2 ms·

If you have to solve a general problem, your approach is fine. But if your specific task consists of precisely formulated steps, it's easy to see how you failed

by Udo 15y ago

If you have to solve a general problem, your approach is fine. But if your specific task consists of precisely formulated steps, it's easy to see how you failed. In your case, you essentially boycotted the work that was handed out to you. I had the fortune of taking the CS high school course in Germany at a time when nobody knew what computers actually were and a 486 was considered a high end workstation. The good part of this was that CS teachers made up their own curriculum. Our teacher gave us some theoretical background lectures, and then he assigned to us specific problems to solve in code. We were graded on functionality and, for extra credit, the elegance of the code - it didn't matter too much whether we did things by the book or not as long as we did them right. CS courses are heavily standardized now. I figure most teachers haven't got a clue what they're doing, so this is probably a good way to ensure a minimum quality level across the country. But of course, that's what you get: the minimum level of quality. Either you give teachers free reign, with wildly varying results, or you standardize the lifeblood out of a subject. As a society we have opted for standardization on the lowest common denominator.

JoeAltmaier 15y ago
I did ignore the assignment. I was new to college, expected it to be a place full of exciting bright people, all feeding off one another's enthusiasm for knowledge. I'd hoped for, I don't know, some acknowledgement or something. What I got was a seat in a lecture hall, and a drone ignoring my work.
- chc 15y ago
  As somebody who's been in a teaching role, I would have dinged you too. It's not that I want "drones," but if I give you an assignment and you ignore the requirements, you don't deserve a passing grade on that assignment. Now, if you came up to me and said, "Hey, can I get extra credit for doing a RPN calculator?" or even just "This is a little below my level — can I do an RPN calculator instead, as long as I mark the stack correctly?" I'd probably have said "Hell yeah!" But that isn't what you did. You ignored the teacher, and she ignored you right back. (Edited to change "failed" to "dinged," as I think the former gave the wrong impression. I meant I would not have given full credit for completing that assignment.)
  - cousin_it 15y ago
    As someone who's been in a teaching role (in the Russian math circles for gifted children), I wouldn't have failed the student. My goal as a teacher is to make the student interested and competent. The student's objective is the same: to become interested and competent. Assignments and grades are means to that end, not an end in itself. If the student is already clearly interested and competent, and you make them lose interest by giving them a failing grade, you have sacrificed your top-level goal in favor of a class-centric subgoal that doesn't matter to anyone - or worse, sacrificed it to your selfish desire to avoid being ignored.
    - chc 15y ago
      Maybe that sounded more callous than it was meant to. It's not about pride. I would talk to the student and explain why they didn't succeed. But I wouldn't give them a pass for ignoring the assignment. Not carrying out the task assigned doesn't necessarily indicate interest or competence to me. Anybody can carry out a random task of their own choosing. The ability to successfully complete a problem put before you is much more valuable than the ability to complete some problem. In particular, this assignment appears to have been as much about analyzing stack traces as anything else. He didn't demonstrate any competence in that area. Personally, this is something I came to appreciate from my teachers. The ones who would let me just get away with anything as long as I made it look fancy bored me. I could literally get an A without knowing half the course material just by putting on a grand show. The ones who actually challenged me taught me a lot more. I can accomplish so much more when I'm not busy being an arrogant jerkoff.
      - deleted 15y ago
        [deleted]

by Udo 15y ago

JoeAltmaier 15y ago

I did ignore the assignment. I was new to college, expected it to be a place full of exciting bright people, all feeding off one another's enthusiasm for knowledge. I'd hoped for, I don't know, some acknowledgement or something. What I got was a seat in a lecture hall, and a drone ignoring my work.

chc 15y ago
As somebody who's been in a teaching role, I would have dinged you too. It's not that I want "drones," but if I give you an assignment and you ignore the requirements, you don't deserve a passing grade on that assignment. Now, if you came up to me and said, "Hey, can I get extra credit for doing a RPN calculator?" or even just "This is a little below my level — can I do an RPN calculator instead, as long as I mark the stack correctly?" I'd probably have said "Hell yeah!" But that isn't what you did. You ignored the teacher, and she ignored you right back. (Edited to change "failed" to "dinged," as I think the former gave the wrong impression. I meant I would not have given full credit for completing that assignment.)
- cousin_it 15y ago
  As someone who's been in a teaching role (in the Russian math circles for gifted children), I wouldn't have failed the student. My goal as a teacher is to make the student interested and competent. The student's objective is the same: to become interested and competent. Assignments and grades are means to that end, not an end in itself. If the student is already clearly interested and competent, and you make them lose interest by giving them a failing grade, you have sacrificed your top-level goal in favor of a class-centric subgoal that doesn't matter to anyone - or worse, sacrificed it to your selfish desire to avoid being ignored.
  - chc 15y ago
    Maybe that sounded more callous than it was meant to. It's not about pride. I would talk to the student and explain why they didn't succeed. But I wouldn't give them a pass for ignoring the assignment. Not carrying out the task assigned doesn't necessarily indicate interest or competence to me. Anybody can carry out a random task of their own choosing. The ability to successfully complete a problem put before you is much more valuable than the ability to complete some problem. In particular, this assignment appears to have been as much about analyzing stack traces as anything else. He didn't demonstrate any competence in that area. Personally, this is something I came to appreciate from my teachers. The ones who would let me just get away with anything as long as I made it look fancy bored me. I could literally get an A without knowing half the course material just by putting on a grand show. The ones who actually challenged me taught me a lot more. I can accomplish so much more when I'm not busy being an arrogant jerkoff.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]