[MATHEDCC] sspears response to "Just a question"

Seese, Lillian (lseese@mcmail.stlcc.cc.mo.us)
Tue, 17 Nov 1998 20:02:39 -0800

I, too, wonder what our increasing workload just to keep them afloat says
about our students...as has been pointed out here, they have more complex
lives, less flexible social standards, different priorities (and have been
successful by doing very little in the past). Unfortunately, "you will
need this in the real world" is not much incentive to many, because (I
can't remember where I recently heard this) the all know lots of adults who
do just fine with very little math knowledge.
It is the "thanks for making me work so hard" comments that keep me doing
this. Can I do it for 20 years? fortunately my campus has computer
delivered sections of courses where we can get the chance to do something
different on occasion to keep us energized. But I do this in 4 classes
this semester, along with chairing the largest math department in Missouri,
because the students really respond to it. When I ask, as part of the math
autobiography "what was it about a great teacher that you once had that you
really liked?" the most important response I get is "it was someone who
genuinely cared about how I was doing in the course."
the student who comes without their "ticket" loses points for the day,
gets a chiding from me for not doing it, but comes in anyway. This is
probably less than 1% of the class, because we really talk about how it
helps to look over the material before coming to class. What is their
motivation to do all this? the summaries, group work and notebook grades
account for a mere 10% of their grade - but I really do think they do it
because they trust me when I say that it is good for them. My rationalle
for asking that they do all this is that I think there are 3 things that
will make them succeed - read the book, talk to others about math, and do
math every day. And I count these things as 10% of their grade.
I grade HW notebooks for honest attempts to work the problems. As someone
at a conference said, "if it looks like math, it's OK." No penalty for
trying and not succeeding - I tell them that I expect them to have trouble
on some problems, and to get stuck on the hard ones, but I expect to see
that they tried the problem. If anywhere, this is where I give more credit
than I should.
thanks for asking!
Lillian Seese
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