What Would You Do?
I have had a couple of "What would you do?" moments over the last couple of weeks. So, I am curious. What would you do, in these instances?
1. Talia came home with a paper that covered the anatomy and physiology of the heart. The paper explained what type of muscle the heart is, and had a brief paragraph on what the heart did. On the other side, there was a labeled diagram of the heart. Both the paragraph and the diagram had errors on it. This was not the fault of the teacher; she had downloaded the papers from an educational website, thinking that the information was correct. Contact the teacher, or not?
2. I ordered two Adirondack chairs for Tim's birthday. Yes, his birthday isn't until late March, but I thought I'd get a jump on things. The chairs arrived, and Tim started to put them together. As he was finishing up the first chair, he realized that the arm rests were defective, and that they would not go on properly. He checked the second chair -- same thing. I contacted the company, who said they would check two new chairs for the defect, and if they did not have the defect, they would send them out as replacements. The other chairs, being defective, can be donated or disposed of. I realize that the company cannot sell those chairs. Do we keep them and make the arms work, or not?
3. A student came up to me and asked for my lecture notes. I am not lecturing this quarter; I only teach the laboratory component of several classes. However, I had this student in a past quarter. She asked for my notes because she isn't doing as well as she would like in her lecture right now, and she thinks it is partly due to the organization of the instructor's notes. Let her have the notes, or not?
4. Melina woke up at 1:30 am last night -- a regression of sorts, considering she had been going until about 5 am the last couple of nights. As usual, she asked for mommy milk. I was so tired. So tired. Give her the milk or not?
In case you are wondering, here is what I did:
1. I wrote a nice note to Talia's teacher, explaining that there were factual errors in the worksheets. I offered to find her a lesson with the correct information. I received a gracious note back from the teacher, and I also spoke to her when I ran into her the next day. She actually said she was embarrassed, but grateful. She ended up tossing the lesson and will find something else.
2. We have 4 chairs. Two are put together, and 2 will be put together by the time summer comes, after Tim finagles the arm rests on.
3. Because I had a working relationship with the student, I went ahead and gave her the notes. I first informed her that she needed to let her instructor know that she needed extra help, and see where that got her. To be honest, at the end of the quarter (in the quarters that I teach the lecture portion of a class) I also post my notes for the next class in the series. Doing so allows the students to get a head start on studying for the next course.
4. Proud of myself I am! I told Melina to go back to sleep. We snuggled our heads together and slept until 6 am. Woo hoo!
4. Melina woke up at 1:30 am last night -- a regression of sorts, considering she had been going until about 5 am the last couple of nights. As usual, she asked for mommy milk. I was so tired. So tired. Give her the milk or not?
In case you are wondering, here is what I did:
1. I wrote a nice note to Talia's teacher, explaining that there were factual errors in the worksheets. I offered to find her a lesson with the correct information. I received a gracious note back from the teacher, and I also spoke to her when I ran into her the next day. She actually said she was embarrassed, but grateful. She ended up tossing the lesson and will find something else.
2. We have 4 chairs. Two are put together, and 2 will be put together by the time summer comes, after Tim finagles the arm rests on.
3. Because I had a working relationship with the student, I went ahead and gave her the notes. I first informed her that she needed to let her instructor know that she needed extra help, and see where that got her. To be honest, at the end of the quarter (in the quarters that I teach the lecture portion of a class) I also post my notes for the next class in the series. Doing so allows the students to get a head start on studying for the next course.
4. Proud of myself I am! I told Melina to go back to sleep. We snuggled our heads together and slept until 6 am. Woo hoo!
Comments
what would i do? glad you asked!
1. let it slide. everything you learn in school is wrong. newtonian mechanics? wrong! milk and cheese are important to your health? wrong! george washington chopped down a cherry tree and couldn't lie about it? wrong! it was our manifest destiny to occupy north america from sea to shining sea? you get the idea. just teach them critical thinking and they'll be fine.
2. every adirondack chair i have ever seen either had the arms reinforced, or missing. kids love to sit on the big flat arms and they bust every time. so keep them and make the arms work.
3.it doesn't matter how a student learns as long as they learn the material. i don't see why not give the student the notes.
4. wean her now or wean her later, your call.
peace
1. Showing the girls that everything that comes from school-any school- is not set in stone is good for their education. Plus, you showed them that there is a polite way to disagree and back up your reason for disagreeing. Life experience is the best educator.
2. Keep all of the chairs and make them work. The company made that choice for you and you can't just toss out the perfectly good part of the chairs.
3. If the notes are posted for all students then there is no reason to keep them from anyone who asks for them. People learn differently and instructors all teach differently. It's not like you are handing out copies of the exams with the answers.
4. You've chosen a path to take. Good for you for sticking to it!