[oclug] University of Ottawa LinuxFest2002

[Francis J. A. Pinteric]

On Thu, 28 Feb 2002 22:00:37 -0500
Rod Giffin <rod at giffinscientific.com> wrote:

> On Thursday 28 February 2002 18:29, Francis J. A. Pinteric wrote:
> > You are an idiot. Are you saying that students are incapable of
> > thinking?
> >
> > The whole point of being a student is to think. We of the doctoral
> > class sometimes force you to do so.
> 
> ROFL.  This made me laugh.  Mostly because it's wrong - it's not
> supposed to be wrong, it's supposed to be right and in an ideal world
> would be, but my most recent experiences with students doesn't support
> the above very well.  I'm not saying they're idiots, or not smart - just
> that they are not being taught to think.
> 

You still don't know what you are talking about. If you are in charge of
the minds of our young people you should be fired.

I grew up in academia, and I trained to be a teacher.My father was a
university professor and I hold a Ph.D. I do know what I am talking about.
I am well aware that we do not live in an ideal world and all we can do is
to make our own corner of it the best we can. Some times I jump up and
down and scream and yell. Other times I have to put up with idiots like
you.

I grew up in  a school system where the teachers decided that students did
not need to know grammar and the government agreed. We were taught to
groan when the teacher was `forced' to teach it because the teacher didn't
like grammar (or didn't know it herself). I suspect the same situation
exists today although I am no longer in elementary school and can not say
for certain. I was in university before I learned that grammar was
important, and because I was younger than the average university student
at the time, certain allowances were made. (Except for my Calculus teacher
who knew what was going on -- I remember that first day when he complained
about the caliber of students' english. That was almost thirty years ago.)


If you are trying to stand up for today's teachers to me you are wasting
your time. I have a great deal of respect for individual teachers and I
know a great many of them. They all agree with me. I place a great deal of
faith on our young people as they are the future, and our eternity. But
our children need a solid basis to grow from and the system does not
provide it. What sort of system allows students not to understand how to
learn before they are in university? That is what I was brought up with
and thast is still the situation today. Only a few `escape' and realize
that education is a life long process.

This message has turned into a diatribe, and I apologize.  To the student
that I was yelling at, I wish you well. But I'm still yelling at you. The
poster of the original message is telling you that you are not allowed to
think. Please yell back at him.

>>>--fja->

-- 
Fides sine operibus mortua est.