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.......2 students got the joke. One of them actually asked what "maternity" meant. This is our country's future. * HUGE sigh *
Friday, 07-Dec-12 09:19:19 UTC from web-
@astah to be fair, it's not a funny joke
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@abigpony not "ha ha" funny. more of the non-sequiteur, stupid, style joke. Absurdist humor, such as the idea of a man getting pregnant, is meant to be superficial humor. Not to be taken seriously, but more as a means to lighten the mood and provide an avenue through which the class will open up to the substitute teacher and, as a result, be more responsive and engaged. It was a pedagogical tactic. What made me sad was that a 15 year old student didn't know what "maternity" meant. That is truly disturbing. And of course it isn't a funny joke... it's a suuuuuuuper lame joke. The same way hipsters are fashionable by consciously attempting to be unfashionable
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@astah That's stereotyping hipsters and I would hate a sub more if they made that joke. if you haven't embraced the fact that there are some very stupid kids in the world, I don't know what to tell you but to leave teaching because you obviously have little place in it. How can you even prove that only 2 students got the joke?
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@abigpony I was referencing the general hipster philosophy rather than hipsters as a group. Also, when I have to give the definition of a simple word like maternity to a group of high school aged students this is not so much a comment on the intelligence of the students but rather a sad comment on the state of our educational system... something I try to remedy by refusing to dumb down my vocabulary. When they ask me what a word that I use means I encourage them try to work it out from context, not in a mocking but in a supportive way. If they arrive at the answer themselves, they've learned it better. Humor is also often an excellent vehicle for learning. I would be more concerned that you have apparently acted as judge, jury, and executioner in reagards to my ability as an instructor (and, by extension, my person seeing as I love teaching and wouldn't trade it for the world) just from a couple of light-hearted comments you happened to read on an online community forum.
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@astah I don't feel like typing a long-winded response to this, so I'll let you win or whatever.
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@abigpony Some classes require an authoritative hand, some engage the material through humor and a sense of mutual respect or equality between the instructor and the class. Regardless, my comments on this forum were private thoughts. You seem to be under the false assumption that I openly demonstrated these opinions to the students themselves. This idea is abhorrent. When in the classroom, the students are the only priority, and despite being a substitute teacher that day I made certain to apply every available faculty to help them to understand the lesson material, rather than lazing around like an overcharged babysitter. After class, I am allowed to vent and lightly joke about the things that happened, the same way every single person does in ANY line of work. Do not proselytize to me on the ethics or practice of teaching. And in the end, lighten up... we're just funning afterall.
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@astah Is it funning if it's not fun?
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@abigpony good job letting him win. lol
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@pony I apologize. That wasn't very tolerant of me to engage and get all ruffled like that. While it's no excuse, I've had an incredibly long day of traveling between Cali and Utah, subbing, volunteering for a couple hours teaching ESL to adult hispanics, and feeling just generally jet lagged. It was totally out of line for me to get so riled, especially on RDN.
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@pony I have a headache and he's annoying me, so I can't really type a response right now. Only letting him win because I need to let him win.
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@pony Taught three years at UNLV, finished off my MFA, then spent a year teaching ESL in China. At the moment I substitute grades 6-12, volunteer at a few after-school programs for adults and teens, and when I'm not doing that I'm researching and writing a manuscript.
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@abigpony my point was that if you were gonna let him win then why continue the conversation with "Is it funning if it's not fun?" I do enjoy your posts though. even when you're grumpy. :3
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@astah busybusybusy. Like Twilight indeed. I'm an Italian major currently.. eternal undergrad :P
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@pony I'm surprised.
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@pony how did ya end up in Provo? I'm from SLC originally, but this is the first time I have lived in Utah for about 8 years. Did 4 years in LA, 3 years in LV, then a year in China and now here I am!
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@abigpony you shouldn't be too surprised. You're rather personable most of the time *hugs* ^_^
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