I feel the same way as Beth does. The use of the term "shits" is probably a somewhat intentional attempt to evoke a response, and I think it'd be more educational for the student if the response were instead to the student's probably unsupported assumption that there's something specifically wrong with children "these days" (as opposed to other, earlier, angelic children raised by our own parents, for example...).
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be in a position (evaluating a new faculty member) to listen to a group of psychology 101 students in an unsupervised "jigsaw classroom" group argue about whether or not "children these days" are different from those of other eras. It was a great argument, with two distinct sides formed among the 6 or 7 students in the group, each side doing an impressively good job of making a case. Had someone in one of those groups said "Children these days can be shits", I'd have probably laughed, and come away exactly as impressed with the students as I actually am. On the flip side, I think there's certainly a lot more harm from having adults believe that our social problems stem from a lower quality of "children these days" then there is from having adults use a little flippant language in college papers. Paul Smith Alverno College Milwaukee ----- Original Message ----- From: Beth Benoit <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 3:26 PM Subject: Re: What to do? > Maybe I'm way too relaxed, but I don't think I'd be that upset about a > comment like that unless it's included in a research paper, where it would > be inappropriate to make a statement like that even without the noun in > question. A classroom assignment is usually more casual - at least in my > classes. > > It could be one of those famous teaching moments. How about writing on the > paper: "I'm interested to know what makes you say that the behavior of > children today is more negative than in the past. Can you give some > examples?" In person, it might be a good idea to encourage the student to > use something a little less scatological (in the true sense of the word > "scat"). > > Beth Benoit > University System of New Hampshire > > >> " ....Some of the middle school children tried to act very > >> relaxed and like > >> nothing bothered them. Children these days can be shits." > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
