I actually think that you will find students at Junior colleges to be much more willing to learn than students at 4-year schools, just my own opinion (granted i went to one of those elite(ist?) 4-year schools).
Well, Scott, I hope you enjoyed your hearty laughter.
Well, you know, the joke was there. I. Just. Couldn't. Resist.
Quote:
But my friend who teaches 8th grade, also teaches night classes at a junior college. She amazes me with tales of telling the JC students to do something, and finding that they actually DO it! No throwing spitwads across the room behind her back; no writing notes; no kicking the desk in front of them to annoy that student; no steady stream of kids wanting to go to the bathroom, the nurse, the library, to get a drink...
I have kids in my classes who don't even speak English; yet I'm supposed to teach them to write an expository essay? Oh, and yes, their spring test scores DO count in my totals - thanks to "No Child Left Behind."
And, after all, your students are paying to be in your class. There must be some motivation in their hearts?
Yeah. Actually, the Uni. where I teach is pretty close to what you're talking about. Something like 85% of the students work 30+ hours a week, and they are really, really invested in their own education(s). I would imagine that this is the case in lots and lots of community colleges. My joke was really more of a knee-jerk reaction I have after teaching for so long in a Big 12 university, where so many students were not paying for their own education, and where so many students saw me (and I suppose all of their other teachers) as "bureaucrats standing in the way of their A" (saw that on a blog the other day...can't remember where). I'm working hard to get away from painting all my students with that brush, since the kids here are really amazing. Well, except for the guy who emailed me to tell me that if he didn't get a B on an essay there would be hell to pay.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there is a degree to which teaching (freshmen) at the college level is really not so horribly unlike teaching in high school (I would imagine). I've had to yell at students at the college level for all kinds of things--throwing things out the window, yelling out the window, sleeping, passing notes, reading magazines, doing other work, you name it. But then, there's an adjustment period for most students entering college, I think.
Anyway.
Quote:
Well, I'm glad I asked you about the Vietnam lit. class. It's a course I would have been interested in taking; but I honestly didn't know if there would be anyone else who felt that way. I am encouraged by what you have said. Thank you!
If you've not read any of his work, pick up some Andre Dubus. He's a friend of Tim O'Brien. I prefer his non-fiction to his fiction, but that's just my particular preference.
I think I heard that the Nasdaq was up 40% for the year. hehe. That's basically tech stocks, of which I own a truckload! I have great faith in tech over the long haul.
I studied the market for years before I took the plunge. Then in the fall of '98, the market took a 500 point dive. That's when I bought. I jumped in and bought 12 stocks - $1,000 of each. In the first year, my stocks were up an average of 85% from my purchase price. My $12,000 was up to $22,000 - and kept going up from there. My yahoo stock went from $1,000 to $4,000. It was all very exciting and I was SO insufferably smug. I have to laugh at myself. Then everything turned to dust.
I think you need to start studying the market and learn everything you can. Take notes when you watch CNBC, and keep a list of stocks to research at online sites. When you start feeling comfortable, my advice would be to wait for the market to take a dive of some kind, and buy some stocks then. Only invest money you can afford to lose.
If the Nasdaq is up 40%, some/many of my stocks must be too. I haven't checked anything in two years. But I didn't sell during the recession. I kept buying in my 403B plan when the market was in the dirt. I put in $10,000 a year for the last five years. The best profits will eventually come from all those stocks bought when the market was so far down.
I know someone who bought Proctor and Gamble on the Monday that the market finally opened after 9/11. The market was down 1200 points!!!! I wonder what her P&G is worth now?
CNBC is trash. Following any of their advice is stupid. Do the damn research yourself. Analyze the historical financial records yourself. Don't bother with big companies because any news you think you have hot off the wire is so widespread that it's already factored in the price.
If you believe what you see on CNBC you might as well believe in your horoscope too...whoops...
Comments
Originally posted by Carol A
Well, Scott, I hope you enjoyed your hearty laughter.
Well, you know, the joke was there. I. Just. Couldn't. Resist.
But my friend who teaches 8th grade, also teaches night classes at a junior college. She amazes me with tales of telling the JC students to do something, and finding that they actually DO it! No throwing spitwads across the room behind her back; no writing notes; no kicking the desk in front of them to annoy that student; no steady stream of kids wanting to go to the bathroom, the nurse, the library, to get a drink...
I have kids in my classes who don't even speak English; yet I'm supposed to teach them to write an expository essay?
And, after all, your students are paying to be in your class. There must be some motivation in their hearts?
Yeah. Actually, the Uni. where I teach is pretty close to what you're talking about. Something like 85% of the students work 30+ hours a week, and they are really, really invested in their own education(s). I would imagine that this is the case in lots and lots of community colleges. My joke was really more of a knee-jerk reaction I have after teaching for so long in a Big 12 university, where so many students were not paying for their own education, and where so many students saw me (and I suppose all of their other teachers) as "bureaucrats standing in the way of their A" (saw that on a blog the other day...can't remember where). I'm working hard to get away from painting all my students with that brush, since the kids here are really amazing. Well, except for the guy who emailed me to tell me that if he didn't get a B on an essay there would be hell to pay.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that there is a degree to which teaching (freshmen) at the college level is really not so horribly unlike teaching in high school (I would imagine). I've had to yell at students at the college level for all kinds of things--throwing things out the window, yelling out the window, sleeping, passing notes, reading magazines, doing other work, you name it. But then, there's an adjustment period for most students entering college, I think.
Anyway.
Well, I'm glad I asked you about the Vietnam lit. class. It's a course I would have been interested in taking; but I honestly didn't know if there would be anyone else who felt that way. I am encouraged by what you have said. Thank you!
If you've not read any of his work, pick up some Andre Dubus. He's a friend of Tim O'Brien. I prefer his non-fiction to his fiction, but that's just my particular preference.
Cheers
Scott
Originally posted by Carol A
I think I heard that the Nasdaq was up 40% for the year. hehe. That's basically tech stocks, of which I own a truckload! I have great faith in tech over the long haul.
I studied the market for years before I took the plunge. Then in the fall of '98, the market took a 500 point dive. That's when I bought. I jumped in and bought 12 stocks - $1,000 of each. In the first year, my stocks were up an average of 85% from my purchase price. My $12,000 was up to $22,000 - and kept going up from there. My yahoo stock went from $1,000 to $4,000. It was all very exciting and I was SO insufferably smug. I have to laugh at myself. Then everything turned to dust.
I think you need to start studying the market and learn everything you can. Take notes when you watch CNBC, and keep a list of stocks to research at online sites. When you start feeling comfortable, my advice would be to wait for the market to take a dive of some kind, and buy some stocks then. Only invest money you can afford to lose.
If the Nasdaq is up 40%, some/many of my stocks must be too. I haven't checked anything in two years. But I didn't sell during the recession. I kept buying in my 403B plan when the market was in the dirt. I put in $10,000 a year for the last five years. The best profits will eventually come from all those stocks bought when the market was so far down.
I know someone who bought Proctor and Gamble on the Monday that the market finally opened after 9/11. The market was down 1200 points!!!! I wonder what her P&G is worth now?
CNBC is trash. Following any of their advice is stupid. Do the damn research yourself. Analyze the historical financial records yourself. Don't bother with big companies because any news you think you have hot off the wire is so widespread that it's already factored in the price.
If you believe what you see on CNBC you might as well believe in your horoscope too...whoops...