosplit my two lectures per week into one pdf for the students and one lecture is now elated smoke

[GreyGeek]

And in other news, America's high schools schedule academics around football, basketball and wrestling schedules. Coaches are hired on their win/loss record and fired because they can't "teach" (i.e., continue winning). The girls used to just cheerlead but since Title X they, too, can waste their academic career playing basketball and volleyball. But, what does it matter? There aren't many jobs around that require a college degree and HS grads working at Micky D (or other service jobs) are told what change to tender by the cash registers.

As usual, the kids who end up going on to college are the ones who were self-disciplined and taught themselves vital skills, usually with their parents help. Show me the kid who earned an A in physics or math and I'll show you a kid whose parents attended parent-teacher conferences to monitor their kid's progress.
/soapbox

[SpecialEd]

>>>>>>>

Show me the kid who earned an A in physics or math and I'll show you a kid whose parents attended parent-teacher conferences to monitor their kid's progress.
/soapbox

My boys are 22 and 19 presently (and both in college, one majoring in Physics) but when they were in elementary school, and my wife and I went to parent/teacher conferences, we found it very strange that the teachers would thank us, almost profusely, for showing up. We didn't realize it was the exception to the rule.

[woodsmoke]

SpecialED wrote:

that the teachers would thank us, almost profusely, for showing up

The "5A" school just north of our little doof school had NOBODY show up for parent teacher conferences and the teachers didn't really care.

One of the 7th and 8th grade math teachers literally said to me: "I turn it into the off mode when I go into the building".

But EVERYBODY was out for tryouts for "Mighty Mite" football.

I attended that school when I was in school and when I left the town I never went back except when I actually HAD to. The NEW admins, every few years they got new ones because they ran the previous one off, would call and ask me to teach. I just laughed.

However, our little doof school that graduated legislators, lawyers, doctors, bank presidents, physicists, many military, you name it, as of when I had retired the running average was 80 percent "went on to do something'.

Most of my graduating class stayed right in that nasty town and, since I go there every year for a dental cleanup etc. I check on "folks".

Most are DEAD of 62 people only 12 are left alive in the town. Best count as to who left was maybe 11 or 12.

Anyway... we didn't have "parent teacher conferences" we had PARTIES!!!! until the oh so smart Department of Elementary and Secondary Eddikation literally told us that we needed to be "more serious" or we would be given "a letter of concern". sheesh...

I'm GLAD that your kids seemingly had teachers who cared!

woodtireditisaftermidnightsmoke