cab67
cab67's Journalout of curiosity -
Has anyone looked at recent American history textbooks? The ones used for high school and undergraduate classes?
I'm really curious how they treat anything that happened after 2016.
Alex Jones - what comes next?
I'm hoping someone with far more legal education than me can help me -
What comes next? Does he start paying these families right away? Or maybe try to resist making payments he's supposed to make right away? Or will there be appeals before he pays anything?
I suspect the failed stand-up comedians who represented him in court will try whatever they can, but if they're as successful with that as they were with the damages hearings, I can't imagine their efforts will last very long.
advice for parents from a college professor
A few weeks ago, I posted an open letter to new college students with some advice from my perspective as a professor.
Because of some interactions Ive had since classes began (not on DU), its become clear that some parents could also use some advice.
1. No I cant tell you how your child is doing in my class.
Theres this thing called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA. Its federal law, and it means that unless your child is under the age of 18, and with few exceptions, I cannot divulge educational records to anyone off campus without written permission from your child.
I can get fired if I do so.
Yes, there are other people you can contact. Theres the head of my department, for example, or our departments director of undergraduate studies. Theres the dean of my college and the associate dean for undergrad affairs. Your student presumably has an advisor, either in the department of his or her major or through the advising center. You could even take it up to the provosts office or the institutions legal counsel. But theyll tell you the same thing.
That youre paying your childs tuition does not, and cannot, enter into any decision I might make to divulge information. (And yes I know how much youre paying. I work here.)
Youre concerned that your child isnt telling you anything? That might indeed be a problem, but its not something I can do anything about.
There may be exceptions if your child is experiencing some sort of mental health crisis. I might be able to share student progress with parents/guardians, therapists, or psychiatrists if thats going on. But Id do some serious research on my obligations before doing so. Im not a lawyer, so Id reach out to university counsel and my dean before acting.
Also this hasnt happened to me very much, and not recently, but do you realize how pathetic it looks when a parent begs a childs college instructors for better grades?
2. I say this to students as well: when it comes to exams, quizzes, and assignments, we instructors accommodate need not convenience.
The need category includes a students illness or injury; a dependents illness or injury; a family emergency, such as a funeral or a close relatives heart attack; a court date; a job interview; a military obligation; another university-related obligation, such as a mandatory field trip; a transportation problem; a computer problem (if the exam is taken online); or a family event that was scheduled long in advance, especially if Im notified of it right after classes begin.
We also accommodate physical conditions that might impair a students ability to take an exam as scheduled visual impairment, ADHD, dyslexia, and so on. Theres an office on campus that manages such accommodations.
Almost everything else falls under convenience.
That you already bought the plane tickets on the day your child is scheduled to take an exam is unfortunate, but unless its for a real emergency (e.g. funeral) or a milestone event that was (a) planned before classes began and (b)made known to me early in the semester, Im not inclined to accommodate your child.
Yes, I know air fares vary depending on the date of departure or return. No, I cant accommodate your child because cheaper flights conflict with a classroom obligation.
I wish I had a nickel for every time Ive been told that I have to accommodate a student because an event had to be scheduled to avoid conflicts with everyone elses work obligations. As far as Im concerned, work obligations dont necessarily have right of way over academic obligations.
Your best bet? Your child got a syllabus for each of their classes on the first day of the term. It specifies when exams will take place, and it may state the deadlines for term papers or other deliverables. Take them into consideration when scheduling some sort of event, and dont assume that your child can be accommodated.
Sorry if this sounds strident, but I've had some difficult exchanges with parents in recent weeks.
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Member since: Wed Jul 24, 2013, 01:10 PMNumber of posts: 2,993