TTTNE 463 - A Thread for Craziness

[Buckwheat]

44 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

Studying seems like too much effort for good grades. I vote for not studying and getting good grades anyway. Much more enjoyable.

Of course this is the optimal solution, and I very much approve of it (*as long as it does not involve cheating at exams, because that is a very bad thing to do). But not everybody is so lucky, abbie.

41 minutes ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to go all "mom" on First?  And then you do it! 

(you just copy and paste to put tables in, just like pictures  )

Lesson learned. Bucky, learn some restraint.

39 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Ah, you are one of them. My envy knows no bounds. If I don't study I don't do well at all. Part of it is probably psychological because I'm so focused on "oh shit haven't prepared at all!" But so,e of it isnt

That is a part of it surely. But then some of it is really just natural nervousness. I was sometimes really nervous before exams that I studied a lot for and almost not at all before some that studied very little for.

6 minutes ago, Eyron said:

I said no work before. I was lying! I worked from early morning (7ish) until lunch with co-op stuff. Now there shouldn't be much work left until May, then I'm done with it. I'm throwing my hat in after five years.
Yesterday I went to dinner at my brother's and practised a lot of walking and eating with niece. I can't get over how adorable she is! We also played a quiz game, the Big Bang Theory game, since brother's gf loves that show, and naturally she won. I was thinking if only Bucky was here and we could team up xD I haven't watched the show in years, but I did get some answers correctly.

That is a game? One day, we will play a game together, yes?

Children can indeed be so adorable.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

9 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

.

Lesson learned. Bucky, learn some restraint.

 

  No, no, you are in teacher mode, which is perfect.  I just found it amusing to see someone saying what I was thinking

 

[First of My Name]

2 hours ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

Presents for mommy!  My cat is just indoors, so he puts his toy mice into my shoes and boots to show his love

You're supposed to give your body time to heal. Alternate which body parts you work. I know you said squats were your goal, but alternating days with some sort of upper body workout will give you more benefits as you won't cripple yourself with soreness forcing you to take even longer breaks.  Hope you feel better soon

Sorry to hear this  Is it just the difficulty of the work, or to many distractions?

Name	# Lien	# Satisfied	# Unresolved	Average Completion time
Marsha	8	7	1	.75 days

 

Name	# of Issues	# Satisfied	# Unresolved	Average Completion time

The amount, really. I do well enough on separate tests but when it's 9 tests condensed into seven days, like the test week that ended today, I end up bungling most of them (I believe bungling is a word, yes?) The only one that went well was my English oral exam.

1 hour ago, ab aeterno said:

snip

That's what I suspected but good to hear them confirm it. It leaves some of the novelty of the new novels (see what did I there) intact.

1 hour ago, Buckwheat said:

*puts on the stern look on her face and assumes the 'strict parent' role*

King First Of His Name, the first of his name, king of the Spamdals, the Spamyars, and the First Men and Women, now listen to me. You put away that computer and go study now and improve those grades of yours, you hear me? You are a very smart boy and there is absolutely no reason for you to lose another year in high school. You will do better in the next few months and will pass the final exams, right? Your family trusts you to be smart and capable and you do not want to disappoint them, do you? So here's what you do now. You study and ace those tests till the end of this year so you can be free of high school for the rest of your life if you choose so right now. Be a good boy and do not disappoint us all.

(We are all with you, kid. I know you are perfectly capable of passing high school. Fingers crossed for you - but the rest of your work, you need to do yourself. Good luck, although you do not need it. )

But the computer is so much more fuuuun... Can't we count spending time on this site as practicing my English?
Seriously though, this is the result of my lack of motivation and discipline, and I'm still going to try and pass my exams. I wouldn't be half as upset to repeat a year as I once would've been (it'd give me time to get a job and properly figure out what to study) but I'll still try.

1 hour ago, ab aeterno said:

Studying seems like too much effort for good grades. I vote for not studying and getting good grades anyway. Much more enjoyable.

I've tried that but I only get away with it 50% of the time.

59 minutes ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to go all "mom" on First?  And then you do it! 

 

37 minutes ago, Eyron said:

You have about two months before the finals right? Pick up yo books, young man! Do you need help with anything? Nor sure if me or anyone is going to be any good at helping, but I'm sure we could try.

More or less, I think. And I'm certainly going to try.
Thanks for the offer, but I think it's more the amount of work than the actual content that's the problem, so the only one who can fix it is me.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

1 minute ago, First of My Name said:

The amount, really. I do well enough on separate tests but when it's 9 tests condensed into seven days, like the test week that ended today, I end up bungling most of them (I believe bungling is a word, yes?) The only one that went well was my English oral exam.

 

More or less, I think. And I'm certainly going to try.
Thanks for the offer, but I think it's more the amount of work than the actual content that's the problem, so the only one who can fix it is me.

I wish you the best.  I know how hard it is. I did 2 yrs of college in 1.5 trying to finish early and it was very overwhelming at times (not to mention all the personal crap going on at the same time...you know "Life" )

[ab aeterno]

1 hour ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Ah, you are one of them. My envy knows no bounds. If I don't study I don't do well at all. Part of it is probably psychological because I'm so focused on "oh shit haven't prepared at all!" But so,e of it isnt

On one memorable occasion in Upper VI our teacher came into class to find me laying down on the window sill in the sun reading the newspaper. That basically sums up the level of effort I put into studying.

1 hour ago, Eyron said:

You have about two months before the finals right? Pick up yo books, young man! Do you need help with anything? Nor sure if me or anyone is going to be any good at helping, but I'm sure we could try.

I'm rebelling against studying.

42 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Of course this is the optimal solution, and I very much approve of it (*as long as it does not involve cheating at exams, because that is a very bad thing to do). But not everybody is so lucky, abbie.

In my experience there's no such thing as luck. 

4 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

I've tried that but I only get away with it 50% of the time.

You must trust in the Force. 

[Buckwheat]

1 hour ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

  No, no, you are in teacher mode, which is perfect.  I just found it amusing to see someone saying what I was thinking

Actually, I would not speak to any of my students like that. I do need to make them learn those irregular verbs though! How do I do that, Lany? You have experience in teaching, you might know.

And obviously there is a reason why we always score the same on all of those silly Internet tests!

43 minutes ago, First of My Name said:

But the computer is so much more fuuuun... Can't we count spending time on this site as practicing my English?

Seriously though, this is the result of my lack of motivation and discipline, and I'm still going to try and pass my exams. I wouldn't be half as upset to repeat a year as I once would've been (it'd give me time to get a job and properly figure out what to study) but I'll still try.

Yes, but you are doing well in English already. You might want to start using this thread for your maths classroom if you want to gain from it!

I think we should seriously think about adding a quite, sound-proof, Wi-fi-less classroom to our TTTNE villa. You are the king, make it happen.

I think it would be silly to spend another year in high school at this point. But obviously it is your decision and your work that needs to go into it.

39 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

In my experience there's no such thing as luck. 

Yeah, you and me are actually the ones that are born with the luck of not having to put that much effort in getting good grades. That is pure  luck, there is no effort behind it.

That said, I mostly still studied for stuff even in subjects I knew I would pass even if I did not - for psychological reasons and out of feeling of duty. But I always had to put less effort into it than my classmates.

39 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

You must trust in the Force. 

And obviously, that. *nods*

[RhaenysBee]

First, if there are final exams, you still have a good chance. Take the great advice of the wise grown ups and study!  

Spoiler

Honestly, I totally get where you are coming from. If uni taught me anything throughout the years is that you don't actually have to do anything. You can totally miss deadlines, not study, not read, not write, procrastinate and get away with it, because there are no consequences. There's always another chance and the teachers don't bother either and you can just tell them whatever and they will adjust. And I am that shame of humanity who will only ever do something if she is kicked and pressured into it by expectations and rules. 

There is no such thing as luck... Okay. Sure. 

[HexMachina]

18 minutes ago, BB-Rhae said:

First, if there are final exams, you still have a good chance. Take the great advice of the wise grown ups and study!  

  Hide contents

Honestly, I totally get where you are coming from. If uni taught me anything throughout the years is that you don't actually have to do anything. You can totally miss deadlines, not study, not read, not write, procrastinate and get away with it, because there are no consequences. There's always another chance and the teachers don't bother either and you can just tell them whatever and they will adjust. And I am that shame of humanity who will only ever do something if she is kicked and pressured into it by expectations and rules. 

There is no such thing as luck... Okay. Sure. 

Wait, you can miss deadlines? Do you mean for work that doesn't count towards the final grade? Because there is no way our uni would let us submit work after a deadline, unless there were mitigating circumstances (which you need to apply for well in advance). And this isn't just something they tell us, I know someone who missed the submission date for an essay and consequently got 0 marks. Or maybe it's just because we submit everything electronically I don't know

[ab aeterno]

1 minute ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Wait, you can miss deadlines? Do you mean for work that doesn't count towards the final grade? Because there is no way our uni would let us submit work after a deadline, unless there were mitigating circumstances (which you need to apply for well in advance). And this isn't just something they tell us, I know someone who missed the submission date for an essay and consequently got 0 marks. Or maybe it's just because we submit everything electronically I don't know

^This

The most lenient I've known at university was a maximum of 25% of the mark deducted if submitted up to 5 days late. After that it was an automatic fail. If you failed you could take an exam to try to pass, but your maximum mark was 40% (regardless of the score on the exam, they'd only award you a bare pass).

If you didn't pass the exam you'd be kicked out of the university. 

Plus, a single fail, even if you then pass the exam, basically means you could never graduate with the top grade (First Class) and often not with an Upper Second either. 

 

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

1 hour ago, Buckwheat said:

Actually, I would not speak to any of my students like that. I do need to make them learn those irregular verbs though! How do I do that, Lany? You have experience in teaching, you might know.

 

Games. Put the students on assigned teams and have a quiz show type verbal quiz. Winning team gets a homework pass to be used at a future date (regular assignments, not large projects  )

Once it happens, they study more, waiting for it to happen again.

(ok, that might be age defendant---definitely not for college aged)

I will note that preparing these are sometimes more work that preparing regular quizzes  

[ab aeterno]

@Buckwheat - make them a Sporcle quiz. That site is addictive and a great way to learn pretty much anything that required memorisation. The European Capitals and Countries of the World quizzes are particularly brilliant. Damn you, Kyrgyzstan!

[Buckwheat]

11 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

The most lenient I've known at university was a maximum of 25% of the mark deducted if submitted up to 5 days late. After that it was an automatic fail. If you failed you could take an exam to try to pass, but your maximum mark was 40% (regardless of the score on the exam, they'd only award you a bare pass).

If you didn't pass the exam you'd be kicked out of the university. 

Plus, a single fail, even if you then pass the exam, basically means you could never graduate with the top grade (First Class) and often not with an Upper Second either. 

Okay, I am in favour of consequences for skipped work and missed deadlines and failing exams, but all of those are waaaaaay too over the top harsh for my understanding.

I think if you missed a project/essay deadline at some point here ... well, it is really depending on the teacher. Some will deduct some points off, some not. I am not sure there are any that would not accept anything anymore after the deadline. There probably are. They would be stricter if you had to prepare a presentation and did not, because the whole class would then have nothing to do for the whole time, but that does not mean people did not try to get away with that either.

But seriously, apart from myself, I do not know anybody who did not fail an exam at some point. As long as you pass it eventually, you still have the chances to get whatever grade for your graduation thesis, because that is not dependant on your previous grades (obviously, it is dependant on how much you learned previously, though).

8 minutes ago, Lany Freelove Strangeways said:

Games. Put the students on assigned teams and have a quiz show type verbal quiz. Winning team gets a homework pass to be used at a future date (regular assignments, not large projects  )

Once it happens, they study more, waiting for it to happen again.

(ok, that might be age defendant---definitely not for college aged)

I will note that preparing these are sometimes more work that preparing regular quizzes  

Oh yeah, I should probably have clarified that my students are all university students.

12 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

@Buckwheat - make them a Sporcle quiz. That site is addictive and a great way to learn pretty much anything that required memorisation. The European Capitals and Countries of the World quizzes are particularly brilliant. Damn you, Kyrgyzstan!

Now there is an idea. *googles for German irregular verbs quizzes*

[HexMachina]

21 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

^This

The most lenient I've known at university was a maximum of 25% of the mark deducted if submitted up to 5 days late. After that it was an automatic fail. If you failed you could take an exam to try to pass, but your maximum mark was 40% (regardless of the score on the exam, they'd only award you a bare pass).

If you didn't pass the exam you'd be kicked out of the university. 

Plus, a single fail, even if you then pass the exam, basically means you could never graduate with the top grade (First Class) and often not with an Upper Second either. 

 

Yeah. With our essay submissions too, they are very strict on word count. In the submission instructions they provided a table showing % of marks deducted per % over the word limit. I mean,  formative work during the year, the aren't going to be as strict, since ultimately it doesn't count for anything, but summative end of year stuff is strict.

The way my course is structured it's theoretically possible to fail the essay and scrape a first, but in practice that would never happen (because it would require 100% on the exam, which, as I think we spoke about before, is pretty much impossible). The split is 70% exam 30% essay for our final grade btw. In core subjects anyway. Optional modules vary.

[HexMachina]

5 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Okay, I am in favour of consequences for skipped work and missed deadlines and failing exams, but all of those are waaaaaay too over the top harsh for my understanding.

I think if you missed a project/essay deadline at some point here ... well, it is really depending on the teacher. Some will deduct some points off, some not. I am not sure there are any that would not accept anything anymore after the deadline. There probably are. They would be stricter if you had to prepare a presentation and did not, because the whole class would then have nothing to do for the whole time, but that does not mean people did not try to get away with that either.

But seriously, apart from myself, I do not know anybody who did not fail an exam at some point. As long as you pass it eventually, you still have the chances to get whatever grade for your graduation thesis, because that is not dependant on your previous grades (obviously, it is dependant on how much you learned previously, though).

Oh yeah, I should probably have clarified that my students are all university students.

Now there is an idea. *googles for German irregular verbs quizzes*

I dont think it's too harsh. Really, there is no particular excuse for missing the deadline, save those that come under mitigating circumstances, which university allows for if you ask them in advance. Lecturers regularly remind students that they should have started their essay or research for it etc. And the deadlines are clearly posted up online. And it's unfair to students who do submit on time if peop,e are allowed to hand it in late

[ab aeterno]

2 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Yeah. With our essay submissions too, they are very strict on word count. In the submission instructions they provided a table showing % of marks deducted per % over the word limit. I mean,  formative work during the year, the aren't going to be as strict, since ultimately it doesn't count for anything, but summative end of year stuff is strict.

The way my course is structured it's theoretically possible to fail the essay and scrape a first, but in practice that would never happen (because it would require 100% on the exam, which, as I think we spoke about before, is pretty much impossible). The split is 70% exam 30% essay for our final grade btw. In core subjects anyway. Optional modules vary.

Yeah, I had two basic policies with word limit. One was % marks deduced relative to % over the word limit, the other was that they just wouldn't mark anything over the word limit. Didn't fit your conclusion within the limit? Too bad.

7 minutes ago, Buckwheat said:

Okay, I am in favour of consequences for skipped work and missed deadlines and failing exams, but all of those are waaaaaay too over the top harsh for my understanding.

I think if you missed a project/essay deadline at some point here ... well, it is really depending on the teacher. Some will deduct some points off, some not. I am not sure there are any that would not accept anything anymore after the deadline. There probably are. They would be stricter if you had to prepare a presentation and did not, because the whole class would then have nothing to do for the whole time, but that does not mean people did not try to get away with that either.

But seriously, apart from myself, I do not know anybody who did not fail an exam at some point. As long as you pass it eventually, you still have the chances to get whatever grade for your graduation thesis, because that is not dependant on your previous grades (obviously, it is dependant on how much you learned previously, though).

Mostly our final university grades are calculated as the average grade (%) you achieved over the years of your course (not counting first year.) So your thesis plays a significant part of that (60% of your final year mark) but it's still a minority overall. Plus, some universities have rules where if you failed any modules you can't achieve certain grades.

[ab aeterno]

Just now, HelenaExMachina said:

I dont think it's too harsh. Really, there is no particular excuse for missing the deadline, save those that come under mitigating circumstances, which university allows for if you ask them in advance. Lecturers regularly remind students that they should have started their essay or research for it etc. And the deadlines are clearly posted up online. And it's unfair to students who do submit on time if peop,e are allowed to hand it in late

Although I had lecturers who insisted that we submit both a printed and an electronic copy, just because they didn't want to read it on a screen, or to print it out themselves. Oh, and if either was handed in late they considered it late, despite having evidence that one copy was submitted on time. I never got into that hole, but it angered me.

[HexMachina]

3 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

Yeah, I had two basic policies with word limit. One was % marks deduced relative to % over the word limit, the other was that they just wouldn't mark anything over the word limit. Didn't fit your conclusion within the limit? Too bad.

Mostly our final university grades are calculated as the average grade (%) you achieved over the years of your course (not counting first year.) So your thesis plays a significant part of that (60% of your final year mark) but it's still a minority overall. Plus, some universities have rules where if you failed any modules you can't achieve certain grades.

 

2 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

Although I had lecturers who insisted that we submit both a printed and an electronic copy, just because they didn't want to read it on a screen, or to print it out themselves. Oh, and if either was handed in late they considered it late, despite having evidence that one copy was submitted on time. I never got into that hole, but it angered me.

Well ours is all electronically submitted via KEATS (our online learning platform) so the lecturers don't get a say. It's fairer that way I think, since it means everyone submits the same way and you don't get one group giving printed copies, and another electronic. It's also useful because it gives you a similarity report when you submit it, for plagiarism stuff. I know not all university's do that though.

[Buckwheat]

2 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I dont think it's too harsh. Really, there is no particular excuse for missing the deadline, save those that come under mitigating circumstances, which university allows for if you ask them in advance. Lecturers regularly remind students that they should have started their essay or research for it etc. And the deadlines are clearly posted up online. And it's unfair to students who do submit on time if peop,e are allowed to hand it in late

You cannot ask in advance to get sick/injured ...

I agree it is unfair if the same people are constantly abusing the professor's patience months after the deadline, but a week later? IDK, does not seem like that a big deal for me personally. It is not like the professor is going to grade them all the same afternoon after they collect them.

2 minutes ago, ab aeterno said:

Yeah, I had two basic policies with word limit. One was % marks deduced relative to % over the word limit, the other was that they just wouldn't mark anything over the word limit. Didn't fit your conclusion within the limit? Too bad.

Mostly our final university grades are calculated as the average grade (%) you achieved over the years of your course (not counting first year.) So your thesis plays a significant part of that (60% of your final year mark) but it's still a minority overall. Plus, some universities have rules where if you failed any modules you can't achieve certain grades.

With us, they mostly just set the lower word limit and hope the students will scape together at least the minimum. Why would you limit somebody if they want to write more? The only problem it makes is if they want to include it into an oral presentation and steal the next person's time, in which case they need to be told to stop talking.

We do not even officially get the "final university grade" that I know of. We have the average grade automatically calculated all the time, and then your thesis gets you another grade. But the whole programme is just finished/unfinished. You finish when you have passed all the exams and defended the thesis.

What do you mean by "failed any modules"? Meaning you passed them only on the second take you tried, or that you never passed them at all? Here you cannot finish a year, let alone a study programme, if you failed a subject/module.

[ab aeterno]

1 minute ago, HelenaExMachina said:

 

Well ours is all electronically submitted via KEATS (our online learning platform) so the lecturers don't get a say. It's fairer that way I think, since it means everyone submits the same way and you don't get one group giving printed copies, and another electronic. It's also useful because it gives you a similarity report when you submit it, for plagiarism stuff. I know not all university's do that though.

We used Turnitin, which is basically the same. I think I just hit the period where the university hadn't updated its policies to only require electronic submission. I agree it's much fairer.

 

Here's a nice song for everyone.

[Buckwheat]

Damn you, abbie, now I am stuck at Sporcle doing the quizzes with "GERMAN" in their name! *shakes fist*