raid
Dad Photographer
At first, we spoke Arabic with our parents and we spoke German between us kids, but then we switched to Arabic. English was used in many classes at our middle school and high school. Why do you ask, Paul?
I am off to meet with Professor Noam Chomsky!
- Thread starter raid
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fdarnell
Well-known
Great Story Raid!. I've found that statistics is a universal language with extremely clarity, save one thing: standards of significant digit rounding between US and JIS standards! Interesting that you are a statistics professor and it is such a fundamental part of photography and photo science.
Also, your story proves once again, that value is not within the "thing" that you obtain, rather the "struggle" with which one has to obtain the "thing" ultimately determines its personal value.
I feel that most of our young ones here in the US do not struggle enough to obtain the "things" that they have, hence they don't value them as much as they older generations.
Also, your story proves once again, that value is not within the "thing" that you obtain, rather the "struggle" with which one has to obtain the "thing" ultimately determines its personal value.
I feel that most of our young ones here in the US do not struggle enough to obtain the "things" that they have, hence they don't value them as much as they older generations.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Raid,
You mentioned that when you were young that you didn't speak Arabic well because you grew up in Germany. I imagine that's why Paul wondered what language you used when your family went back to Arabic-speaking Iraq.
I can speak Spanish, and am Hispanic since part of my family came to the USA from Spain. I've tripped myself up by saying things in Spanish to students of mine who are Mexican-Americans. Many of them don't speak Spanish at all, because they were born here and grew up speaking only English. One can't always assume someone speaks a language based on their ethnic background! I assumed they speak Spanish because they're Mexican, and they assume I'm an Anglo because I'm white.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Thanks Raid for sharing your story, interesting read.
robert
robert
raid
Dad Photographer
It is very useful to have experienced several languages and cultures in your life. I want our children to have similar experiences in life.
oftheherd
Veteran
I have been an adjunct professor at two different institutions. My first class has always stood out. I had two students I can never forget. One attended the first class, the mid-term exam, and the final exam. The other only attended the first class and the final. You would not believe the pressure I went under for flunking those two. I bowed to the pressure and gave them an "I" grade, expecting they would never be able to use it. I wasn't offered a chance to teach there again, nor did I want to.
But I was lucky the next time I accepted an offer to teach. I had students who worked days, and were giving up their evenings to get their education, so education meant something to them. What a wonderfully different experience!
I can only hope those two of mine learned from their experience, as I hope yours do. Most people have to work for any rewards. The sooner that is learned the better.
I really appreciate you sharing with us your interview. I don't agree with a lot of Mr. Chomsky's ideas. But I realize he is a brilliant man. I would be proud to say I have met him and talked with him. What a great opportunity.
BTW, who knew some sharks could sense human orientation?
raid
Dad Photographer
raid
Dad Photographer
I do what I can to NOT lower my expectations on what I want my students to have learned from my courses.
Raid
Raid
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
I've been a professor for nearly 12 years now (wow, longer than it feels) and I've have had a wide range of student interactions. I once had a student approach me on first day of class and asked me to "sign off" for them. Of course I was puzzled at what they were requesting, so I asked for clarification: They wanted me to excuse them from taking the class, and give them a passing grade, because they've already taught themselves everything I present in my course. Amusing! I only saw him at midterm and final exams and somehow he managed a D, which surprised me.
I develop and implement rigorous courses. Many/most of my students appreciate this and rise to the challenge. I attempt to have explicit and clearly defined expectations, along with active, engaging learning/inquiry. This makes my job harder, but its definitely more satisfying, especially as my students return to thank me year after year for their "favorite class".
In contrast, my wife once taught for a community college and had a terrible experience. The students were unmotivated, confrontational, underachieving, and did not have adequate writing and/or math skills for a "college" course. When they did poorly, the administration came down on my wife suggesting she try to understand that the students have "busy lives" and they should get good grades just for showing up. Never mind if they could write a coherent paragraph with even a single properly composed sentence. In fact, its apparently too much to ask for properly spelled words in the one-word answers on exams. My favorite was the student that argued frogs are mammals and insisted she was right because her sister is "a biology major". Incompetent students, disrespectful behavior, and a lack of support from administration...no surprise my wife left this position in disgust.
I fear this isn't an unusual situation. And then there's the allure of student loans. That big pot of money, less-than-savvy "students" and a lack of educational ethics....perhaps there's a problem here.
I develop and implement rigorous courses. Many/most of my students appreciate this and rise to the challenge. I attempt to have explicit and clearly defined expectations, along with active, engaging learning/inquiry. This makes my job harder, but its definitely more satisfying, especially as my students return to thank me year after year for their "favorite class".
In contrast, my wife once taught for a community college and had a terrible experience. The students were unmotivated, confrontational, underachieving, and did not have adequate writing and/or math skills for a "college" course. When they did poorly, the administration came down on my wife suggesting she try to understand that the students have "busy lives" and they should get good grades just for showing up. Never mind if they could write a coherent paragraph with even a single properly composed sentence. In fact, its apparently too much to ask for properly spelled words in the one-word answers on exams. My favorite was the student that argued frogs are mammals and insisted she was right because her sister is "a biology major". Incompetent students, disrespectful behavior, and a lack of support from administration...no surprise my wife left this position in disgust.
I fear this isn't an unusual situation. And then there's the allure of student loans. That big pot of money, less-than-savvy "students" and a lack of educational ethics....perhaps there's a problem here.
robert blu
quiet photographer
Hi Raid, I meant the story of your move from Irak to USA with related difficulties to overcome I just read in the link you gave a few post above!
No doubt you met him!
robert
raid
Dad Photographer
Yes, of course. Thank you, Robert. It was an interesting "project" for me to work out all the challenges until I got out.
raid
Dad Photographer
My university allows students to "challenge a course" by taking an exam in place of taking the course, if they already had the same material sometimes before. They do not get any credit hours for passing such a challenge, but if such a course is a pre-requisite for another course, then they would have met this pre-requisite.
zauhar
Veteran
As always, it is interesting to see Raid and other faculty members share experiences.
Raid, I am glad that a good share of your students can meet your expectations. This is not my experience - If I demanded that the students live up to my expectations, I would have to fail at least 90% of them (and would have no students and no graduate program). As it is, if they try their best and produce something 'reasonable' (albeit with a lot of spoon feeding), I let them by.
I sometimes get depressed over this, but the fact is that in the 'real world' our graduates do well.
Randy
Raid, I am glad that a good share of your students can meet your expectations. This is not my experience - If I demanded that the students live up to my expectations, I would have to fail at least 90% of them (and would have no students and no graduate program). As it is, if they try their best and produce something 'reasonable' (albeit with a lot of spoon feeding), I let them by.
I sometimes get depressed over this, but the fact is that in the 'real world' our graduates do well.
Randy
raid
Dad Photographer
I have a reputation of not being easy at all and I often state during lectures that students will work around the clock throughout the semester. Some students get very annoyed and I then need to explain that I mean well.
zauhar
Veteran
Raid, since I don't give a rat's ass about student evaluations (haven't looked at one since I got tenure), I should try your approach!
Randy
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Then again, in jurisprudence I attended very few lectures, and probably half a dozen seminars. I still got a first on that paper (while coming close to failing contract law: another 4 marks and I'd have had an upper second instead of a lower second, and got a grant for my LL.M. and subsequent D.Phil. in legal history, for which I was accepted but not funded).
There are some subjects with which one has an almost instinctive sympathy: as well as jurisprudence, my others were constitutional and administrative law (for which I attended 2 lectures in one year) and legal history (every lecture I could get to, because I found it fascinating). But I failed criminal law three times and had to repeat my first year as a result.
Then again, there was one term (in my second first year) when I spent only 3 weeks at university...
One of my professors in my final year was most amused by the following exchange:
Him: "Why do we teach jurisprudence?"
Me: "To maintain the illusion that this is a university and not a trade school."
He agreed with me. The majority of my fellow students did not, and were mortally offended.
To Raid: heartfelt envy for having met Chomsky.
Cheers,
R.
nikku
Well-known
Raid, thank you for sharing your story, and the photos. I'm always interested to hear the experiences of people from different cultures than my own.
nikku
Well-known
As a lawyer, I have to say, that's damn funny (and true).
raid
Dad Photographer
I used to tell my graduate students "I expect each of you to excel ...". This was in 1987/1988. A student walked into my office, crying her eyes out, saying "you remind me of my father...." . It seems that he always wanted her to do better . She added to it that she transferred from Florida State U to U of W Florida so that she would not have to excel! She then added that "students have family lives, friends, hobbies, .... etc." and not just studying. "You seem to have a cultural problem", I was told.
I was speechless for a while.
I was speechless for a while.
skibeerr
Well-known
Some comfort for all you prof's
I work with a guy who is typical of the less motivated student described above.
He is a genius of course.
He sells meat at the counter now.
I work with a guy who is typical of the less motivated student described above.
He is a genius of course.
He sells meat at the counter now.
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