4 ms·

This type of response from a teacher baffles me. Why would you not just: "You see, the problem then becomes how do we (overcome the problem in the approach kno

This type of response from a teacher baffles me. Why would you not just: "You see, the problem then becomes how do we (overcome the problem in the approach known to me)" Or, if I don't know why it would not work, suggest the student look into it, report back to everyone. With generous compensation in study credits or whatnot. Why would you ever laugh? I was a uni lecturer some 10 years ago.

someguyorother 7y ago
It might not have been a university, and the teacher might not have been university level. Perhaps he just didn't know what made the suggestion impractical or wrong, he had just heard that graphene was the next big thing or whatever.
- Zenst 7y ago
  This was the 70's, unsure of the teacher's actually qualifications of Miss Sidwick. Equally previously she had pulled me up for not showing the working out on some maths, I said I'd done it in my head and the answer is proof enough. Yes I appreciate now how people need to see how you got the answer - exam technique etc as without that they presume you cheated ;(. I was good at maths, though I was in the lower level maths class due to some X/Y system in which they took english and maths and chunked students together in a split along those lines (I'll touch upon that in a bit). I'd done an equation and the teacher said well you can't do it all in your head and proceeded to put (from a book) a two variable equation - something like 2x+5/y=7 - what is X and Y - something like that and I gave the answer to which the teacher said - well I want to see working out anyhow after the attempt to prove her point had failed to get the result and had expected me to fail to provide the answer. Later during mock exams I got 4 questions right that nobody in the entire school had gotten right and the head of maths (the good higher qualified maths teacher Mr Frost) who I had no dealing with pulled me aside and queried why I wasn't in his class. He even went to the head to try and get me transferred across but was shot down as my english was poor and even when I said, well you already have people with poor maths in the higher tier - that got dismissed and with that - much of my schooling was self educated. Heck I even had to argue to be allowed to do the computer studies course and only as I made a passionate plea directly to the head teacher (Mrs Creek) was I able to be allowed as I explained that it was my career vocation and not some whim and apparently made a strong case and was allowed. Turned out after first week of the class would come to me if they had a question before going to the teacher as I was that good at it. FYI - we are talking high school here in the UK - not university at all. In the UK it is primary school>secondary (high school)>A-level/college and then University. I did college BTEC computer studies and went straight into my first job working for government in IT and the youngest in the whole department by around 6 years. The school in question was Hadleigh High School in Suffolk and still there today and I'm sure has way better teachers mostly due to time advancement as the 70's was a long time ago. AS for the graphene - It was a case of they didn't have anything or way to make the single atom layer and that is when the idea of the sellotape and pencil lead came about having as a child messed about and saw it - though never rinse repeated infinitum - but having heard that, by the teacher they had yet to achieve that, postulated my idea and thoughts and the rest I explained. School wasn't a great place for me, lots of bullying - thngs like being autistic spectrum makes you social awkward and many thought I was gay and would be bullied because of that, this went on for years and less issue nowadays and when I went to teachers about it there response was "Well, are you gay", I said "No" and the response of "Well, what's the issue then" was classed as acceptable in the end. The bullying eventually stopped after I got forced into a fight and ended up putting the offender unconscious and in hospital for several days. Though do note that I had done everything possible to avoid that fight and in the end didn't even get a detention. Though standing in a hallway as a child balling your eyes out thinking I'd killed somebody and my life was over is an experience far worse than any false punishment. Though experiences at primary school was just as bad and I was a terrible swimmer - needed so many swimming aids that I looked like the Michelin man. We always had a swim race end of year term and as I couldn't swim I didn't want to do it, yet I was made to partake and as you can expect - everybody had a great laugh at my expense. Year later I'd spent whole year learning to swim, joined a swimming club and got really good, swam for the county. That year - all the other students refused to partake if I was allowed to swim and guess what - the teacher didn't make them swim and denied me of my social justice. So in short - school was pretty darn shit from my perspective and experience. But that is and was down to my autistic spectrum.
michaelt 7y ago
> Why would you ever laugh? I agree it's not a particularly good response, but I can imagine a teacher reasoning that: 1. A minority of students want to stump the teacher [1] - maybe out of interest, maybe to show how clever they are, maybe for sport. 2. Schools cover a very broad range of topics, and it isn't humanly possible for every science teacher to have an in-depth knowledge of every single question. 3. The teacher fears, if they answer a question with "I don't know" it will reveal they haven't used their knowledge of graphene in their day-to-day life, and some students will take that as a proof the subject is 'useless' and a 'waste of time' as even the most scientifically inclined person they know hasn't used it. Obviously, (3) is a mistake on the teacher's part - it's quite possible to have a subject be important without you knowing every detail of it - but I can imagine how any inexperienced teacher might end up thinking it. Also, intuitively when you pull two bits of tape apart both bend, and when you bend a pencil lead it snaps. And if you stick tape to a painted wall and pull it off, you'll pull off jagged flakes of paint rather than halving the thickness of the paint. So if someone gave me 20 seconds to answer whether it would work I would say probably not. [1] https://xkcd.com/1145/ https://xkcd.com/1145/
Zenst 7y ago
This was high school and I was 12 at the time and recall it like yesterday, even the desk I was sat at, types of chair, table - most vivid. I'm sure university and high school teacher levels are at a different level and equally we are talking late 70's and with that - things have changed much - even at universities I dare say. Also, not all teachers are the same - you have good ones, you have bad ones, you also have good ones who have bad days and with that, even bad ones can have good moments.
bluGill 7y ago
The real problem is teachers are unwilling to admit "I do not know: maybe your idea would work and they didn't think of it; or maybe there is some flaw in it. If you are really interested I can help you figure it out in independent study" It is hard for me to admit that myself even now that I'm aware and try to train myself to do that.

someguyorother 7y ago

It might not have been a university, and the teacher might not have been university level. Perhaps he just didn't know what made the suggestion impractical or wrong, he had just heard that graphene was the next big thing or whatever.

Zenst 7y ago
This was the 70's, unsure of the teacher's actually qualifications of Miss Sidwick. Equally previously she had pulled me up for not showing the working out on some maths, I said I'd done it in my head and the answer is proof enough. Yes I appreciate now how people need to see how you got the answer - exam technique etc as without that they presume you cheated ;(. I was good at maths, though I was in the lower level maths class due to some X/Y system in which they took english and maths and chunked students together in a split along those lines (I'll touch upon that in a bit). I'd done an equation and the teacher said well you can't do it all in your head and proceeded to put (from a book) a two variable equation - something like 2x+5/y=7 - what is X and Y - something like that and I gave the answer to which the teacher said - well I want to see working out anyhow after the attempt to prove her point had failed to get the result and had expected me to fail to provide the answer. Later during mock exams I got 4 questions right that nobody in the entire school had gotten right and the head of maths (the good higher qualified maths teacher Mr Frost) who I had no dealing with pulled me aside and queried why I wasn't in his class. He even went to the head to try and get me transferred across but was shot down as my english was poor and even when I said, well you already have people with poor maths in the higher tier - that got dismissed and with that - much of my schooling was self educated. Heck I even had to argue to be allowed to do the computer studies course and only as I made a passionate plea directly to the head teacher (Mrs Creek) was I able to be allowed as I explained that it was my career vocation and not some whim and apparently made a strong case and was allowed. Turned out after first week of the class would come to me if they had a question before going to the teacher as I was that good at it. FYI - we are talking high school here in the UK - not university at all. In the UK it is primary school>secondary (high school)>A-level/college and then University. I did college BTEC computer studies and went straight into my first job working for government in IT and the youngest in the whole department by around 6 years. The school in question was Hadleigh High School in Suffolk and still there today and I'm sure has way better teachers mostly due to time advancement as the 70's was a long time ago. AS for the graphene - It was a case of they didn't have anything or way to make the single atom layer and that is when the idea of the sellotape and pencil lead came about having as a child messed about and saw it - though never rinse repeated infinitum - but having heard that, by the teacher they had yet to achieve that, postulated my idea and thoughts and the rest I explained. School wasn't a great place for me, lots of bullying - thngs like being autistic spectrum makes you social awkward and many thought I was gay and would be bullied because of that, this went on for years and less issue nowadays and when I went to teachers about it there response was "Well, are you gay", I said "No" and the response of "Well, what's the issue then" was classed as acceptable in the end. The bullying eventually stopped after I got forced into a fight and ended up putting the offender unconscious and in hospital for several days. Though do note that I had done everything possible to avoid that fight and in the end didn't even get a detention. Though standing in a hallway as a child balling your eyes out thinking I'd killed somebody and my life was over is an experience far worse than any false punishment. Though experiences at primary school was just as bad and I was a terrible swimmer - needed so many swimming aids that I looked like the Michelin man. We always had a swim race end of year term and as I couldn't swim I didn't want to do it, yet I was made to partake and as you can expect - everybody had a great laugh at my expense. Year later I'd spent whole year learning to swim, joined a swimming club and got really good, swam for the county. That year - all the other students refused to partake if I was allowed to swim and guess what - the teacher didn't make them swim and denied me of my social justice. So in short - school was pretty darn shit from my perspective and experience. But that is and was down to my autistic spectrum.

michaelt 7y ago

> Why would you ever laugh? I agree it's not a particularly good response, but I can imagine a teacher reasoning that: 1. A minority of students want to stump the teacher [1] - maybe out of interest, maybe to show how clever they are, maybe for sport. 2. Schools cover a very broad range of topics, and it isn't humanly possible for every science teacher to have an in-depth knowledge of every single question. 3. The teacher fears, if they answer a question with "I don't know" it will reveal they haven't used their knowledge of graphene in their day-to-day life, and some students will take that as a proof the subject is 'useless' and a 'waste of time' as even the most scientifically inclined person they know hasn't used it. Obviously, (3) is a mistake on the teacher's part - it's quite possible to have a subject be important without you knowing every detail of it - but I can imagine how any inexperienced teacher might end up thinking it. Also, intuitively when you pull two bits of tape apart both bend, and when you bend a pencil lead it snaps. And if you stick tape to a painted wall and pull it off, you'll pull off jagged flakes of paint rather than halving the thickness of the paint. So if someone gave me 20 seconds to answer whether it would work I would say probably not. [1] https://xkcd.com/1145/ https://xkcd.com/1145/

Zenst 7y ago

This was high school and I was 12 at the time and recall it like yesterday, even the desk I was sat at, types of chair, table - most vivid. I'm sure university and high school teacher levels are at a different level and equally we are talking late 70's and with that - things have changed much - even at universities I dare say. Also, not all teachers are the same - you have good ones, you have bad ones, you also have good ones who have bad days and with that, even bad ones can have good moments.

bluGill 7y ago

The real problem is teachers are unwilling to admit "I do not know: maybe your idea would work and they didn't think of it; or maybe there is some flaw in it. If you are really interested I can help you figure it out in independent study" It is hard for me to admit that myself even now that I'm aware and try to train myself to do that.