True (and new) 099 story!!!! - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jul 29, 2004

True (and new) 099 story!!!!

Date: Jul 29, 2004

You can get glue and fiskers scissors at Wal-Mart, though I would recommend some water-based "paste" instead. I would, myself, get a vintage lunch box off of ebay.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Wow, a mother of a new student cares enough to check up on her kid's classes. Probably a first generation college student whose mother is so proud her kid is going to college. We should definitely make fun of her since she never went to college and doesn’t know how things work. Intellectual snobs!

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Come, come, now. asdf, find your sense of humor, pronto!

As for the school supplies, haven't you all received the memo that glue and paste are no longer allowed at USM? Students now have to use non-stinky, beige-colored, polymer-derived adhesives instead. Gotta make more USM millionaires!

Date: Jul 29, 2004

but Truth, I remember eating that white paste. could i eat the polymer stuff?!

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"but Truth, I remember eating that white paste. could i eat the polymer stuff?!"

Do we have any resident polymer-derived materials experts available and willing to speak to this question?

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Y'all, asdf really does have a point, and I hardly ever, ever agree with asdf. First time for everything. But it bothers me that a student is in more than one 099 course. That student should probably be in community college for now.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"but Truth, I remember eating that white paste. could i eat the polymer stuff?!"

Sure. After about 45 minutes, you will feel euphoric. After about 1.5 hours, you will have mild hallucinations & want to hug everybody. You will want to dance a lot all night long. Be sure to drink plenty of water & fruit juice (no alcohol!) to avoid dehydration.

Rave on. It's a crazy feeling

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: LVN
"Y'all, asdf really does have a point, and I hardly ever, ever agree with asdf. First time for everything. But it bothers me that a student is in more than one 099 course. That student should probably be in community college for now.
"

I agree with asdf, too. We should not make fun of that kid's mom. And I agree with LVN, too. The kid would probably be better served at a community college.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

While I got a good chuckle out of this story, I am impressed that the mother called to inquire.

And as far as the community colleges are concerned, think about this for a moment. That is where I got my degree from, and I make almost as much as the professors at USM. Doesn't say much does it, or maybe it does.

A true story here folks, at work last year, our laminator broke down. I was the one who got it fixed, and someone commented that it took a Masters to break it, and I smiled and replied, yep, and an Associates to fix it.

Don't knock CC's, they serve their purpose. They do help prepare individuals for the rigors of a 4 year institution, who otherwise might not survive. Even our local branch of the UNM has 099 courses, sometimes individuals take them for a refresher if they have been out of school for awhile, or just want that 'edge' they provide. Sometimes they actually need them because they don't have that foundation necessary to continue.

Personally, I feel that by lowering admissions standards, SFT and company have,in more than one way, hurt USM. Not that incoming freshman don't need refreshed, but when an overall increase in those courses appear, it says that your standards are not high enough.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Does anyone know what percent of USM students are first generation? How does that compare to others in the state?

Maybe the USM market is there. At least one student won't wait until the class starts before trying to get supplies, books, etc.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: o-town
"My departmental secretary just told me she received a phone call this morning from the mother of an incoming freshman. The mother proceeded to read to the secretary what courses her "child" had registered for (2 of them were 099 courses). She then asked "Where do we need to go to get a list of school supplies we need for these courses?""

What's more funny to me is that a secretary thought this was amuzing. If I were a secretary, I would be careful who I laughed at. What she should have done was tell this caller that that is left to the individual instructor. At least I hope she handled this phone call more professionally than what this post leads me to believe.

Really, I have had several 400-level instructors make me buy various items for classes such as rulers, a compass, graphing paper, paper clips because they preferred not to have their papers stapled, a specific kind of folder, black ink pens because they hate blue ink and it supposedily did not photocopy well, résumé type paper to print on instead of the cheap Walmart printing paper, and the list could go on if my memory was not failing and if I had more time.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Online Prof
" What's more funny to me is that a secretary thought this was amuzing. If I were a secretary, I would be careful who I laughed at. What she should have done was tell this caller that that is left to the individual instructor. At least I hope she handled this phone call more professionally than what this post leads me to believe.

If you carefully read the initial post, you'll see that the poster did not comment on how the secretary dealt with the caller. How she responded to the caller and the secretary's own sense of humor are 2 different things.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"Come, come, now. asdf, find your sense of humor, pronto!"

Come on, I do have a sense of humor...that's why I used a smiley (well angry) face

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: asdf
" Come on, I do have a sense of humor...that's why I used a smiley (well angry) face "

Irony! I got it!

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Online Prof
"
What's more funny to me is that a secretary thought this was amuzing."

Someone around here might find it "amuzing" that you weren't hired to teach at USM. I'm "amased" that USM overlooked your qualifications.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

It didn't seem to me that the mother was being made fun of...rather...it illustrates how little some people know about universities...their purpose...how college professors differ from K-12...I doubt that this mother is alone in expecting the college experience to be similar to K-12.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Outside Observer
"I doubt that this mother is alone in expecting the college experience to be similar to K-12."

If things continue on their current path, she won't be disappointed. [My statement was not meant to be humorous. I am dead serious].

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Another view on 099 courses and open admissions. If we look at how most students view college, it's as an "investment project". I think even for regular admittees to USM, it's a struggle to make going to college a ">0 return" investment project. For 099 students, coming to USM is almost certain to turn out to be a "<0 return" investment project.

What's the solution? Invictus has it. If they are to get a ">0 return" investment project return in education, community college is the way to go.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: spelchekr
" Someone around here might find it "amuzing" that you weren't hired to teach at USM. I'm "amased" that USM overlooked your qualifications. "

Actually I am teaching 3 classes this Fall. You don't know me and you are clearly not qualified to sit in judgment of me. As far as the misspellings, unlike most of you on this board I have limited time because I have a full-time teaching job and the summer session is winding down. Therefore, I have to type fast. If you notice, the 's' is right above the 'z' on the keyboard.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: truth4usm/AH
"If you carefully read the initial post, you'll see that the poster did not comment on how the secretary dealt with the caller. How she responded to the caller and the secretary's own sense of humor are 2 different things."

Duh. The secretary would not have told him if she did not think it was funny. This is, of course, considering that it is a true story. And if you read my post carefully you would have seen that I said I "hoped" she handled the call more professionally that what I was led to believe in this thread.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Y'all quit. Don't make me have to stop this car.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

I have read with interest the discussions about the 099 classes, community colleges, and criticisms of some faculty who are critical of taking in students who do not qualify for entry without taking 099 classes. What amazes me is all the discussion about what the university and faculty should be doing and nothing about what the student has not done. Students who do not qualify either have little aptitude or are lazy. In my opinion, it is usually the latter. In my experience, community colleges do little to remedy the lazy problem. Students who have to take 099 courses usually have spent much of their life doing the minimum that allowed them to move forward. Compounding that over 12 to 14 years leaves them far behind their cohorts who exerted some effort. Their idea of studying is to spend two or three hours the night before each test. When they fail, the standard line is that they studied really hard which reflects even worse on them. If they have studied really hard, then they must lack the mental capacity to succeed. I have been successful in helping to rescue some of these students by confronting them with the fact they are not working sufficiently hard to be successful. Sadly most become academic flotsam with far less than a 2 point average and needing about 10 three hour courses of A or B to ever graduate. Even worse, they often are in significant debt due to student loans. Increasing the number of students needing 099 courses contributes to a decline in the academic culture of the student body, and helps only a few students at a large cost to the students and the university.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Cossack
"I have read with interest the discussions about the 099 classes, community colleges, and criticisms of some faculty who are critical of taking in students who do not qualify for entry without taking 099 classes. What amazes me is all the discussion about what the university and faculty should be doing and nothing about what the student has not done. Students who do not qualify either have little aptitude or are lazy. "

That's generally the case, but some students who are motivated and of above average native ability are severely handicapped by families which have little interest in education and public schools which never really taught much. Such students can turn things around with a lot of help. The challenge is to identify the motivated and able early on. By their very nature, large research universities aren't very good at that sort of thing. While the remedial classes may be small, many of the other classes freshmen take are in large auditoriums where disadvantaged students often fall through the cracks.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: o-town
"My departmental secretary just told me she received a phone call this morning from the mother of an incoming freshman. The mother proceeded to read to the secretary what courses her "child" had registered for (2 of them were 099 courses). She then asked "Where do we need to go to get a list of school supplies we need for these courses?""

This board should not be associated with the USM faculty. It is an embarrassment. It is time for the association to stop putting its name on this board.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Cossack
"I have read with interest the discussions about the 099 classes, community colleges, and criticisms of some faculty who are critical of taking in students who do not qualify for entry without taking 099 classes. What amazes me is all the discussion about what the university and faculty should be doing and nothing about what the student has not done.

Well, that they are in 099 classes provides plenty of assumptions about what they have not done. And alot of students who do meet the minimum requirements, which are not that difficult to begin with, are lazy. So I think it is more important as to what the students do once you get them rather than what they have done before you get them. Alot of freshmen students here are really not that far above the 099 people, but I would still give them the chance to prove themselves or fail themselves once they are here.

The first real problem here is the difficulty in juggling research and real teaching, which is never a problem at community college because they do not give a flip about research there. All I know though is that the 099 people are coming and we ought to make the best of it. I would start by deleting every single post on this board that has been written about this matter. Personally, I find it shameful that the association is condoning its name to be linked with some of the things that have been said about 099 classes, which is the same as stigmatizing and anathematizing the students enrolled in those classes.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: aaup
"
This board should not be associated with the USM faculty. It is an embarrassment. It is time for the association to stop putting its name on this board."

Just out of curiousity, are you a member of AAUP?

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Doesn't California have an open admissions policy in that state.

Date: Jul 29, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: foot soldier
" Just out of curiousity, are you a member of AAUP?"

I would imagine the membership might be a little higher if this board didn't scare so many people off. Have you ever thought that maybe people come here to get more info about aaup. What do they see instead? A bunch of garbage and insults. I have witnessed alot of ugliness on this board. I never complained about the ST comments, no matter how childish and inaccurate some of them were. But now some of you are making fun of students and you should stop. This whole thread should be deleted, especially the horrible story about the secretary's phone call. What is wrong with you people?

Date: Jul 29, 2004

Read the sticky at the top of the board. This board does NOT represent the opinions of the AAUP.

I assume by your answer that you are not a member.

If you want information about the AAUP, please ask, and many people on this board can provide it.