Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 8:33am
I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
Glad to know it went well. That has to be awkward though, trying to engage people both in person and on zoom. I'm sure you handled it well. You should let us sit in on your class...wait, you should have us as special guests one day. :shifty:
Got a Rake? Sure!

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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JennyB wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 8:33am
I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
Glad to know it went well. That has to be awkward though, trying to engage people both in person and on zoom. I'm sure you handled it well. You should let us sit in on your class...wait, you should have us as special guests one day. :shifty:
If anyone legit wanted to eavesdrop on a lecture, I’d be fine, but I can’t imagine why if you weren’t paying for it!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

JennyB
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by JennyB »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:50am
JennyB wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 8:33am
I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
Glad to know it went well. That has to be awkward though, trying to engage people both in person and on zoom. I'm sure you handled it well. You should let us sit in on your class...wait, you should have us as special guests one day. :shifty:
If anyone legit wanted to eavesdrop on a lecture, I’d be fine, but I can’t imagine why if you weren’t paying for it!
It would be interesting!
Got a Rake? Sure!

IMCT: Inane Middle-Class Twats - Dr. M

" *sigh* it's right when they throw the penis pump out the window." -Hoy

gkbill
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by gkbill »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:50am
JennyB wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 8:33am
I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
Glad to know it went well. That has to be awkward though, trying to engage people both in person and on zoom. I'm sure you handled it well. You should let us sit in on your class...wait, you should have us as special guests one day. :shifty:
If anyone legit wanted to eavesdrop on a lecture, I’d be fine, but I can’t imagine why if you weren’t paying for it!
Hello,

Thus far, we're all in face-to-face here. Students have been more engaged (again, thus far) than previously. I get more questions, more answers when I ask questions, more note-taking, and more participation overall. Some of the upper-classmen/women seem to appreciate being in class with others more than pre-pandemic. I will continue to be the eternal optimist.

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

gkbill wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 10:22am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:50am
JennyB wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 9:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
10 Sep 2021, 8:33am
I had my first class yesterday in the 1/4 in person, 3/4 online format. Took a long time setting up, logging on, tuning shit, and all. It'll doubtless get faster/better, but, holy crap, it was hard to pay attention to the Zoom people. A big problem is that my monitor is well below eye level, so you have to specifically break eye contact with those in the room. As well, my monitor also has Powerpoint running, so that gobbles up screen real estate. A monitor descending from the ceiling by the camera dedicated to Zoom would be much, much better for catching the eye if raises their hand or types something in the chat. So my TA, whose sole job will be to monitor Zoom and signal me if anything arises, will be crucial.

That said, it felt good to be in a room with people, even if it was just yakking about the syllabus. I was totally fine lecturing from home, sitting in a comfy chair and having cats wander by, but being with actual people is better.
Glad to know it went well. That has to be awkward though, trying to engage people both in person and on zoom. I'm sure you handled it well. You should let us sit in on your class...wait, you should have us as special guests one day. :shifty:
If anyone legit wanted to eavesdrop on a lecture, I’d be fine, but I can’t imagine why if you weren’t paying for it!
Hello,

Thus far, we're all in face-to-face here. Students have been more engaged (again, thus far) than previously. I get more questions, more answers when I ask questions, more note-taking, and more participation overall. Some of the upper-classmen/women seem to appreciate being in class with others more than pre-pandemic. I will continue to be the eternal optimist.
I, too, am an eternal optimist—I know I can't reach everyone, but I always assume it's possible—but we'll see once lectures get underway next week.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
Where'd this shit originate?
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
So were the students supposed to interpret the lyrics?

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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Silent Majority wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:08am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
Where'd this shit originate?
One thing that I constantly battle against is students' inclination to criticize a writer for having a "bias." The writer has a feminist bias or a conservative bias or whatever. It's seemingly predicated on a notion that scholars have a duty to be objective, to present all sides of an issue, clap their hands, and walk away—ta da, a book! There's a perverse notion that having an opinion or perspective or philosophy means being unfair. But, in practice, it usually means "I didn't like what they said." They want their own perspective to be confirmed. (Students also complain about scholarly works where they come across strange new terms that they have to look up. Horrors! You mean you're … learning … something? In a university course?) It's fundamentally intellectual laziness.
revbob wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:16am
So were the students supposed to interpret the lyrics?
That's one possibility—the lyrics should be presented without commentary. Which means it's up to the reader. Why their interpretation would be valid but not someone who spent years researching and writing on the topic is a big unknown. One student thought that unless the writer of the lyrics was consulted, to provide the "true" meaning, it was improper to say anything.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Flex »

for any student wishing to learn the objectively correct meaning of any song lyrics, simply have them consult me, flex, and I'll tell 'em what's what.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by gkbill »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 10:51am
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:08am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
Where'd this shit originate?
One thing that I constantly battle against is students' inclination to criticize a writer for having a "bias." The writer has a feminist bias or a conservative bias or whatever. It's seemingly predicated on a notion that scholars have a duty to be objective, to present all sides of an issue, clap their hands, and walk away—ta da, a book! There's a perverse notion that having an opinion or perspective or philosophy means being unfair. But, in practice, it usually means "I didn't like what they said." They want their own perspective to be confirmed. (Students also complain about scholarly works where they come across strange new terms that they have to look up. Horrors! You mean you're … learning … something? In a university course?) It's fundamentally intellectual laziness.
revbob wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:16am
So were the students supposed to interpret the lyrics?
That's one possibility—the lyrics should be presented without commentary. Which means it's up to the reader. Why their interpretation would be valid but not someone who spent years researching and writing on the topic is a big unknown. One student thought that unless the writer of the lyrics was consulted, to provide the "true" meaning, it was improper to say anything.
Hello,

I would ask the student which meaning has more value - the meaning the author ascribed to the lyrics or the meaning you ascribe to the lyrics?

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

gkbill wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 11:14am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 10:51am
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:08am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
Where'd this shit originate?
One thing that I constantly battle against is students' inclination to criticize a writer for having a "bias." The writer has a feminist bias or a conservative bias or whatever. It's seemingly predicated on a notion that scholars have a duty to be objective, to present all sides of an issue, clap their hands, and walk away—ta da, a book! There's a perverse notion that having an opinion or perspective or philosophy means being unfair. But, in practice, it usually means "I didn't like what they said." They want their own perspective to be confirmed. (Students also complain about scholarly works where they come across strange new terms that they have to look up. Horrors! You mean you're … learning … something? In a university course?) It's fundamentally intellectual laziness.
revbob wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:16am
So were the students supposed to interpret the lyrics?
That's one possibility—the lyrics should be presented without commentary. Which means it's up to the reader. Why their interpretation would be valid but not someone who spent years researching and writing on the topic is a big unknown. One student thought that unless the writer of the lyrics was consulted, to provide the "true" meaning, it was improper to say anything.
Hello,

I would ask the student which meaning has more value - the meaning the author ascribed to the lyrics or the meaning you ascribe to the lyrics?
Assuming I didn't achieve some kind of breakthrough with them, they'd say their opinion is as good as the scholar's, but both are inferior to the song's writer. But at least they aren't trying to impose their view on people like the scholar. It really does strike me as a kissing cousin of anti-vax/anti-expert faux populism. My opinion is as good as any so-called expert, so who are they to shove it down my throat?
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

gkbill
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by gkbill »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 11:38am
gkbill wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 11:14am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 10:51am
Silent Majority wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:08am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
24 Oct 2021, 9:17pm
Grading book reviews this weekend and am depressed by the number of students who think it's inappropriate for a scholar to interpret lyrics because, well, the lyrics could mean anything and it's wrong that the author is imposing their view. Kinda helps explain how anti-vax bullshit gains traction if experts aren't allowed to express their opinions without it being tyranny.
Where'd this shit originate?
One thing that I constantly battle against is students' inclination to criticize a writer for having a "bias." The writer has a feminist bias or a conservative bias or whatever. It's seemingly predicated on a notion that scholars have a duty to be objective, to present all sides of an issue, clap their hands, and walk away—ta da, a book! There's a perverse notion that having an opinion or perspective or philosophy means being unfair. But, in practice, it usually means "I didn't like what they said." They want their own perspective to be confirmed. (Students also complain about scholarly works where they come across strange new terms that they have to look up. Horrors! You mean you're … learning … something? In a university course?) It's fundamentally intellectual laziness.
revbob wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 9:16am
So were the students supposed to interpret the lyrics?
That's one possibility—the lyrics should be presented without commentary. Which means it's up to the reader. Why their interpretation would be valid but not someone who spent years researching and writing on the topic is a big unknown. One student thought that unless the writer of the lyrics was consulted, to provide the "true" meaning, it was improper to say anything.
Hello,

I would ask the student which meaning has more value - the meaning the author ascribed to the lyrics or the meaning you ascribe to the lyrics?
Assuming I didn't achieve some kind of breakthrough with them, they'd say their opinion is as good as the scholar's, but both are inferior to the song's writer. But at least they aren't trying to impose their view on people like the scholar. It really does strike me as a kissing cousin of anti-vax/anti-expert faux populism. My opinion is as good as any so-called expert, so who are they to shove it down my throat?
Hello,

The jump between science and art is where opinion and findings/results should realize their on separate buses. Too many think science is opinion. While opinions exist and have their role, the crux of science is findings. Tucker Carlson asking someone "What's your opinion of this study?" shouldn't come before "What do the findings of this study tell us?" - in fact, unless the study is poorly done and rejected by peer-review, should be an afterthought.

I think this is an interesting question on the topic: if I write a song that is meant to make people sad and reflective but it makes millions happy and feel good, have I failed?

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

gkbill wrote:
25 Oct 2021, 12:54pm
I think this is an interesting question on the topic: if I write a song that is meant to make people sad and reflective but it makes millions happy and feel good, have I failed?
To you, yes, you've failed to achieve the desired effect. To the listener whose spirits have been raised, you (or perhaps, more accurately, the song) succeeded. Because we all necessarily bring our own criteria to a text, which is why some cultural theorists argue that consumption is a productive act. We infuse meaning into the text everytime we read/watch/listen.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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