Category: education

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This is How a Mathematician Discovered an “Easy” Way to Do Quadratic Equations

Okay…he never said it was easy, just that it was easier, but I mean…are we buying that? I’m not someone who thinks any sort of math(s) are easy, not even the kind that sixth graders are assigned for homework, so I remain skeptical.

Still, let’s give Dr. Po-Shen Loh of Carnegie Mellon University a chance to explain himself, shall we?

Image Credit: YouTube

Quadratic equations are polynomials that include an x². Teachers use them to have students learn to seek two solutions at once, which typically involve methods like completing the square – but Dr. Loh turns finding roots into a few simpler, intuitive steps.

Polynomials are strings of math terms that can have one or many variables, and depending on how many times a line crosses any particular latitude or longitude, can have a solution with one value or two root values.

Image Credit: YouTube

Dr. Loh uses the idea of the two roots of every quadratic equation to make a simpler way to get to those roots by describing them this way: combined, they average out to a certain value, then there’s a value z that shows any additional unknown value. Instead of searching for two separate, different values, we’re searching for two identical values to begin with. This simplifies the arithmetic part fo multiplying the formula out.

He believes this is a more intuitive way for students to learn, since there’s no special or separate formula required – all students need to do is remember some simple generalizations about roots, and they can decide where to go next.

Image Credit: Dr. Loh

Since understanding quadratic equations is a key to grasping precalculus (and maths beyond), this could really help kids who are struggling.

If you ask Dr. Loh, what he’s tried to do is to build a bridge between understanding how concepts work in a classroom setting and ways to apply the ideas in the real world, and that’s pretty fun no matter who you are.

Here’s a video that explains the method in depth.

I’m still not sure that work as a mathematician is in my future, but I can understand enough of this to realize what a cool thing he’s done for students all over the world.

If you are a math person, tell us what you think of this development down in the comments!

The post This is How a Mathematician Discovered an “Easy” Way to Do Quadratic Equations appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

This is How a Mathematician Discovered an “Easy” Way to Do Quadratic Equations

Okay…he never said it was easy, just that it was easier, but I mean…are we buying that? I’m not someone who thinks any sort of math(s) are easy, not even the kind that sixth graders are assigned for homework, so I remain skeptical.

Still, let’s give Dr. Po-Shen Loh of Carnegie Mellon University a chance to explain himself, shall we?

Image Credit: YouTube

Quadratic equations are polynomials that include an x². Teachers use them to have students learn to seek two solutions at once, which typically involve methods like completing the square – but Dr. Loh turns finding roots into a few simpler, intuitive steps.

Polynomials are strings of math terms that can have one or many variables, and depending on how many times a line crosses any particular latitude or longitude, can have a solution with one value or two root values.

Image Credit: YouTube

Dr. Loh uses the idea of the two roots of every quadratic equation to make a simpler way to get to those roots by describing them this way: combined, they average out to a certain value, then there’s a value z that shows any additional unknown value. Instead of searching for two separate, different values, we’re searching for two identical values to begin with. This simplifies the arithmetic part fo multiplying the formula out.

He believes this is a more intuitive way for students to learn, since there’s no special or separate formula required – all students need to do is remember some simple generalizations about roots, and they can decide where to go next.

Image Credit: Dr. Loh

Since understanding quadratic equations is a key to grasping precalculus (and maths beyond), this could really help kids who are struggling.

If you ask Dr. Loh, what he’s tried to do is to build a bridge between understanding how concepts work in a classroom setting and ways to apply the ideas in the real world, and that’s pretty fun no matter who you are.

Here’s a video that explains the method in depth.

I’m still not sure that work as a mathematician is in my future, but I can understand enough of this to realize what a cool thing he’s done for students all over the world.

If you are a math person, tell us what you think of this development down in the comments!

The post This is How a Mathematician Discovered an “Easy” Way to Do Quadratic Equations appeared first on UberFacts.

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Parents Who’ve Had It Up to Here With Remote Learning

I think everyone who was not a willing homeschool – or remote school – parent has had it with this school year. That’s normal, really, since even regular teachers are usually ready for the end of the year by this point.

One way to deal with the stress and frustration is just to laugh with other people who have gone through the same thing – a fact these 10 parents are here to help you with today.

10. Some kids are just too smart for their own good.

These are my favorite kids, actually.

9. At the very least they deserve a nice holiday gift.

A gift card, people. Nothing crappy.

8. I think we’ve all learned a lesson here.

Don’t make the same mistake this man did. Unless you want a haircut.

7. I mean, teachers do it.

Not every day, though.

6. All of them.

Literally just pick one with your eyes closed.

5. Hey, learn something new every day.

No judgment here.

4. That’ll work out as well as me trying to teach you math.

Maybe better, to be honest.

3. It’s like, one of the only legit threats we have.

One less thread of control.

2. Stick to your story.

They’ll lose interest eventually.

1. We can’t follow this advice retroactively, unfortunately.

Unless you want to consider divorce in these trying times.

The school year is coming to a close, friends. The end is in sight.

What are you doing to help everyone in your house get through the next few months? Share your tips in the comments!

Thanks, fam!

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Parents Share Their Hilarious Takes on Homeschooling

There have been a lot of parents over the past year who have become unwilling homeschoolers (or remote schoolers), with varying degrees of success. The kids, too, are coping – some of them enjoying it better than others.

The important thing is that we’re all still laughing our way through it, and if you need a pick-me-up yourself, these 11 parents are here to give you the giggles.

11. We’ve adjusted our expectations.

I think that’s an important lesson for kids, don’t you?

10. I’m sorry but this is hilarious.

I would totally do something like this.

9. What a missed opportunity.

I bet teachers are going to take advantage of it going forward.

8. We’ve done our time.

Ask Alexa. She’s always helpful.

Image Credit: Someecards

7. Oh, sweet summer child.

None of us had any idea how far we had to travel.

6. We didn’t think it was sustainable.

And yet, here we are.

5. It’s called life skills, kid.

No, there will be no teacher’s evaluation at the end of this.

4. Everyone is a comedian.

Even when they’re not being funny at all.

3. This has to be a joke, right?

Talk about useless knowledge.

2. Hahaha they thought they were being funny.

And then a year passed…

1. Mom makes the rules, y’all.

You’re in her tipsy world now.

 

We’re all muddling through this, and summer is almost here. But right now it’s Spring and we’ve got a few more months to get through, so please share this with all of those friends who need it.

And let us know how you’re feelings in the comments.

Cheers to that, right?

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This is Why One Person Thinks High School Shouldn’t Start Earlier Than 10 A.M.

Reddit’s Unpopular Opinion thread is the place to go for people who think they know a better way to do things, or a way things should be done – that said, oftentimes it ends up being more of a popular opinion than people thought.

Validation!

This guy basically wrote a dissertation about why teenagers shouldn’t be required to get up so early.

We know TWO things about teenagers: (1) they need between 8-10 hours of sleep per night and (2) that their circadian rhythms, or the biological mechanism that regulates human sleep and wakeness patterns, operate in a way that, on average, they don’t start producing melatonin until after 11 PM.

Taking those two facts into consideration, the typical high class has class at around 7 am and most students have to wake up between an hour or two hours before their first class if they don’t want to be late. So like at 5 or 6 am. Let’s assume that teens fall asleep right on the dot at 11 pm (even though in reality they actually fall asleep much later since melatonin takes time to induce sleep), and have to wake up at 6 am. That’s only 7 hours of sleep, which is already under the 8-10 hour requirement.

And in reality since most teens fall asleep at least 15 or so minutes after 11 PM, as well as how some students wake up for school even earlier than 6, you have students getting between 4 and 6 hours of sleep, and this situation gets worse for students with jobs, lots of family obligations, extracurriculars, or lots of homework.

And listen, he’s got solutions, too!

These earlier start times just DON’T work. We already have the data for why they’re a terrible idea and even the CDC recommends that all high schools start no earlier than 8:30 am.

The reason I say 10 instead of 8:30 is because those same students who fall asleep at midnight and have to wake up two or so hours before school starts to make it on time would get 8 or 9 hours of sleep. You would have to fall asleep at 1 or 2 am to fall below the 8-10 number. That’s way better than if you had school at 8:30 or even nine.

And I know what people are gonna say. But what about students with jobs? What about athletics or clubs? What if the school day is longer?

Well, for athletics or clubs you can either have them at 9 am or have them as part of the regular school day if we reduce instruction time (which we should do anyway), so that way people don’t have to stay after school. You can also have tutorials and additional help during these times.

And about students with jobs, well I’m sorry but the rest of the school body shouldn’t have to suffer because a minority of students have jobs. What’s more, with a later start time, people have more time to spend doing things in the evening so maybe try to adjust your hours with your boss?

What does Reddit think about all of this? 10 people are weighing in!

10. We know it’s better, but…

I did my masters thesis on how to help students perform better in school. In short, studies support this. I dont know about 10, but 9 seemed reasonable for most.

Sh%t, I think I started school at like, 7:15. My gf was in honors choir, so she actually started at 6. Marching band was first hour and it was in the dark.

9. So many kids do this.

That’s why me and my homies used to sleep in school.

I slept more in school than at home some weeks, still managed decent average, schools make learning boring.

8. Thank goodness for college.

Yep… School started at 8am for me, from kindergarten till the end of high school, so I got up at 7 every school day for 14 years straight.

Then in college, the earliest any class you could enroll in started at 8:30. I’ve purposely avoided those at all costs. I’ve had a couple courses that started at 9:30, and even those were really hard to get to on time, or even at all.

I think I’d flunk out of college if I ever had to wake up for a class at 7am again.

7. This is ideal.

I teach middle school and we start at 8:20, which I like but feel is still a bit early.

8:45 would be perfect.

6. Because of society.

The general gist of it is teenagers are benefited by starting school later.

Youngsters are benefited by starting school EARLIER.

We do it the exact f**king opposite.

5.  Most of them are silent until lunch.

Maybe 8 or 9ish?

10 seems late to me.

It was amazing how some kids had enough energy to fight at 7am, I’d just be there half dead.

4. To put it bluntly.

Yes, we’ve chosen to value productivity over the developmental needs of our children.

This is very bad because kids who aren’t given the chance to grow as they should are obviously going to carry that forward into adulthood.

3. A minor quibble.

Got some of your data wrong.

Melatonin is produced at 1045, so the average international time to fall asleep is indeed at 11:00 pm sharp.

If you then want an average of 9 hours of sleep, you wake up at 8.

Delaying it until 10 has no basis in science (I lived far away from school and still didn’t need to wake up 2 damn hours beforehand), but there is a reason why most psychologists are calling for a start time no earlier than 830.

2. That’s so tough.

I don’t wake up til like noon.

High school was basically impossible because I’d just sleep all day.

That was until I flipped my schedule so that I would sleep when getting home and wake up at night.

Do my homework when I wake up and then end the day by going to school.

1. We have to grow up sometime.

People are angry in these comments.

I didn’t read the body bc its far too long but I remember in high school I was confused why the high school started the earliest out of all three types of school and I still am.

However ten is too late too. I’d say 8 or 9 though. I mean most adults work 9-5.

It makes sense, but what a big job it would be to switch things around.

Do you think we should try to make it happen? Tell us why or why not in the comments!

The post This is Why One Person Thinks High School Shouldn’t Start Earlier Than 10 A.M. appeared first on UberFacts.

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Teachers Discuss Which Generation They Enjoyed Teaching the Most

My sister has been a high school teacher for over 20 years and she likes to tell me stories about how the kids have changed throughout the years.

Because you know what they say…kids today! And that saying exists because it’s true.

Teachers who have been around for a while talked about which generation they’ve enjoyed teaching the most on AskReddit. Let’s see what they had to say.

1. Do what you want.

“I taught in the late 70s, early 80s in northern Alberta.

The nice part about being that early in my career, plus in northern Alberta, was that you could pretty much do whatever you wanted. My kids found an injured duck on the playground and we brought it into the classroom and spent weeks nursing that duck back to health.

As the duck grew stronger, he would do these practice flights in our classroom to the point where he would do a couple of laps around the room and my kids wouldn’t even get excited about it. Later in that same year we grew hydroponic tomato plants that went from floor to ceiling and were able to harvest tomatoes in the middle of winter.

Man, that was a great year! Pretty sure you couldn’t do most of that in a grade one classroom these days.”

2. Comparing themselves.

“In my mind kids have always been good at heart, but society and their upbringing is what ultimately shapes or corrupts them.

Unfortunately, I think more kids nowadays have mental health issues since they unconsciously compare themselves to their peers. The difference is 20+ years ago kids only compared themselves to the few hundred kids in their school.

Nowadays, they are comparing themselves to the millions of kids they see online.”

3. Breaking down the years.

“97 – sarcastic, grungy, smoking more cigarettes, more clique-y and edgy

07 – petty, attention starved, overwhelmed, but much nicer

17 – under so many layers of irony and memes they dont even know who they are anymore or care. there’s no point in being creative or devolving a personality, anything you could think of has already been done.”

4. Here’s the deal.

“Honestly it is not so much the generation but the age group and the relative interest and if you connect with the students or not (and they connect with you as a teacher and respect you as an educator who has their best interests at heart)

I like the younger students for their curiosity and eagerness and excitement when new ideas are being introduced or there is some challenge/learning-related contest going on in the class. This gets more difficult to cultivate as a group-energy level in the puberty years, and easier afterwards.

But I’ve had some kids in the 12-14 age group come in during lunch to continue their activity just because they were so engaged in what we were doing, and I was cool with it as I ate my lunch in the classroom and therefore my classroom (I taught computers, so other labs were often locked after classes) was always open.

It is very obvious when you see the interest and level of engagement from a class that is ready to learn, it is almost like when an engine is reving up and all cylinders are firing in sequence; you can really feel the energy. But you notice the differences as some classes just ‘click’ with their teacher more than others, even in the same year.

For those who may be wondering why that is, I like to think of each class as a sort of team, as in sports. I suspect that if there is a certain threshold of active, curious and interested students in each class then that interest level and energy just is infectious and becomes the overall mood of the class. A few leaders in the class can raise the energy of the whole ‘team’.

Of course, it’s the same story if there are enough disinterested students in a class who honestly don’t want to be there and have no interest in learning.

Sprinkle in a few more who prefer to disrupt a class for laughs and that just drains the interest and excitement right out of the room unless the teacher or occasionally some students can reassert the need for respect so learning can continue uninterrupted.

It can really be apparent when you are teaching the same exact lesson to different classes on the same day as you will see which ones are into it and which ones just aren’t.”

5. Out of touch.

“I enjoyed the 1990s because there was still not a ton of technology.

One of the things I’ve noticed now is that my cultural references have absolutely tanked now.

I was teaching a course and literally NO ONE got my reference to The Matrix or Pulp Fiction or well … anything.”

It was the first time I felt that internal twinge of being “out of date” and realizing I was teaching 17-18 year olds who were being BORN when that movie came out.

I still love the job though. :)”

6. All downhill.

“When I started teaching in the early  2000s, students still got my most obscure Simpsons and 80’s film references. By the late 2000s, I had nothing left to reference.

By the early 2010’s my kid had reached adolescence, so I had new material, but it really wasn’t mine, and the culture had splintered so much that my Rick and Morty references only hit about 30% of the class.

Lately I just stopped trying, and became that old, out-of-touch Prof; I lived long enough to become the villain.”

7. Used to love it.

“Started teaching first grade in 1999. I loved teaching till about 2006.

Students were so eager to learn kept me on my toes. They were respectful and the parents were supportive. Little by little things started changing. Complaining about colors of napkins, words like angels, witch, . It kept getting worse. The amount of paperwork and meetings no time to teach.

The testing got in the way took time away from teaching and what was important which is the children. Little by little it took most of my energy. Stopped teaching after only 13 years.”

8. Mom’s thoughts.

“My mom was a teacher from the mid ’70s up until covid hit and she retired for good.

I think she liked ’80s and early ’90s kids best. Parents still had respect for the teacher, as did most kids, and our government had not yet ran education into the ground with cuts and overcrowded classrooms. Plus ’80s and ’90s kids had silly fads and were kind of quirky and fun.

She said the biggest difference now is resilience. Kids today have bigger difficulties with overcoming things, more anxiety issues, many refuse to even try something for fear they’re not good. It’s not an issue with the kids per say, generally most things can be traced back to parents, who are putting more pressure on kids.

Also, the biggest difference is parents. It used to be parents and teacher were more a united front. Now parents are angry at the teacher if their kid doesn’t do their homework or work in class, or accuse the teacher of lying if the teacher says their kid did something bad.

I’m a teacher too, but have been teaching less than 10 years, so I have little comparison. But I can say that as a kid in the 90s, I can’t remember other kids saying “no” to teachers. We may have groaned or whined, but we didn’t refuse.

Today I’ll have an activity or game and kids will flat out say “no. I’m not doing that”. Kids refuse to participate to my face. I hear “no” all the godd*mn time, and it’s frustrating when I know my lesson slaps. They just say no to everything.

Also kids complain when you put on a movie. It used to be, when your teacher wheeled in the big TV cart, the class cheered. We didn’t care what it was. Now all you get is “ugh no I don’t like this movie/ I’ve already seen it/I don’t want to watch/ this is boring” and I’m like HOW DO YOU CHILDREN NOT LIKE MOVIE DAY.”

9. A big difference.

“Started teaching at university in the 2000s.

Kids were really cliquey (into what sub-culture or tribe they were in and didn’t mix) and intolerant of difference (of any kind). Was 10 years older than them, most had no idea how to save a file on the computer into different formats. Had to tell kids not to describe things they didn’t like a ‘gay’ ALL THE TIME.

In the 2010s they started being better at technology, but worse at fixing it when it went wrong, getting more tolerant, more likely to mix. 2020s kids are really tolerant, kinder, but much, much sadder.”

10. We need better parenting.

“Started teaching in 1985, retired in 2015.

I enjoyed teaching in all of those years and enjoyed knowing almost all of my students. I feel that any observations I might make would be so prejudiced by my own reactions to the era and my own aging that it’s a bit of a ridiculous question.

I do think that more people need to commit to better parenting, as I was appalled by how scarred many students were by sheer parental neglect and abuse, regardless of the era. I don’t think abuse has become any more prolific, but I recognized it more and more as I became a veteran teacher.

Other than that, talking about people by generations is just another way to divide us and keep us quarreling; otherwise we might notice that we’ve all become the property of corporations. And they don’t want that.”

11. No accountability.

“Kids don’t change, but accountability is gone in my district.

First half of my career (90s, 00’s) students and parents were far more accountable. Today, if a student does not thrive, it is blame the teacher all day, every day. Teachers now compete with Tik Tok, Snap Chat, video games etc…and there is such a sense of entitlement, at least in my district.

The students are still great, but the adults have messed this up so bad. We have eliminated all deadlines in my district, and students can re-do an assignment over and over until they get the grade they want.

Consequences can be great learning experiences, but we are no longer able to apply them.”

Have you been teaching for a while?

If so, which generation of kids has been your favorite?

Tell us what you think in the comments!

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Teachers Talk About What Generation of Kids They Liked Teaching the Most

Oh, boy…

The times, they are a changin’…

Well, I guess the times are always changing, right?

And that’s especially true when it comes to kids. Every generation is unique and learns from the triumphs and mistakes of the ones before them…and teachers who stick around long enough see kids change a lot throughout the years.

Teachers of AskReddit talked about which generation of kids they’ve enjoyed teaching the most. Let’s take a look.

1. Mid-1990s.

“I have taught emotionally disturbed children for much of my career.

The kids I had 25 years ago would constantly fight with each other. The kids I had most recently made a habit of going after me and the parents always wanted to know what I did to provoke them.

Give me my mid-1990s kids any day! They loved me as their teacher and didn’t tolerate any disrespect towards me from their peers.”

2. Changes…

“Started teaching in 2002. All of that has been middle school. Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-14)

Biggest changes have been prevalence and reliance on screens and devices, but ultimately what kids want is acceptance. And most of them will seek it wherever it can be found easily, which is on a screen.

All I can really say is that I am incredibly grateful that Facebook and social media did not exist when I was a kid/teenager.”

3. Bad writers.

“I’m a philosophy professor and the only thing I’ve noticed is that the latest generation of students (zoomers?) are like, really really bad at writing. Like, obscenely.

Every other generation I’ve taught has been roughly the same, with different philosophical predilections, but for some reason everyone’s just really bad at writing now (let alone philosophy).”

4. It was a simpler time.

“I recently passed my 10 year mark, so I’ve taught 2000s and 2010s.

Biggest difference is the coursework. Man do schools (and parents) love to cram so much work into such little time. They like having something to “show” for their kids schooling. Gone are the days when we could explore and learn. Where we could discuss topics, or I could even read them non-curriculum books, or do fun experiments.

Oh, little Timmy is 4 years old? Better start learning to write upper and lowercase alphabet letters perfectly. But don’t give the kids pressure. And don’t take away play time if they can’t finish in the allotted 10 minutes. But make sure they finish on time and there aren’t mistakes or you (the teacher) will get reprimanded for it.

Also the parents. They used to think being a teacher was a noble and respected job. Now many tell me that they know more than me despite my education and experience.

And god forbid I tell them their child made a mistake or had a behavioural incident. Then I’m either lying, or the kid didn’t mean it so how could I dare ask them to receive any consequence for their actions.

Parents are constantly undermining teachers, and the schools will throw teachers under the bus to keep a child’s tuition any day.

I also work in a private school. So the more money a family has, usually the worser the parents/children.

I miss the 2000s. A simpler time.”

5. Good kids.

“I like the kids I teach now.

They are, for the most part, really peaceful. We have so few fights on campus.

They are really accepting. LGBTQ folks would have been beaten when I was a kid, now it’s no factor. General apathy and major boredom rule the campus, but my kids still get up to fun.”

6. Gen Z’ers.

“I love my Gen-Zs.

They know us Elder Millennials saw some sh*t, and they are happy to lean right into the complete Iliza Schlesinger bit that we’ll do about basically everything pre-2005.

They’ll call out stuff like “Tell us about floppy disks!” and “Tell us about dial-up!” and “What about Surge, ma’am?” and I just do my best Madam Razz impression (reboot, not original She-Ra, these are Gen-Zs,) tell them about these things, and then reveal -to amazed gasps- an actual can of post-revival Surge, for whatever student can write me the best 250 words about a controversy of 1980 through 1985 before I get back from the john.

I handed out seven cans of Surge this week just on this topic. My students are glorious. I also saw one of my colleagues, who coaches a sport, happily sitting down to a wonderful lunch she had packed herself, took out a can of Surge, opened it, smelled it, savored it, saw me noticing and “I know, I know, it’s so bad for you. But I haven’t had this since I was a kid!” and I said “Not judgin’ here, love!”

And she described how one of her kids gave it to her after first period as a present and how she’d been looking forward to it all day and I remembered that one of my best writers, one of our best student athletes, is both Type I diabetic and just the sweetest person.

So I stopped by the good grocery store and got a bit of sugar-free Ramune, the fanciest and most delicious kind, which shall be theirs.”

7. Big shifts.

“I’ve been teaching in the humanities at a pair of universities for 11 years.

My main observation is that students don’t want a “think” piece anymore, they want a “doing” piece.

This shift happened about 5 years in to my tenure. It was a real break in what the students expected, and I felt compelled to adapt to it.

So a syllabus is now less “let’s learn about and reflect on a framework” and more “I want to do this myself first, then maybe we’ll see if there’s a framework there worth talking about.”

This can actually be a really good thing. I’m kind of a phenomenologist myself so I’m more or less theoretically oriented to the idea of learning equally from the experience of one’s self and from the experience of others. And then critiquing, reflecting, and acting on those experiences as a perfectly legitimate basis for a lot of good things that can come next.

But on the other hand, no one wants to read any more. It’s all bullet points and takeaways, slide decks and checklists, “gotta juggle my five classes but also my three side hustles”.

It encourages a kind of faddish approach, and frankly almost psychopathic and disconnected. It’s not about learning, it’s about extracting. On the cynical side of things, one might conclude that the students want to be given the cheat sheet so they can perform to others that “they know.” Everyone wants to be “a leader.”

This can cut both ways. For the students to be primed to apply what they’ve learned as and whenever it arises has arguably more practical impact in practice, so that’s good. But on the other hand, I feel that something deeper here with the academic process is being lost and very deeply devalued.

And I’m not so confident about what higher education will look like in 15 years as a result, particularly in context of the corporatized profit model that is already pressuring the academy in general.

It’s like every subject has become an MBA. And we used to poke fun of those guys for being problem-solving droids happily operating in narrow little boxes of their own making.

So that’s one big shift.

The other big shift I feel I am living through as a teacher is the total diminution of the classical era. The 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s had their fair share of prophets of radical socio-technological change. But it’s only really now in the post-truth social media bot and AI-content-warped world of literal augmented reality that it has finally come to be.

Our globalized world is so radically different now that Greeks, Romans, Renaissance and even early modernists are all just looking like a quaint bunch of vaguely charming and very embarrassing (“cringe”) Neanderthals. A restatement of origins like “Hamilton” is about as far back as anyone feels they’d ever need to bother looking.

I frequently imagine the great contrarian Nietzsche himself feeling sidelined as the aging and irrelevant hippy amidst a world that has rendered his protest against the human condition itself as anachronistic.

There’s a radical un-mooring from history taking place and, combined with the new approach to learning I describe above, it’s really hard to feel any confidence in where the eff it’s going to take us.

The trend feels very technocratic in direction. And while that can be an admirably evidence-driven form of politics (“trust the science” as Biden feels compelled to repeat, for instance), it can also very easily subordinate a lot of values, rights, and principles that don’t look any more compelling as a bunch of bullet points than anything else on the to-do list.”

8. 1990s kids.

“I’ve been teaching for 28 years. From elementary to high school.

I’ll take the children if the 90’s because cell phones didn’t distract the students and most parents didn’t try to blame the teachers on the failures of their child.”

9. Much easier these days.

“I like teaching NOW because we have a lot of technology that makes things easier.

No more grading tests by hand, or standing in line to run scan-trons.

Pretty sweet!”

10. More respectful now.

“I like them all.

But my favourite thing about this generation is that they are in general more respectful, polite and empathic.”

11. Mom’s POV.

“My mother taught 6 year olds in the 60s, 80s and 90s.

The kids didn’t change much but the paperwork, administration and social work got too much for her at the end. Kids coming to school not being fed, reeking of smoke and pot.

And parents went from being allies to some becoming outright hostile for their kids being given the slightest reprimand – like “Jheydenn, you didn’t help tidy up so you’ll need to wait for the other children to go play before you can go”. Oh and names.

Not cultural, but badly spelled and weird names like “Hastalavista” and “Fordescort”. She still loves running into her old kids, many of whom had children she taught, and some are now grandparents.”

12. Reflections of society.

“It’s difficult to compare generations, but I can tell you something students are a reflection of the society around them, and if I compare students I have a had to what I was like there is a dramatic difference which I put down to social change.

The two most dramatic differences that I notice are that students now are far more emotional sensitive, which can be a good, or bad thing, and far less independent of thought. Social media, more standardized testing, less real life difficulties, and more imagined ones all contribute to this.

When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s I never worried about my future, and I didn’t feel any pressure socially to conform. I was always encouraged by friends and society to think, act, and learn independently. There were no universal right answers, and very little outside expectations.

Now, I find students feel constantly under pressure to outcompete each other, attain artificial goals, and not offend anyone. For a long time I taught graduates basic academic skills because schools either ignored, or refused to teach basic rhetorical, discussion or argumentative skills.

It is my default setting to assume the current generation of students, cannot automatically play devils advocate, or challenge accepted viewpoints. They are constantly being forced to accept whichever sides argument is dominant, and seem conditioned to follow whoever they have told to follow. It is a frightening situation.

Also, artificial competition has hollowed out people’s lives. Growing up me and everyone I knew had interests and hobbies. I rarely find that now with young people. And the interest and hobbies people do have have changed.

When I ask people what they do in their free time, the number one answers are always, browse social media, shop, and meet up with friends to take photos for social media.

Actually, that is being generous, the most common answer I get is actually ‘nothing.’ Students at high school and university don’t even seem to be able to manage the old cliched ‘s*x, drugs, and rock’n’roll.’ Bravado that dominated my generation, and the generations for that. People don’t seem to have the time, or energy to even enjoy themselves now.

It must suck being young now, or at least that is what I was told.”

Now we want to hear from more teachers!

Tell us about the favorite generation that you’ve enjoyed teaching in the comments.

Please and thank you!

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Professor Asks if It’s Wrong to Tell a Student That They Just Don’t Care

I used to think that being a college professor would be one of the best jobs ever.

You get a flexible schedule, you get to read about, publish, and teach about something you’re super into (you would have to be to get a Masters or PhD), and your students are old enough to be considered adults, so you wouldn’t have to deal with parents the way high school teachers do.

Then I learned about all of the politics that are involved with University teaching, and I’m kind of glad I petered out 80% of the way through my MA.

This professor is having an attack of a guilty conscience after following a school’s policy to not give deadline extensions on certain assignments without an excuse (and proof).

Happened a month ago but I still feel guilty over it. I’m a professor & my students had an assignment due on the week I was on bereavement leave. I informed my students of this, and let them know that I would be answering emails/ requests late, so it was better to inform the other professor in charge of the unit.

This assignment was given at the beginning of the semester & they were informed that no deadline extension would be provided unless there was an emergency (with proof) or requested in advance cause it was the school’s policy.

He had one student who emailed him timely, said her grandmother had passed, and was given the extension (pending proof).

One of student’s grandmother passed the day the assignment was due, so she emailed me & CCed the other lecturer. I happened to see the email in time, & I made a note in the system of her case & the deadline was extended with subsequent action pending the submission of proof.

Then another student emailed, citing “personal reasons,” but the professor did NOT see the email in time to stop him from getting an automatic fail because he was on bereavement leave (the students were informed ahead of time).

The student became upset and elevated the matter to both the professor’s superior and the dean, and he was forced into an online meeting while he was supposed to be grieving his brother’s death.

A day after the deadline, another student emailed me (only) saying that he couldn’t submit his assignment due to personal reasons & asked for a backdated extension. I didn’t see the email until a couple of days later. Because of the delay, he received an automatic fail. I emailed him back explaining what had happened but if he could provide proof of the emergency I may be able to find a solution where he won’t be failed (but won’t be given high marks).

He sent a really nasty reply & CCed the dean & my superior (the other lecturer in charge of the unit). I was dragged into an online meeting to sort this issue (while on my bereavement leave).

The conversation got a bit heated, with both parties saying things they probably shouldn’t have.

He called me a sh%tty professor because I was on leave the week the assignment was due & I was playing favourites cause I gave an extension to his classmate but not him & didn’t answer his email on time. He also said that I had no right to ask for proof because it was personal. I interrupted him to tell him off, saying that I honestly don’t give a shit about what excuses he has because I have proof that he acknowledged my emails.

I also said that I’m sorry that my brother’s death inconvenienced him but that it was his responsibility to keep track of dates & understand that certain things were out of my control because it’s the school’s policy, not mine. I also reminded him that I did say that I would try to not fail him but I couldn’t do that if I didn’t have proof.

I admit I was not as polite as I normally would be, & I was visibly upset by the time the Dean cut in.

The Dean excused the professor from the conversation, since he was on bereavement leave, saying the others would settle the matter. The prof found out later that the student came from a rough background and was already on academic probation, and now he’s feeling badly about the entire thing.

The Dean apologised to me first because he had no clue I was on bereavement leave (apparently my superior didn’t tell him for whatever reason). He then said I could excuse myself from the meeting cause he would settle this matter with my superior. I left the meeting & I found out later that the student was already on academic probation & would possibly be expelled cause he failed my unit (assignment was 60% of overall grade). He also came from a troubled background, which explained the personal reasons.

I really do care for my students, & knowing I may have contributed to him being expelled from the university does not sit well with me.

He did do his best to advocate on the student’s behalf, he said in an edit, but isn’t sure what will come of the whole thing.

I did write my superior a recommendation that he still be able to submit the assignment at a later date. My superior told me that because he was on academic probation, there would be another meeting to decide but they would take my suggestion into account.

The internet was ready to give their verdict on this one, though I honestly think everyone involved was a little bit right – and also a little bit wrong.

This fellow prof said the original poster wasn’t wrong, but that in the future he should work harder to be the bigger person as far as how he treats his students.

Image Credit: Reddit

Several people pointed out that his superior should have been more involved, and that he never should have been expected to handle things like this while grieving his brother in the first place.

Image Credit: Reddit

Everyone should have taken a few deep breaths before getting together.

Image Credit: Reddit

A few people thought the professor’s tough love might have been just what this kid needed to keep things together in the future.

Image Credit: Reddit

In the end, the professor is human and doing his best – and he’s done his best to correct things, too.

Image Credit: Reddit

I think the very first response on this one was the best – the professor wasn’t wrong, but he could have handled it better.

Let’s hope everyone involved has learned a little something for the next time, eh?

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People Share Free/Low-Cost Resources That College Students Need to Know About

Were your college days filled with scraping by, eating ramen, and drinking Hamm’s because you were always low on money?

Well, you’re not alone, my friends, because that’s the way it goes for countless numbers of young kids out there just trying to get an education.

And that’s why these resources that folks shared are so helpful for students trying to get by.

AskReddit users offered up free and low-cost resources that college students might want to take advantage of.

1. Cheap software.

“A lot of times your university will have stupid cheap software licenses for students/faculty.

At my university we got Adobe Creative-Cloud licenses for $10/year and free Microsoft Office licences (this was before office 365, so it wasn’t a subscription).

Sometimes the cheap software is only for certain departments/majors but at mine they had several deeply discounted software packages any student could buy.”

2. Good one.

“Find the previous editions of your textbooks. Frequently they will be as cheap as $0.05.

If your professor pulls homework questions out of the current edition go to the library and use their reference copy just for the questions.

Although with a lot of the access codes needed these days it might not be possible.”

3. Worth a shot.

“Check with your grocery store to see if they have a student discount day.

15% off can go a long way.”

4. Give it a shot.

“To help organize notes and sources for papers and assignments, I highly recommend Zotero to help keep organized.

It also makes writing citations super easy.”

5. For the smart folks.

“For science/ stem people: Khan Academy videos.

They saved me several times.”

6. This right here.

“Please use your school’s on-campus mental health professionals.

They are easy to access, usually free, certified, and acutely aware of the stresses and issues with college life.”

7. All kinds of discounts.

“Student discounts. I’m sure someone else has already put this but I benefitted from it greatly.

As a music major, I had to buy a lot of different DAWs and equipment along my journey. Big corporations want you to buy their product, but are aware that you’re already digging yourself into a huge hole of debt so they often times will drop the price of a product by half or more to sell it to you.

For example, as a student you can get an Adobe membership for about $20 a month. I got a copy of Studio One 4 for $250 as opposed to $500 because I was a student. This also works if you’re not a student but want to make a large purchase.

Most sites don’t actually check to see if you’re a student so just jump thru some hoops and see where it gets you!”

8. Doing the Lord’s work.

“Church pantries.

Free groceries every week/every other week.

Just being proof you live in the area.”

9. Drink up!

“The grad student bar usually has cheap booze.

Art shows often have free booze.”

10. Very helpful.

“Mendeley.

Its a citation manager geared towards peer reviewed literature. It has a browser extension that downloads the pdf/ citation, and integrates with word. As you’re typing, you can add in text citations by searching for the author.

Then when you’re done, click add bibliography. Boom.. Done. Its made by elsevier. Once you use it, you’ll wonder why you ever added citation by hand/ one at a time.”

11. Might as well try.

“Fafsa, even if you don’t qualify, it’s still worth trying to get financial aid.

I only have to pay about $45 per class as opposed to $250.

Might look confusing and tedious initially, but after the first time the website usually saves your info and it only takes a few clicks to apply for the next year.”

12. Yes!

“LIBRARY CARD. This cannot be overstated enough.

Libraries are one of the only remaining establishments in which you are not compelled to spend money. It is FREE material. Free books, movies, magazines and periodicals, games, sometimes even technology!

Libraries are amazing. Some library cards even provide you access to online only materials.”

13. Get on it!

“Coursera!

Basically college classes of various types taught online for free (you can pay for a certificate if you like, but you can access all the resources for free if you just want the knowledge).

The fun thing is the variety is huge and beyond the usual intro level stuff- for example, if you are past intro programming and like astronomy, there’s an excellent astronomy data science class I recommend to a lot of people.”

How about you?

Do you know of any good free or cheap resources that college students should know about?

If so, please share them with us in the comments. Thanks a lot!

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