Obama-nizing my Classes

Off Topic Politics and World Issues
1

I have decided to share the wealth — I will now take points from my A and B students and give those points to those making less. The goal is for everyone to have a C+.

Of course, the idea is predicated on the A and B students continuing to work hard, and those with lower grades also resisting the temptation to loaf. If they don’t work up to their ability, I will institute my version of a ‘Secret Police’ and force them, through detentions and suspensions, to work to their very best.

I’m sure some parents and students will complain, but then I can simply say, “Well, you folks voted for just exactly the same thing when you voted for Obama. Why do you object to me using those very same principles in my classroom?”

It’s also so very perfectly logical.

2

I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.

3

You’re a fucking joke.

4

Wow, political banter. Neat.

5

first amendment baby.

6

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
I have decided to share the wealth — I will now take points from my A and B students and give those points to those making less. The goal is for everyone to have a C+.
[/quote]

Doesn’t grading on a curve already do that? Plus you can use the curve to mask your horrible teaching skilz.

No lie, I once took a particle physics test, got a 35% and still was on the upper end of the curve with a B+. The 16 year old prodigy got 100%. I bet he felt jilted when he realized the rest of the class did way worse than him and still got passing marks.

7

For her part, Sarah Palin, who has lately taken to calling Obama ?Barack the Wealth Spreader,? seems to be something of a suspect character herself. She is, at the very least, a fellow-traveller of what might be called socialism with an Alaskan face. The state that she governs has no income or sales tax. Instead, it imposes huge levies on the oil companies that lease its oil fields.

The proceeds finance the government?s activities and enable it to issue a four-figure annual check to every man, woman, and child in the state. One of the reasons Palin has been a popular governor is that she added an extra twelve hundred dollars to this year?s check, bringing the per-person total to $3,269. A few weeks before she was nominated for Vice-President, she told a visiting journalist?Philip Gourevitch, of this magazine?that ?we?re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it?s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.? Perhaps there is some meaningful distinction between spreading the wealth and sharing it (?collectively,? no less), but finding it would require the analytic skills of Karl the Marxist.

8

Straw man much?

If Obama is a socialist because of his tax policies, so is McCain. They both support a progressive tax system, and Palin redistributed oil and gas profits in Alaska.

I’m not saying I support Obama or that I agree with a progressive income tax, but if the citizens of this country would do their own research instead of parroting back the garbage spewed by political campaigns, political discourse would be on a much higher level. I sincerely hope you don’t teach a civics class.

9

[quote]nopal_juventus wrote:
I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.[/quote]

If you can refute my logic, then I shall here it gladly.

I highly suspect you’ll be unable to establish a true premise for you’re Modus Ponenes argument, though. Try Modus Tollens.

10

Sounds like a bad idea, if implemented, wouldn’t it discourage many students from trying to get good grades in the first place?

Kind of like this nu-socialism/Obama-ism.

11

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
nopal_juventus wrote:
I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.

If you can refute my logic, then I shall here it gladly.

I highly suspect you’ll be unable to establish a true premise for you’re Modus Ponenes argument, though. Try Modus Tollens.

[/quote]

You misspelled “hear”, “your”, and “ponens”. Congratulations.

Here’s a start:
(1) Spreading campaign rhetoric under the guise of instruction is abuse of power.
(2) You suggested that you would spread campaign rheotic in your classes.
(3) By MP from 1 and 2: You are abusing your power as a teacher.

12

Bingo. My problem is that you’re in a position of power and influence over young minds, and from I can tell, you’re more than happy to convert kids to hold your own ideologies and viewpoints, regardless of what they may be. I’d object just as much if you had written a post about how Mccain wants to bomb the shit out of everyone. Teachers are supposed to educate, not brainwash.

[quote]tom8658 wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
nopal_juventus wrote:
I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.

If you can refute my logic, then I shall here it gladly.

I highly suspect you’ll be unable to establish a true premise for you’re Modus Ponenes argument, though. Try Modus Tollens.

You misspelled “hear”, “your”, and “ponens”. Congratulations.

Here’s a start:
(1) Spreading campaign rhetoric under the guise of instruction is abuse of power.
(2) You suggested that you would spread campaign rheotic in your classes.
(3) By MP from 1 and 2: You are abusing your power as a teacher.[/quote]

13

[quote]tom8658 wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
nopal_juventus wrote:
I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.

If you can refute my logic, then I shall here it gladly.

I highly suspect you’ll be unable to establish a true premise for you’re Modus Ponenes argument, though. Try Modus Tollens.

You misspelled “hear”, “your”, and “ponens”. Congratulations.

Here’s a start:
(1) Spreading campaign rhetoric under the guise of instruction is abuse of power.
(2) You suggested that you would spread campaign rheotic in your classes.
(3) By MP from 1 and 2: You are abusing your power as a teacher.[/quote]

you should be in one of my classes

14

[quote]tom8658 wrote:
Headhunter wrote:
nopal_juventus wrote:
I can’t believe you’re a teacher. That explains why schools are so fucked up.

If you can refute my logic, then I shall here it gladly.

I highly suspect you’ll be unable to establish a true premise for you’re Modus Ponenes argument, though. Try Modus Tollens.

You misspelled “hear”, “your”, and “ponens”. Congratulations.

Here’s a start:
(1) Spreading campaign rhetoric under the guise of instruction is abuse of power.
(2) You suggested that you would spread campaign rheotic in your classes.
(3) By MP from 1 and 2: You are abusing your power as a teacher.[/quote]

I post between classes. Further, I do such things to balance out all the liberal crap thrown at students from the Left. Lecture those guys, dude, not me.

15

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
I have decided to share the wealth — I will now take points from my A and B students and give those points to those making less. The goal is for everyone to have a C+.

Of course, the idea is predicated on the A and B students continuing to work hard, and those with lower grades also resisting the temptation to loaf. If they don’t work up to their ability, I will institute my version of a ‘Secret Police’ and force them, through detentions and suspensions, to work to their very best.

I’m sure some parents and students will complain, but then I can simply say, “Well, you folks voted for just exactly the same thing when you voted for Obama. Why do you object to me using those very same principles in my classroom?”

It’s also so very perfectly logical.[/quote]

Or you could look to Palin for guidance, who allows parents with special needs children to have their kids sent to private school at the expense of the taxpaying public. Or who redistributes profits from oil business to her alaskans.

So why not Palin-ify your class as well? Put the difficulties of the few on the taxpayers, or extract business profits and put them towards after-school class for the bad-graders.

Or just continue to think that Obama’s the only one doing this.

16

[quote]nopal_juventus wrote:
Bingo. My problem is that you’re in a position of power and influence over young minds, and from I can tell, you’re more than happy to convert kids to hold your own ideologies and viewpoints, regardless of what they may be. I’d object just as much if you had written a post about how Mccain wants to bomb the shit out of everyone. Teachers are supposed to educate, not brainwash.

[/quote]

What planet have you been living on? Since altruism is our chosen morality, and it is impossible to actually practice, all actions become situational. Right ot wrong have no meaning, since altruism negated the possibility of ethical judgment.

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[quote]Brayton wrote:
Or you could look to Palin for guidance, who allows parents with special needs children to have their kids sent to private school at the expense of the taxpaying public. Or who redistributes profits from oil business to her alaskans.

So why not Palin-ify your class as well? Put the difficulties of the few on the taxpayers, or extract business profits and put them towards after-school class for the bad-graders.

Or just continue to think that Obama’s the only one doing this.

[/quote]

The oil is on public land in Alaska. Who owns the public land? Further, the oil companies can choose to go elsewhere if they don’t like it.

If kids are going to be educated, do you want them in some public school nightmare? And who paid the taxes that fund the schools? Maybe…the parents of the disabled kid? It is their money.

18

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Brayton wrote:
Or you could look to Palin for guidance, who allows parents with special needs children to have their kids sent to private school at the expense of the taxpaying public. Or who redistributes profits from oil business to her alaskans.

So why not Palin-ify your class as well? Put the difficulties of the few on the taxpayers, or extract business profits and put them towards after-school class for the bad-graders.

Or just continue to think that Obama’s the only one doing this.

The oil is on public land in Alaska. Who owns the public land? Further, the oil companies can choose to go elsewhere if they don’t like it.

If kids are going to be educated, do you want them in some public school nightmare? And who paid the taxes that fund the schools? Maybe…the parents of the disabled kid? It is their money.

[/quote]

I don’t really get what you’re saying in the second paragraph. The public winds up having to pay for Private schooling for a kid because he’s disabled - an example of the “fairness doctrine” that Palin seems so mightily opposed to.

I’d rather the public schools not be a nightmare to begin with. But that’s another issue…

19

[quote]nopal_juventus wrote:
Bingo. My problem is that you’re in a position of power and influence over young minds, and from I can tell, you’re more than happy to convert kids to hold your own ideologies and viewpoints, regardless of what they may be. I’d object just as much if you had written a post about how Mccain wants to bomb the shit out of everyone. Teachers are supposed to educate, not brainwash.
[/quote]

LOL! I’m guessing you didn’t go to college because, if you had, the idea of teachers/professors trying to brainwash students with their political ideology wouldn’t come as any sort of revelation at all. Hell, even my 10th grade history teacher was constantly spouting socialist liberal bullshit.

In fact, now that I think about it, so did my 8th grade politics teacher…

I’m sure it goes back much further than that, but I probably just wasn’t politically aware enough to pick up on it, until Mr. Whats-his-name gave me a D on the midterm report I did on Nixon because I treated him objectively rather than villifying him for ten pages. And, yeah, that’s exactly why I got the D.

I understand the point HH is trying to make… and his analogy is apt.

20

[quote]Norwell Bob wrote:
nopal_juventus wrote:
Bingo. My problem is that you’re in a position of power and influence over young minds, and from I can tell, you’re more than happy to convert kids to hold your own ideologies and viewpoints, regardless of what they may be. I’d object just as much if you had written a post about how Mccain wants to bomb the shit out of everyone. Teachers are supposed to educate, not brainwash.

LOL! I’m guessing you didn’t go to college because, if you had, the idea of teachers/professors trying to brainwash students with their political ideology wouldn’t come as any sort of revelation at all. Hell, even my 10th grade history teacher was constantly spouting socialist liberal bullshit.

In fact, now that I think about it, so did my 8th grade politics teacher…

I’m sure it goes back much further than that, but I probably just wasn’t politically aware enough to pick up on it, until Mr. Whats-his-name gave me a D on the midterm report I did on Nixon because I treated him objectively rather than villifying him for ten pages. And, yeah, that’s exactly why I got the D.[/quote]

So… because some people do it, it’s OK? What a great argument… If an instructor gives you poor marks because of a difference of opinion, you can and should appeal to the academic provost (or principal, I suppose, in High School). If your essay was well reasoned and supported by facts, there was no reason to just take the grade. That kind of behavior is completely unacceptable, whether it comes from the left or the right.

The analogy of grade redistribution to progressive taxation may or may not be apt, I don’t care to argue either way. But calling it Obamanization is misleading: I don’t see McCain calling for a flat tax, ergo McCain supports similar socialist policies, ergo McCain is a socialist. Call it McCaininating instead, or just call it socialist, but that would totally defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it.