Random Thoughts 15: Crystal Clear 2021 Edition

[CycloneErik]

Sent the directions for the problem student's second chance.
It's now a very micromanaged project, including directions that directions must be followed specifically and all that crap, as well as "if I find something copied and pasted, that results in a zero and you can retake this class next spring."

I really should have just given this person the F they kept trying to get.

 

[VeloClone]

Sent the directions for the problem student's second chance.
It's now a very micromanaged project, including directions that directions must be followed specifically and all that crap, as well as "if I find something copied and pasted, that results in a zero and you can retake this class next spring."

I really should have just given this person the F they kept trying to get.

When giving problem employees second (third, fourth, etc...) chances I found that no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Gf sent this over FB messanger yesterday about a picture of the Pella tulips.

"At least we can live bicuriously through pictures of Pella"

So threesome?

 

[CycloneErik]

When giving problem employees second (third, fourth, etc...) chances I found that no good deed goes unpunished.

In every environment, it's the same.
Here, I wouldn't have bothered, but I openly did such a thing for everyone.
In this case, I went a little further. It's a capstone seminar, and this person's paper is just distilling (or probably copying from some web pages, mostly the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

Thankfully, they never said there were no sources available, although it is (of course) the same one who told me via Zoom that they can't check e-mail because their wifi doesn't work.

From my perspective, this is most likely just another way of documenting why the F has to happen more than it is another opportunity. I'll be shocked if this person does the work.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Does it still work? I'm gonna come up there & race you. I don't have my car any more but maybe I can borrow one of yours? The kid next door to us in Florida had a track that took up half their garage. I bought my own white car (do not remember what "model") and used to race him all the time.

I keep saying I'm going to put it together and see if it still works but in true Boxster fashion never do it. Now maybe I will check it out.

Little electric motors that sit for years have a tendency to crap out, corrosion I am guessing. Don't have a big set, just the small oval.

 

[BoxsterCy]

That's a malaprop worth of Norm Crosby. (Props to any of you who recognize that name.)

Supposedly when he first tried that shtick out it flopped because he audience didn't pick up on it.

 

[BoxsterCy]

When giving problem employees second (third, fourth, etc...) chances I found that no good deed goes unpunished.

Serious question, has anyone had a suck employee or co-worker that was somehow transformed into a good or even decent worker? I cannot think of a single one in my lifetime.



Edit: I see I am butting right up against the bad luck of four posts in a row in a single thread.

 

[cmjh10]

So threesome?

We all know the answer to that one. Best case, I get the couch and blanket as my threesome.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

In every environment, it's the same.
Here, I wouldn't have bothered, but I openly did such a thing for everyone.
In this case, I went a little further. It's a capstone seminar, and this person's paper is just distilling (or probably copying from some web pages, mostly the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

Thankfully, they never said there were no sources available, although it is (of course) the same one who told me via Zoom that they can't check e-mail because their wifi doesn't work.

From my perspective, this is most likely just another way of documenting why the F has to happen more than it is another opportunity. I'll be shocked if this person does the work.

A sidestep from your problem student: two years ago I was one of the adult chaperones for a 4-H CWF trip to Washington, D.C. (and Gettysburg and the Flight 93 Memorial) and I have to say that going through the Holocaust Museum. especially the early written history and photographs, was chilling. Even in summer 2019, I couldn't help but draw parallels from that time period to the then-current day.

 

[Entropy]

In every environment, it's the same.
Here, I wouldn't have bothered, but I openly did such a thing for everyone.
In this case, I went a little further. It's a capstone seminar, and this person's paper is just distilling (or probably copying from some web pages, mostly the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

Thankfully, they never said there were no sources available, although it is (of course) the same one who told me via Zoom that they can't check e-mail because their wifi doesn't work.

From my perspective, this is most likely just another way of documenting why the F has to happen more than it is another opportunity. I'll be shocked if this person does the work.

One of my mentors taught me when I first started out that if you give them enough rope, they hang themselves.
They are also less likely to file grade appeals.
I have been fortunate enough that I've never had a student successfully take it past the chair/dean in an appeal. Some of my colleagues have not been so fortunate.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

So threesome?

With twolips?

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Serious question, has anyone had a suck employee or co-worker that was somehow transformed into a good or even decent worker? I cannot think of a single one in my lifetime.



Edit: I see I am butting right up against the bad luck of four posts in a row in a single thread.

I had one. He was a good kid, good student, but had a very casual acquaintance with punctuality. When you expect someone to come in to do a specific task that needs to be completed by a certain time so that the person arriving for a later shift could complete the next step, it's a real problem when the first person is late and doesn't complete their task on time.

Even though he worked hard when he was there, I ended up firing him because of the punctuality issues. Two weeks later he came back to me and asked if we could talk. We did, and he convinced me to give him a second chance. I was VERY sorry to see him go when he graduated 2 years later. He became the type of employee that even received a key so that he could put in some time on the weekends. He is the only one I can think of in 33 years that I allowed to come back.

We rarely had students over the break periods, and they were usually out of there by finals week (fortunately that coordinated well with when our busy seasons started tapering off. Most of the time we wouldn't fire the problem people. We just told them we wouldn't be needing them the following semester.

 

[BoxsterCy]

We all know the answer to that one. Best case, I get the couch and blanket as my threesome.

Worse case, since I'd think it's not your thing, is her "bicuriousity" mean her watching you with another guy.

 

[CycloneErik]

One of my mentors taught me when I first started out that if you give them enough rope, they hang themselves.
They are also less likely to file grade appeals.
I have been fortunate enough that I've never had a student successfully take it past the chair/dean in an appeal. Some of my colleagues have not been so fortunate.

And if that happens, I'm not involved, so whatever. My contract ends, so it very much is someone else's problem.
I'm meeting with the regular prof before I hand everyone back to her care, and I'll give her a very nice heads-up. She's awesome and obviously deserves that professional courtesy.

 

[CycloneErik]

Serious question, has anyone had a suck employee or co-worker that was somehow transformed into a good or even decent worker? I cannot think of a single one in my lifetime.



Edit: I see I am butting right up against the bad luck of four posts in a row in a single thread.

I've had a couple. One turned around after I "pushed" him in the right direction. No one had ever stood up to him before. Then I was the coolest guy ever, and he turned out awesome for me.

 

[wxman1]

We all know the answer to that one. Best case, I get the couch and blanket as my threesome.

Speaking as a married man with kids. If you can be left alone for long enough that is one amazing threesome, especially on a weekend afternoon.

 

[madguy30]

Serious question, has anyone had a suck employee or co-worker that was somehow transformed into a good or even decent worker? I cannot think of a single one in my lifetime.



Edit: I see I am butting right up against the bad luck of four posts in a row in a single thread.

I had a co-worker turned supervisor that had ebbs and flows of being out of control with her need to control things and would then work on it and improve a bit, but just not be able to keep it together.

I was done there for a while and last I heard was as the rest of the department I worked in closed up, she basically threw a match on the whole thing on the way out in various ways. I was not surprised one bit.

 

[SCyclone]

Sent the directions for the problem student's second chance.
It's now a very micromanaged project, including directions that directions must be followed specifically and all that crap, as well as "if I find something copied and pasted, that results in a zero and you can retake this class next spring."

I really should have just given this person the F they kept trying to get.

From the Department of Redundancy Department. The office of the Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Administrator.

 

[SCyclone]

So threesome?

When did you turn into @BCClone?

 

[SCyclone]

A sidestep from your problem student: two years ago I was one of the adult chaperones for a 4-H CWF trip to Washington, D.C. (and Gettysburg and the Flight 93 Memorial) and I have to say that going through the Holocaust Museum. especially the early written history and photographs, was chilling. Even in summer 2019, I couldn't help but draw parallels from that time period to the then-current day.

I have wanted to see Auschwitz, simply for the historical impact of it. But I imagine it would certainly impact me emotionally. How could it not?