I was watching Scared Straight once, trying to reconcile the obviously earnest desire of the convict to help the young man avoid mistakes in life with the transparent ineffectiveness of the screaming and the fear. "This is silly," I thought. "you cannot hurt someone into being a better person." and once I put it like that I could see it everywhere. people and their children, international sanctions. it's all just pain. kudos to you for reflection and trying something different.
I gave up on searching out all signs of possible student misconduct long ago -- scouring every paper for familiar phrases, peering over shoulders, and searching through students' social media pages to see if their excused absences lined up with their real life activities demanded so much of me, and the moral highground of having caught someone in a lie was really the only thing either of us gained from it. Now, when there is a possibility of a student having cheated, I tell myself that it was their choice to not reap the full educational benefits of the assignments that I've given them, and that they might have their reasons for preferring a quick passing score over the risk of facing scrutiny for their real work.
Ultimately it is on me to convince my students that we're both here because we are invested in their growth, and that my classroom is one where it's safe to show their imperfect work, to not know things, and to sometimes fail. I can't reach everyone, and I don't take it personally when they have other priorities. But moving toward "warm demand" sounds like a good aspiration. The popularity of AI-written papers reflects a profound cynicism in the value of institutionalized education, and it's often well-deserved. Most of our efforts in this world are unrewarded and unremarked upon. If there's anything I can do to make my students feel like it is worth trying, worth believing in the pursuit of the goal and staying present in its pursuit, I want to be able to do it.
Thanks for writing. I just had a student that I'd resigned to failing take me completely by surprising by turning in *8* missing essays and a final project that are of more than serviceable quality today. No signs of AI. Sometimes, thank god, our well-earned cynicism is wrong. Moments like that are why we keep believing in the possibility of one another.
Yes to all of this. The constant surveillance we’re expected to do is as belittling as it is exhausting. I’m glad (and not surprised) you’re working so hard to find other ways of being in the classroom!
I was watching Scared Straight once, trying to reconcile the obviously earnest desire of the convict to help the young man avoid mistakes in life with the transparent ineffectiveness of the screaming and the fear. "This is silly," I thought. "you cannot hurt someone into being a better person." and once I put it like that I could see it everywhere. people and their children, international sanctions. it's all just pain. kudos to you for reflection and trying something different.
I’m going to hang onto that conclusion of yours. Thanks for sharing it with me!
I gave up on searching out all signs of possible student misconduct long ago -- scouring every paper for familiar phrases, peering over shoulders, and searching through students' social media pages to see if their excused absences lined up with their real life activities demanded so much of me, and the moral highground of having caught someone in a lie was really the only thing either of us gained from it. Now, when there is a possibility of a student having cheated, I tell myself that it was their choice to not reap the full educational benefits of the assignments that I've given them, and that they might have their reasons for preferring a quick passing score over the risk of facing scrutiny for their real work.
Ultimately it is on me to convince my students that we're both here because we are invested in their growth, and that my classroom is one where it's safe to show their imperfect work, to not know things, and to sometimes fail. I can't reach everyone, and I don't take it personally when they have other priorities. But moving toward "warm demand" sounds like a good aspiration. The popularity of AI-written papers reflects a profound cynicism in the value of institutionalized education, and it's often well-deserved. Most of our efforts in this world are unrewarded and unremarked upon. If there's anything I can do to make my students feel like it is worth trying, worth believing in the pursuit of the goal and staying present in its pursuit, I want to be able to do it.
Thanks for writing. I just had a student that I'd resigned to failing take me completely by surprising by turning in *8* missing essays and a final project that are of more than serviceable quality today. No signs of AI. Sometimes, thank god, our well-earned cynicism is wrong. Moments like that are why we keep believing in the possibility of one another.
Yes to all of this. The constant surveillance we’re expected to do is as belittling as it is exhausting. I’m glad (and not surprised) you’re working so hard to find other ways of being in the classroom!
So lovely and compassionate. Thanks, Chuck!