I wonder what the response would be if the limitation was 666 instead of 137.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
I like the assignment, simple, yet demonstrates what it means to not BS your way through everything.
Additionally, to touch on iRodandiSmack mentioned, a 'freeform' writing assignment MIGHT be just what the doctor ordered.
Suppose you let your students write an essay on any topic and tell them to not worry at all about grammar, in fact, tell them to not punctuate or capitalize, or indent, or conjugate...etc. Then have other students read aloud others work, that'd show them how important it is to be thoughtful of what you are writing about and how you are writing it.
Though, this is university right? They should know that by now! The little assignment I just proposed would be more of a light hearted thing you might do In 5th grade
And those supervisors who really know their customer service will know when the customer REALLY has been wronged. That employee will then offer a compensation or upgrade without having it demanded of them.
I don't mean customers who have really been wronged. I'm talking about people who seem to think that in the post 9/11 America, being asked to wait in line for any period of time at all is such an affront that they deserve the moon for their time. Someone who will use a handicapped sticker when they don't need one, who will ostentatiously take up two seats on the subway, the kind who will talk on the phone/ eat/ shave/ watch a dvd/ knit a freaking piano while speeding through your neighborhood in their shiny new ExxonValdez. (but god forbid their precious street sees any traffic- what about their kids?)
We've taught our kids that stuff is everything, other people don't count, and your happiness can only be enjoyed at the expense of others.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
WTF, are you half Vulcan or something?
Clearly by your definition, all poetry, fictional literature, song lyrics, and other forms of artistic communication that have more than one possible interpretation, must also be irrelevant crap. Joy.
I'm all for students being exposed to robust math and science courseloads during middle and high school, and not just the lib arts type stuff, but a world of just one or the other would be not worth living in IMO.
I had to do a similar assignment, when I was a young lad. And when I say "had to do" I mean it was optional, but the alternative option was sitting mindlessly in class staring at the wall until the teacher yelled at you for not working on something. We had to write about why our mom or dad was the best in the world, and the winner would get a subscription to a local newspaper plus some cash (like a fitty) or something. I hated this assignment with an unbridaled passion. I was never overly keen on the parents, so the mass of the essay was forced. But the terrible part was that I had just barely learned to count to hundred, and was not yet good at it. So, I still do not like this assignment.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
and it has been my experience in life, half in the liberal arts and half in the sciences, engineering and math, that you are so wrong. but i guess it's a good thing you and ganondork don't realize it... ignorance is bliss, i suppose.
I wonder what the response would be if the limitation was 666 instead of 137.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
I could put more than one interpretation on what you are saying here....
I wonder what the response would be if the limitation was 666 instead of 137.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
If you think scientists don't have word length requirements, then I guess you've never written a scientific paper, not to mention conference submission or abstract, Mr. Scientist. Many conference publications, and some journals, will simply cut off all words past their limit. Your abstract is 318 words? Sorry, not anymore. Now it's 300. The first 300.
I don't think it's cruel. I've had cruel and insane professors.
In my intro to print production we had one night to find a magazine ad (with a theme he chose)... get the required colors... and comp it. And then you were judged on it's quality of matching the original ad.
By the end of that class I could make some bad ass marker comps.
If you think scientists don't have word length requirements, then I guess you've never written a scientific paper, not to mention conference submission or abstract, Mr. Scientist. Many conference publications, and some journals, will simply cut off all words past their limit. Your abstract is 318 words? Sorry, not anymore. Now it's 300. The first 300.
I thought I was going to go insane a while back when I was asked to write a 150-word abstract of my dissertation (~70,000 words). I had one day to do it.
We had to write about why our mom or dad was the best in the world, and the winner would get a subscription to a local newspaper plus some cash (like a fitty) or something.
That is positively -- if accurate -- the most retarded essay concept I have ever heard. What's the point of that, precisely? To see which kiddies love their mommy and daddy the most? To recognize that mommy and daddy must be modern-day saints to put up with (the student writing the paper) every day? The funniest part is the newspaper subscription... as if most teens today actually read them with any regularity.
"Golly, Thumpy-G! A whole big newspaper subscription all to myself... and all for telling my fellow homies what swell peeps my Mom and Dad are! SWEEET!"
Well, for a little kid who can barely count to 100, seems perfectly reasonable to ask them to write 100 words on a subject that is very close to home.\
now if you asked a college kid to do this, that's a different story all together
That's all they've every been asked to do, for the most part. In addition, it pre-supposes that this should all be "fun," which it isn't. Writing is often difficult.
Writing is difficult even for great writers. But truly great writers make a larger game out of it . . . it becomes a sort of play. . . . which doesn't mean that it is not hard, but rather that it is completely absorbing, and every aspect, decision, nuance, etc becomes part of the play. . . . great writrs, such as Joyce, make this obviouse . . . it is the same with all work that accedes to the level of art.
As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
As a scientist you're probably right, but I'd rather read some of Shakespeare's sonnets than any textbook in the world. Scientific writing has no obligation to be beautiful, only to be clear, I suppose, but beautiful things have no obligation to be easily interpreted.
[B]Well, for a little kid who can barely count to 100, seems perfectly reasonable to ask them to write 100 words on a subject that is very close to home.\
You know what? I've been stuck in the "we're talking about jr high and high school kids" mode this whole time. You are absolutely correct that such an assignment wouldn't be bad for sayyy, third grade and under. Roughly.
Comments
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
Additionally, to touch on iRodandiSmack mentioned, a 'freeform' writing assignment MIGHT be just what the doctor ordered.
Suppose you let your students write an essay on any topic and tell them to not worry at all about grammar, in fact, tell them to not punctuate or capitalize, or indent, or conjugate...etc. Then have other students read aloud others work, that'd show them how important it is to be thoughtful of what you are writing about and how you are writing it.
Though, this is university right? They should know that by now! The little assignment I just proposed would be more of a light hearted thing you might do In 5th grade
137 words as of exactly right now
Originally posted by tmp
longer. a lot longer.
More precisely, 529 words longer
Originally posted by CosmoNut
And those supervisors who really know their customer service will know when the customer REALLY has been wronged. That employee will then offer a compensation or upgrade without having it demanded of them.
I don't mean customers who have really been wronged. I'm talking about people who seem to think that in the post 9/11 America, being asked to wait in line for any period of time at all is such an affront that they deserve the moon for their time. Someone who will use a handicapped sticker when they don't need one, who will ostentatiously take up two seats on the subway, the kind who will talk on the phone/ eat/ shave/ watch a dvd/ knit a freaking piano while speeding through your neighborhood in their shiny new ExxonValdez. (but god forbid their precious street sees any traffic- what about their kids?)
We've taught our kids that stuff is everything, other people don't count, and your happiness can only be enjoyed at the expense of others.
Sow, meet Reap
Originally posted by Existence
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
WTF, are you half Vulcan or something?
Clearly by your definition, all poetry, fictional literature, song lyrics, and other forms of artistic communication that have more than one possible interpretation, must also be irrelevant crap. Joy.
I'm all for students being exposed to robust math and science courseloads during middle and high school, and not just the lib arts type stuff, but a world of just one or the other would be not worth living in IMO.
Originally posted by Existence
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
and it has been my experience in life, half in the liberal arts and half in the sciences, engineering and math, that you are so wrong. but i guess it's a good thing you and ganondork don't realize it... ignorance is bliss, i suppose.
Originally posted by Existence
I wonder what the response would be if the limitation was 666 instead of 137.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
I could put more than one interpretation on what you are saying here....
Originally posted by Existence
I wonder what the response would be if the limitation was 666 instead of 137.
As for the merit of the assignment itself, I agree with Ganondorf. As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
If you think scientists don't have word length requirements, then I guess you've never written a scientific paper, not to mention conference submission or abstract, Mr. Scientist. Many conference publications, and some journals, will simply cut off all words past their limit. Your abstract is 318 words? Sorry, not anymore. Now it's 300. The first 300.
In my intro to print production we had one night to find a magazine ad (with a theme he chose)... get the required colors... and comp it. And then you were judged on it's quality of matching the original ad.
By the end of that class I could make some bad ass marker comps.
Originally posted by BRussell
If you think scientists don't have word length requirements, then I guess you've never written a scientific paper, not to mention conference submission or abstract, Mr. Scientist. Many conference publications, and some journals, will simply cut off all words past their limit. Your abstract is 318 words? Sorry, not anymore. Now it's 300. The first 300.
I thought I was going to go insane a while back when I was asked to write a 150-word abstract of my dissertation (~70,000 words). I had one day to do it.
Cheers
Scott
Originally posted by thuh Freak
We had to write about why our mom or dad was the best in the world, and the winner would get a subscription to a local newspaper plus some cash (like a fitty) or something.
That is positively -- if accurate -- the most retarded essay concept I have ever heard. What's the point of that, precisely? To see which kiddies love their mommy and daddy the most? To recognize that mommy and daddy must be modern-day saints to put up with (the student writing the paper) every day? The funniest part is the newspaper subscription... as if most teens today actually read them with any regularity.
"Golly, Thumpy-G! A whole big newspaper subscription all to myself... and all for telling my fellow homies what swell peeps my Mom and Dad are! SWEEET!"
now if you asked a college kid to do this, that's a different story all together
Originally posted by midwinter
Very quickly. Tone not meant to be snippy:
That's all they've every been asked to do, for the most part. In addition, it pre-supposes that this should all be "fun," which it isn't. Writing is often difficult.
Writing is difficult even for great writers. But truly great writers make a larger game out of it . . . it becomes a sort of play. . . . which doesn't mean that it is not hard, but rather that it is completely absorbing, and every aspect, decision, nuance, etc becomes part of the play. . . . great writrs, such as Joyce, make this obviouse . . . it is the same with all work that accedes to the level of art.
Originally posted by Existence
As scientist, the only requirement of written language is that it has one and only one interpretation. Everything else is irrelevant crap. My impression is that the class you're teaching is worthless.
As a scientist you're probably right, but I'd rather read some of Shakespeare's sonnets than any textbook in the world. Scientific writing has no obligation to be beautiful, only to be clear, I suppose, but beautiful things have no obligation to be easily interpreted.
[B]Well, for a little kid who can barely count to 100, seems perfectly reasonable to ask them to write 100 words on a subject that is very close to home.
You know what? I've been stuck in the "we're talking about jr high and high school kids" mode this whole time. You are absolutely correct that such an assignment wouldn't be bad for sayyy, third grade and under. Roughly.