Popular Post lewelma Posted September 6, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 6, 2019 (edited) Today was the first day of recitation for Intro Chem which is a required class. The instructor started pretty basic, and the kids behind ds in the class were making somewhat-loud, rude comments about the class being useless, and why did they bother to show up, etc. After class, two of them went up to the instructor and said to him "next time, why don't you just tell anyone who knows anything about chemistry to leave. This class just wasted my time. etc" He said it went on for at least a minute or two. DS waited for the kids to leave the class and went up to the instructor and said "Thanks so much for teaching this recitation. Looks like you have a pretty tough crowd here, but I appreciate you being here." The instructor then asks his name and they get to talking. DS has been working in a chemistry lab this summer and apparently they have been doing the same type of research in materials science and really hit it off. DS came home and called me to say not just how he couldn't believe how rude the kids were, but that he felt good about making the effort to fix it. Edited September 6, 2019 by lewelma 51 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Kudos to your ds. Being a TA can be tough. Those students did no one any favors.....other students or the poor TA. Something none of those students considered is that grad students are the ones who actually write requested LOR for REUs, etc. (At least at Berkeley.....every requested letter was put on the TA for that section.) Huge plus for your ds! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Nothing like being insulting right off the bat to someone who may hold your grade in his hands. Lewelma, your ds sounds like a wonderful young man. Being in an environment where everyone is smart means he will stand out for his kindness and work ethic, which will likely open some doors for him. People like to work with people they like to work with, KWIM? 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 This is a wonderful story, kudos to your ds! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 Well, I cannot say that I am surprised that K was appropriate, respectful, and kind, but good for him anyway. I AM surprised that students would show such an appalling lack of respect toward their instructor. That is utterly reprehensible. (Also, thank you for the info. Living in the sticks, I suspect that my student would be the type of student targeted for such a basic recitation-and she'd need it. I'll just add this anecdote to my list of reasons for NOT applying to super selectives. My soft-hearted child, I suspect, would be eaten alive in a place like that. ) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 What a great story! How wonderful that your son did that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 Well, I cannot say that I am surprised that K was appropriate, respectful, and kind, but good for him anyway. Aw, thanks. He so enjoyed working with your dd. I AM surprised that students would show such an appalling lack of respect toward their instructor. That is utterly reprehensible. Yes! My son thought so too! At MIT you can't get credit for Chem from an AP, you have to take the MIT final exam to place out, and it only has a 20% pass rate or something for the kids who try to get out of the class. So a bunch of kids who have taken AP Chem will be in the class and know a bunch (but not all obviously) of the material. Clearly, these kids were thinking they shouldn't have to take the class, but WOW oh WOW do they need to learn some manners! If I had been the TA, I would have gone home and cried! (Also, thank you for the info. Living in the sticks, I suspect that my student would be the type of student targeted for such a basic recitation-and she'd need it. I'll just add this anecdote to my list of reasons for NOT applying to super selectives. My soft-hearted child, I suspect, would be eaten alive in a place like that. ) Just an FYI, I don't know about other schools, but MIT has a first year program for kids who want a non-traditional type of learning . https://uaap.mit.edu/first-year-mit/freshman-advising/advising-options/learning-communities The ESG (Experimental study group) take all the same classes that the other kids take, but in small groups of only 10 kids (not a lecture hall of 500 like Intro Chem had). And these classes are discovery based, investigative style with project based grades, rather than here is a textbook and memorize everything for an exam. A large percentage of the homeschoolers go into this program for the first year at MIT. I tried to convince DS to do it, because like why wouldn't you want very small class size with special attention from the professors etc. But no, he wanted to jump in the deep end. So, make sure you check what each school has to offer, because I am sure that MIT is not the only school that recognizes that some students want to learn in a different way. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 (edited) dp Edited September 6, 2019 by lewelma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted September 6, 2019 Share Posted September 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, lewelma said: Aw, thanks. He so enjoyed working with your dd. Does he need spending money? We're looking for a calc tutor, maybe 2 hours a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 10 minutes ago, JoJosMom said: Unfortunately, he is taking an overload this semester, so has no spare time. But thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Kudos to your son! He sounds mature, kind and wise beyond his years. I hope he continues to have a wonderful experience during his undergrad! It must be a challenge to be so far from home, navigating a different culture. If he ever wants to pop up to Ontario, we'd LOVE to show him around. BTW, my son would have started the conversation with the TA with, "I'm sorry." It's the Canadian culture to appologize. 😁 I'm pretty sure Bianca appologized to Serena for beating her at the US Open. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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