As I have always loved teaching, I love writing about teaching as well. My education blog, Teach Unto Others, has a great history of my musings.
Friday, July 24, 2026
Monday, March 16, 2020
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
It is always the season for giving
7/23/2019 Dallas, Texas by J. Sanders-Nelson
I absolutely love to give. Clothing, books, baby shower gifts, my art and sometimes even my writing skills.
Right now many working artists are reading this and they are thinking, ugh, stop giving your creativity away for free!
And they too are right and I do sell a few items here and there but it's hard out there for a crafter, artist, writer...or where ever the creative muses take me on any given day.
Now I am initiating a fundraiser to help out two very worthy causes. The first is funding to help underserved children receive their very own books via Usborne Books and More.
I am also proudly supporting a former student who is for the 2nd year in a row, going to a well known homeless area and passing out cold water, fruit and care packages. Although I cannot be there, I am glad to support her in her efforts.
Please click on the following image below to view some of my artwork and with each purchase, $5 will go towards assisting these very worthy causes.
Thank you so much for your purchases!
Right now many working artists are reading this and they are thinking, ugh, stop giving your creativity away for free!
And they too are right and I do sell a few items here and there but it's hard out there for a crafter, artist, writer...or where ever the creative muses take me on any given day.
Now I am initiating a fundraiser to help out two very worthy causes. The first is funding to help underserved children receive their very own books via Usborne Books and More.
I am also proudly supporting a former student who is for the 2nd year in a row, going to a well known homeless area and passing out cold water, fruit and care packages. Although I cannot be there, I am glad to support her in her efforts.
Please click on the following image below to view some of my artwork and with each purchase, $5 will go towards assisting these very worthy causes.
Thank you so much for your purchases!
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Oh, Helicopter!
Oh, Helicopter
Paula J. Sanders-Nelson
Originally published at HypeKast.com
Recently, I gave my post-millennial students a very complicated research assignment. Each student would have to find current or historical articles about a famous family member or
friend of the family. To my surprise, the most difficult task proved to be having a conversation with family members to discern things about people in their families. The assignment
quickly fell apart. Parents immediately started emailing disclaimers that there was
NOTHING to discover, no family available or the typical “woe is my child” excuse.
So, I relented and revised the assignment so that they had to research the meaning
and origin of their family name and then locate 3 positive articles, current or historical,
about someone with the same sur name. I even provide the website the students could
use to look up surname origins and meaning.
friend of the family. To my surprise, the most difficult task proved to be having a conversation with family members to discern things about people in their families. The assignment
quickly fell apart. Parents immediately started emailing disclaimers that there was
NOTHING to discover, no family available or the typical “woe is my child” excuse.
So, I relented and revised the assignment so that they had to research the meaning
and origin of their family name and then locate 3 positive articles, current or historical,
about someone with the same sur name. I even provide the website the students could
use to look up surname origins and meaning.
The excuses piled in from parents. My inbox was full!
I even helped a student find amazing information on a relative, while in my class and
she still failed to get the assignment completed once she got home. She hadn’t even
tried outside of class to research any further.
she still failed to get the assignment completed once she got home. She hadn’t even
tried outside of class to research any further.
Parents continued on the attack:
“What does this have to do with English class?”
“It’s teaching students to use the internet as a
research tool.”
research tool.”
“Can they do something else?”
“No, I’ve already modified the assignment.”
“Can they have more time? This was really hard.”
“No, I have given a grace period of four days instead
of the regulated three, with 10 points off for each day that it is late. Sorry.”
of the regulated three, with 10 points off for each day that it is late. Sorry.”
Parent conferences have been scheduled. Calls to the principal have been made.
On the flip side of this disastrous assignment, students
who did go home and have an actual conversation with
Mom and Dad produced amazing work.
I read about a parent risking her life to get out of Vietnam
and to America, a grandfather who is a veteran sports writer
and another relative who is an innovative educator in the Caribbean.
who did go home and have an actual conversation with
Mom and Dad produced amazing work.
I read about a parent risking her life to get out of Vietnam
and to America, a grandfather who is a veteran sports writer
and another relative who is an innovative educator in the Caribbean.
The students who tackled the assignment not only walked
away proudly with an excellent mark, but they discovered a
new source of pride in their family. Most of all, I am thankful
for the parents who didn’t make lame-ass excuses or attack
the teacher for having the audacity to challenge their child
with an assignment that would force them to look at
who they are and where they come from.
away proudly with an excellent mark, but they discovered a
new source of pride in their family. Most of all, I am thankful
for the parents who didn’t make lame-ass excuses or attack
the teacher for having the audacity to challenge their child
with an assignment that would force them to look at
who they are and where they come from.
This assignment gave me great insight into David T Conley’s position that our students
are ill equipped to handle the rigors of college. I’ve come to believe that his theory is valid
and is mainly due to all the damn wind being generated from their helicopter parents
blowing every assignment with the slightest challenge way
out of proportion.
are ill equipped to handle the rigors of college. I’ve come to believe that his theory is valid
and is mainly due to all the damn wind being generated from their helicopter parents
blowing every assignment with the slightest challenge way
out of proportion.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Craigslist University: Accepted
by J. Sanders-Nelson, 2016
Going through a freelance writer’s drought of paying gigs, I had this idea to list my writing services on Craigslist—hey we writers are always on our hustle, right? We are ridiculed for our college majors which are mainly English, Creative writing or any humanities degree and yet the same “funny” people who crack the same lame ass jokes about writers only teaching or working fast food continue year after year taking for granted that a writer is behind their current existence (from the instructions to putting together an IKEA shelf to the side effects of anti –depressants).
Now where was I, oh yes, so I went to the “services” link on Craigslist and it was like walking through the woods on a late night date with Jason Vorhees.
Chilling.
The first 100 listings were for academic writing assistance. One listing even offered, for a fee, of course, to take online classes for students! According to Neoacademic.com, “These websites employ people to write papers for undergraduates for a fee. A student might pay $2 per page for a term paper, for example. But such papers can be used in either in-person or online courses. This is not in any way unique to online courses.”
Really?
I wondered, how many paralegals, veterinarian assistants, and day care workers have used their excessive student loan dollars to pay some else to do their coursework? Yikes!
How many red-cheeked medical interns are smiling their way to the bank because some writer tucked away in a musty old home office, pounded out research papers for them? In a 2013 abstract posted by Medscape.com, “The reported prevalence of cheating among US medical students ranges from 0% to 58%. Cheating behaviors include copying from others, using unauthorized notes, sharing information about observed structured clinical encounters, and dishonesty about performing physical examinations on patients.”
How many people have cheated and really don’t know their stuff but still sit pretty and get paid to perform on a good-paying job they are NOT qualified for either by education or experience?
According to James Spencer, an IT manager, and consultant, the cost of hiring unqualified workers can be at great cost: “…your customers will come in contact with these "less-qualified" individuals. If customers are not happy with the service they receive, you risk losing them—a costly mistake. Plus, the morale of the rest of your staff may deteriorate if they are burdened with additional workload because you’ve hired workers who can’t do their job. The cost of turnover is high, and you will be faced with this expense if veteran staff members decide to leave.”
What kind of world are we living in where people can pay for some else to receive the required education? What kind of learners, workers and producers are we leaving this world to? An associate dean at the University of Florida, Chris Loschiavo addresses this issue in his article, “Why do students cheat? Listen to this dean’s words”, which suggests that 70% of college students admit to some type of cheating. Loschiavo goes on to state that students may behave this way for several reasons, the prime example being that they are “…motivated by the path to success that they see around them – people cheating without incurring any real consequences.”
Most disheartening is that fact that society seems to reward some of these behaviors with more attention.
Will there ever be laws against cyber-cheating in an attempt to instill integrity back into our culture?
Or will Craigslist simply join the growing number of for-profit education institutions?
Bibliography
Online Plagiarism and Cybercheating Still Strong – 61.9% by Richard N. Landers 2011 http://neoacademic.com/2011/02/04/online-plagiarism-and-cybercheating-still-strong/
Cheating in Medical School by Anita V. Kusnoor, MD and Ruth Falik, MD Southern Medical Journal 2013 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/809141
TechRepublic Member: Hiring unqualified workers is no way to save money by James Spencer 2001 http://www.techrepublic.com/article/techrepublic-member-hiring-unqualified-workers-is-no-way-to-save-money/
Why do students cheat? Listen to this dean’s words by Chris Loschiavo 2015 http://theconversation.com/why-do-students-cheat-listen-to-this-deans-words-40295
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