Random Thoughts 14: I can see clearly now 2020 edition

[CycloneErik]

So I forgot one of the key lessons in dealing with DMACC staff: Check their apparent age. If my age or older, be an *******. If younger, be nice and it all works out.

My class, starting 10/21, has a wait list. A student emailed me requesting to be added. He's a Drake student from Pakistan, and he's back home due to this or that related to COVID, and needs this to progress along. I'm in.

So I look up the procedure on a FAQ, e-mail the person, rephrase the procedure in my e-mail, provide all the required info, and they're stonewalling the kid by sending me a cut-and-paste of a thing saying that he needs to bring an add slip.

He's in Pakistan. So I rephrase my e-mail to note again his extenuating circumstances (keywords from their FAQ), and get a rude, condescending reply today that the student would need to make a request of the dean.

So I copied and pasted the info I worked off of, cited it, and indicated that the info DMACC gives out says we can do this, along with the question of whether we should just knock it out or whether I should just make the request of the dean.

No reply yet. I hate this place.
Person's e-mail sig says "serving students remotely." ********.

The school is down at least $2.3 million, per an e-mail yesterday. Help a student, get paid, and move along. It ain't complicated.

 

[VeloClone]

So I forgot one of the key lessons in dealing with DMACC staff: Check their apparent age. If my age or older, be an *******. If younger, be nice and it all works out.

My class, starting 10/21, has a wait list. A student emailed me requesting to be added. He's a Drake student from Pakistan, and he's back home due to this or that related to COVID, and needs this to progress along. I'm in.

So I look up the procedure on a FAQ, e-mail the person, rephrase the procedure in my e-mail, provide all the required info, and they're stonewalling the kid by sending me a cut-and-paste of a thing saying that he needs to bring an add slip.

He's in Pakistan. So I rephrase my e-mail to note again his extenuating circumstances (keywords from their FAQ), and get a rude, condescending reply today that the student would need to make a request of the dean.

So I copied and pasted the info I worked off of, cited it, and indicated that the info DMACC gives out says we can do this, along with the question of whether we should just knock it out or whether I should just make the request of the dean.

No reply yet. I hate this place.
Person's e-mail sig says "serving students remotely." ********.

The school is down at least $2.3 million, per an e-mail yesterday. Help a student, get paid, and move along. It ain't complicated.

If they make you make the request of the dean, make sure you include that the student was following the protocol laid out by the school and Bureacrat (name) was not allowing it to happen for this student stranded in Pakistan. Perhaps the dean will make sure they understand their jobs.

 

[CycloneErik]

If they make you make the request of the dean, make sure you include that the student was following the protocol laid out by the school and Bureacrat (name) was not allowing it to happen for this student stranded in Pakistan. Perhaps the dean will make sure they understand their jobs.

Oh, I'm totally backing up the bus.

 

[CycloneErik]

My favorite reply was her last, prior to my copypasta, with the "I'm sorry if I didn't explain clearly enough" line.

I get it. You can add him and don't want to. No need to play around here.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

If they make you make the request of the dean, make sure you include that the student was following the protocol laid out by the school and Bureacrat (name) was not allowing it to happen for this student stranded in Pakistan. Perhaps the dean will make sure they understand their jobs.

You can cc all of us, too, just to show how many people are paying attention.

 

[VeloClone]

Man I butchered that word. I always struggle with "Bureau" and all forms of the word.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

There is also some political kerfuffle over the movie including where some of it was shot and some of the political stances of the star. I won't put it here since this is a politics free zone, but feel free fire up the googly machine.

Agree. I heard about the star first, but decided to leave it out. Barring the background, my kids & grandkids that have seen it have been pretty impressed so far. I'm not willing to shell out the $$$.

 

[VeloClone]

My favorite reply was her last, prior to my copypasta, with the "I'm sorry if I didn't explain clearly enough" line.

I get it. You can add him and don't want to. No need to play around here.

I think I am going to try to use the word copypasta in my work communications today.

 

[BCClone]

My son wants to add a minor. Has to get his advisors signature. Can’t because he can’t meet his advisor due to them working from home because they can’t find daycare he’s told. Hope the kid will be in kindergarten next year at least.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

My son wants to add a minor. Has to get his advisors signature. Can’t because he can’t meet his advisor due to them working from home because they can’t find daycare he’s told. Hope the kid will be in kindergarten next year at least.

Take it to the department chair. ISU is supposed to have work-arounds for stuff like this.

 

[CycloneErik]

My son wants to add a minor. Has to get his advisors signature. Can’t because he can’t meet his advisor due to them working from home because they can’t find daycare he’s told. Hope the kid will be in kindergarten next year at least.

ISU will make this easy. Either an adviser in his department, the minor's department, or a chair can speed that through.

 

[SCyclone]

Man I butchered that word. I always struggle with "Bureau" and all forms of the word.

Aw, we knew what you meant.

 

[VeloClone]

My daughter and son are in different school districts.

The one my daughter is in (same as JC's kids) has been as on top of things as you could expect. She got her schedule in a timely manner, they had a plan for distance learning and for the hybrid model, they even were able to bring in tablets for pretty much every student who needed one even though they are hard to get right now.

My son's school district has been terrible. My son (middle school) got his schedule on Friday for the Monday start. The high schoolers didn't get their schedules until Sunday night! My son's schedule was messed up - they didn't satisfy some IEP requirements and he didn't get his first or second choice of electives. We tried to get someone to talk to us about it as soon as we got the schedule but when it was the middle of the last business day before school started of course we weren't going to be able reach anyone to fix it. When Mrs. Velo talked to the person at the school yesterday we learn that they didn't even start to put together schedules for students until 2 weeks before the first day of school (by hand). This is for a district of about 21,000 students. This is after they had to put in their schedule preferences well before the school year ended last spring. Now today she emails us and says that they have all sorts of problems with schedules and they won't even begin to address them until hybrid learning starts 2 weeks into the school year. So if my son does get his schedule changed like it should be he will likely be a month behind the rest of his Spanish class.

 

[CycloneErik]

My daughter and son are in different school districts.

The one my daughter is in (same as JC's kids) has been as on top of things as you could expect. She got her schedule in a timely manner, they had a plan for distance learning and for the hybrid model, they even were able to bring in tablets for pretty much every student who needed one even though they are hard to get right now.

My son's school district has been terrible. My son (middle school) got his schedule on Friday for the Monday start. The high schoolers didn't get their schedules until Sunday night! My son's schedule was messed up - they didn't satisfy some IEP requirements and he didn't get his first or second choice of electives. We tried to get someone to talk to us about it as soon as we got the schedule but when it was the middle of the last business day before school started of course we weren't going to be able reach anyone to fix it. When Mrs. Velo talked to the person at the school yesterday we learn that they didn't even start to put together schedules for students until 2 weeks before the first day of school (by hand). This is for a district of about 21,000 students. This is after they had to put in their schedule preferences well before the school year ended last spring. Now today she emails us and says that they have all sorts of problems with schedules and they won't even begin to address them until hybrid learning starts 2 weeks into the school year. So if my son does get his schedule changed like it should be he will likely be a month behind the rest of his Spanish class.

View attachment 75602

That's hideous.
Ames had struggles, but everything is working out for our kiddo really well.

 

[GMackey32]

I think one of my favorite things to do on CF is going into The Cave, finding a blatantly wrong post, calling the person out with actual facts and sources, and then watching them just disappear from the thread all together.

I do it in non-cave threads too, but it's just too easy in The Cave.

 

[cmjh10]

The gf is back on wanting a 3rd dog. Lord help me.....

 

[Sousaclone]

The gf is back on wanting a 3rd dog. Lord help me.....

Be happy it's not a kid? Unless you are making that step...

 

[NWICY]

My son wants to add a minor. Has to get his advisors signature. Can’t because he can’t meet his advisor due to them working from home because they can’t find daycare he’s told. Hope the kid will be in kindergarten next year at least.

JFC, they should at least have to be on campus occasionally to help people, and if they don't want to do that give authorization to someone else to take care of it.

 

[cmjh10]

Be happy it's not a kid? Unless you are making that step...

She did say something about a kid this weekend. How she feels more confident around then since we have seen my nephew quite a bit.

 

[NWICY]

The gf is back on wanting a 3rd dog. Lord help me.....

Thought of you the other day when a SUV with a Dalmatian passed me on the interstate. Polk Co plates so I assumed it wasn't you.