Return of the Revenge of the Son of Saying Hi to Josiah!

[grassaquilUV]

Hey Saber, sorry to hear about the teacher being so cruel, does that ever bring back memories, I had a grade seven ( I know Gr.7 isn't a big stresser as college, but just read on.) science teacher named Mr. Gentle, he was anything but, He critcized me on every thing I did, even my writing ability! I know how you feel though because I was in the same boat-assignment wise. He had asked for everyone to DRAW a ecosystem, and me wanting to a little more, (or forgetting to draw it,) went out to a forest/conversation area on the other side of town and took pictures, but when I handed it in, All he said was "No drawings, is there?" I hated that, and it only got worse, that year included the second time I ever (to this day) have cried in school hours.

Sorry to rant, had to get that off my chest becuase Saber's story brought back painful memories, so Saber, I know, to some degree, what you are going through. Just do a rant to relieve the anger, that should help, beyond that...I don't really know, becuase I'm not at the college/university stage yet, so hope things get better.

[Silver]

What kind of class was this, Saber? 'Cause there are certain things you can actually bring up to the principal, if this is discrimination based on political views, religious preference, or even just differences in morals. I mean, it wouldn't hurt to talk with the teacher about it first depending on the circumstances, but if this is legitimately unfair treatment then you could get the guy in trouble. Which, even if it doesn't fix your grade, would be really freaking satisfying. ...And, um, might help... future students... and stuff...

[Metalheadz]

'Cause there are certain things you can actually bring up to the principal, if this is discrimination based on political views, religious preference, or even just differences in morals.

Discrimination? That's the last thing you want to accuse a teacher of. Just saying. Keep in mind, the teacher did compliment her on the grammar.

But of course... I do have to agree. Depending on the kind of essay(s) and the teacher's reactions to the response, there's always that possibility. Saber, if you know the teacher has something personal against you or your beliefs, you should most likely try to work it out with him, get a school councelor, or even bring the issue up with the principal. Most importantly... Is it just that one essay or topic he's frequently criticising you on? If not, then if you do believe that he has something against you, you should take action immediately. A poor relationship like that can make things go pretty bad.

[Silver]

Well, of course he'd compliment her grammar, he can't make up grammatical mistakes if there weren't any. If he did, she could easily pull out an MLA handbook and shame him in front of the whole class, which I'm sure he doesn't want. All he can say, then, is that her grammar was good but that he didn't like the paper. But see, then it depends on what the subject matter and the assignment is. Certain things are opinion pieces, certain things aren't. And even if they are, a good paper will have sources to support that opinion. So if he brought it down because of lack of sources or because the assignment didn't ask for opinions, then it's somewhat justified (from an educator's standpoint at least) and nothing can be done. If the only reason he brought her down to a C was because he didn't agree with her opinion, that's discrimination no matter how you look at it.

[Josiah]

Hi! I'm with Silver here. Depending on the subject matter, it may be a good idea to take it up with the principle. For example, if your essay was about how the moon is made of cheese, he's perfectly justified. But if it was all about how great of a President you think George Bush was, and the teacher is a die-hard Democrat, that would be discrimination (provided your did a good job of researching and backing up your points).

And, sorry Metal, but I've got to take issue with your comment on college professors. Yes there are some professors who care only about their own position and/or the reputation of their college/university. And there are some others who are horribly biased, lazy, and the like. But you can't make a blanket statement like that. The majority of college/university professors I know are not only fair, but really do care about their students and are perfectly willing to help where they can.

[Metalheadz]

Hi!

Hm, I guess I have to apologize for that statement, then. Just based on what all my friends say, those who are in college, they each had bad experiences with their college professors in comparison to their high school teachers. It's just popular belief, really, and finding cool college professors like that must be a rare thing. If there really are college professors like that out there, I hope I end up with one when I get to UVA.

Anywho, I'm back to playing Sonic Adventure 2 (Battle), the only great Sonic game on my list. I'm hoping to get all the A ranks in my game to get Green Hill Zone, but that will take a while, as in a looong time. Other than that, did some more lacrosse training today. Excited for the youth rally tomorrow!

Peace out!

[Josiah]

Hi! I attended two colleges. At the first (my local state college), I had a couple of really great professors, a couple of fairly bad ones, and a lot of ok ones. At UAT (where I got my degrees), nearly all the professors were awesome. My brother, who went to ASU, liked quite a lot of his professors as well And then there's the fact that I'm a college professor right now... I will note that you can't just skate by in college as easy as you can in many highschools. You have to pay attention, work hard, and get things done on time. Some people have a tough time adjusting (not saying anything about your friends per say, they may have a lot of bad professors). I've got a few students in my classes who don't even try to do their assignments yet they probably won't be too happy when they get their final grades. And I've heard some horror stories about certain students from some of the professors I've heard about. College can be fun and interesting, but a lot really depends on how much you put into it.

[Saber Knight]

Hey.

Naw, there's no discrimination of views going on here, so far as I can see. All of our essays so far have had to do with interpretation of short stories, and apparently I interpret wrong. Which I've never had an issue with before, but okay, whatevskiz.

So, UMass band day was today! Which means I was bussed off in the morning across the sate to UMass Amherst where we partied all day with a couple thousand other band kids! And it was awesome until I was hit with another not awesome thing! Apparently, my love triangle is no longer a problem because he FIANLLY made up his mind after the bus ride home... and decided to choose her. Cool.

YAY MY LIFE IT'S GOING SO WELL RIGHT NOW

[Blivsey]

Heya again.

On the topic of SA2, Metal, I agree it's one of the best, but it's not the only good one in my opinion. I'm a big fan of Unleashed/Colors, myself. That's not to say Adventure 2 wasn't fun, fun, fun.

And look up, Saber, it's one less thing to worry about. It's straight-up unhealthy to fret obsessively.

[Metalheadz]

Hi!

I will note that you can't just skate by in college as easy as you can in many highschools. You have to pay attention, work hard, and get things done on time.

Um, well duh... Where did I say it'd be easy?

Glad things are going a bit better now, Saber! Sorry about the love triangle thing, though.

I've just never been too big a fan of Sonic games, Blivsey. While I am aware that many others will have their own taste in Sonic games, I just prefer to play SA2. The 2D games were fun to play, and I also enjoyed a bit of SA1 and Secret Rings, too.

The youth rally is today and I'm quite excited. I'll spend about two hours doing homework before I go there, and it's gonna hurt. Luckily, this school week in particular will be short because of one parent-teacher conference on Thursday. Here goes nothing.

On the side note, Yom Kippur started two days ago, no? Hope you're having fun this weekend, Josiah.

Peace out!

[Josiah]

Hi! Yom Kippur was Saturday. Or, to be more precise, sunset Friday until sunset Saturday (Jewish holidays are all sunset to sunset). It went well enough, though I'll not that it's not a "fun" holiday by any means.

Back to Saber's essay for a moment... There really shouldn't be a right or wrong when it comes to interpretation. If the author actually comes out and says "this is what the story means" that's one thing. But if something is open to interpretation that means you have to look at it and come up with your own explanation which won't neccessarily be the same as the someone else's. By definition, there's not really a right or wrong way to interpret something since it's about your views on the material. So while that might not be discimination, I'd still say the teacher's at fault there, provided you did a good job of explaining and backing up your reasoning.

On the subject of Sonic... Most reviewers and long time players (myself included) will agree that his games have been going steadily down hill ever since the switch to 3D. There are a few exceptions but they've mostly been the side game (Sonic 4 and the GBA and DS titles). I have heard good things about Colors too, though I haven't played it yet. I could go into detail about all the problems with the 3D sonic games...but that's not really a discussion for this thread.

[PoisonWing14]

Moi,

Well, just to feel like I contributed somewhat to the previous conversations, don't worry Saber! Things'll get better! (Hopefully. Like, really hopefully.)

So, I have off tomorrow/today (If I didn't, I probably wouldn't be up this late.) because of Columbus Day. I've never really thought it really was a day worth celebrating for my own reasons, but yeah. "Discovery" of the Americas and such.

Gosh, for the past week, I've gotten back into Animal Crossing (for DS). For the time I am addicted to it, I am quite addicted to it. I guess part of it was that the Acorn Festival (in AC:WW) was this week, so...I was mainly collecting acorns and getting mushroom furniture. (And paying off my debt, of course.)

On the topic of Sonic stuffs, when I was really young, I used to play the old Sega Genesis Sonic games, ie: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic 3D Blast, and Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball. I haven't really played any of the more current games, so I can't really compare them, but I do know that those listed games will give me the most nostalgia out of all of the Sega Genesis games I own.

So, it's late...as in 1:49am late, which mean, sleep time! Woo~

[Blivsey]

Hiya hiya. it's getting harder to make these up

So, I have off tomorrow/today (If I didn't, I probably wouldn't be up this late.) because of Columbus Day. I've never really thought it really was a day worth celebrating for my own reasons, but yeah. "Discovery" of the Americas and such.

How fitting the guy doing the American history musical gets a day off for an American historical holiday.

On the topic of Sonic stuffs, when I was really young, I used to play the old Sega Genesis Sonic games, ie: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic 3D Blast, and Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball. I haven't really played any of the more current games, so I can't really compare them, but I do know that those listed games will give me the most nostalgia out of all of the Sega Genesis games I own.

Personally, I really enjoyed the classics (thumbs up for 3D Blast being on your list), but I'm a really big fan of the Advance series (2 in particular) and the newer games are fun as well. Here's hoping for Generations to bring that fanbase back together (Retro's already in shambles, though that's nothing new).

So, it's late...as in 1:49am late, which mean, sleep time! Woo~

Story of my life

[Josiah]

Hi! I wish I got off for Columbus day but, other than Thanksgiving break, the school where I'm working only has two days off this semester, one of which is on a day when I don't have any classes scheduled anyway.

[Saber Knight]

Hey.

My opinion on Columbus Day: Not gonna argue because having a day off is awesome, but MAN is Columbus an overrated historical figure! Not only was he a liar and responsible for the slaughter of thousands, but he was also a lucky idiot! His calculations on the distance to India were WAY off. If America hadn't magically showed up, he'd be beyond dead. He also lied to his crew, fearing they'd mutiny, consistently fudging the numbers and saying they were almost there. Oh, and he wasn't the first person to find the "New World" from Europe, either. Eirk the Red beat him by a sizeable margin. And then there's the murder and enslavement of thousands of innocent natives... Oh, and people already knew the world was round, that wasn't something magically new that Columbus figured out.

Eh, let's get a day off anyway, why don't we?