Friday 16 February 2018

When did People Stop Wanting to Learn?

Nothing new is really happening with me - I'm 'working on me' so started reading more for fun and cooking more. I finished reading the trilogy - 'A Court of Thorns and Roses', which I loved! A bit racy in places though, since when did 'young adult' books get so sexy? I don't remember reading any books with explicit sex scenes as a teenager, or am I being a prude?

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I finished my marking of exams, which was a huge relief because now I can focus on teaching and research, or so I thought... I failed a couple of students because they didn't even address the question for the exam and wrote terrible. However, rather than reading and reflecting on the grade and feedback, the student (S) emailed and wanted to meet me. I manage to schedule in a meeting that day.

I absolutely hate people who invade my personal physical space, yet S is sat within an inch of me! S refuses to accept the failure because S has allegedly never failed anything before and I should change the mark or I'll be 'sorry'. S starts shouting at me.

At one point, I think S is going to hit me because S is leaning over with a raised hand and voice! Despite me telling S to leave my office repeatedly S doesn't and keeps asking me "What is your problem?" Luckily a male colleague wants to speak to me at that point and walks in, sees me physically shaking and white and escorts S out. When did students get so entitled? If I performed badly, I always thought "How can I do better?" I never blamed the teacher or threatened her/him to change the grade!

Classes are tough as students don't want to learn. They attend physically but they are not there in spirit - you can see that when you walk the classroom and they're on WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat or just browsing on the internet. What is the point of going to university...?

With the internet, I find it a pleasure to find new information and learn new things, facts or find a small DIY video on Youtube. Funny that students don't want to do that. It's almost like they expect a 'Matrix' style of learning - plugging a cable into the back of their head and 'downloading' the information straight into their brain... When did people stop wanting to learn?


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