Random Thoughts
Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
Tue, 11 May 1993 Well, here I am again. I’ve just come in from my power
What I call “a happening” had occurred in my 9:00 a.m. class.
“What’s going on ? What are they going to do to me?” I
Shelly had come into my office the day before and said that
From what Shelley told me and later recorded for me, this is
“Yesterday we had a class discussion where Dr. Schmier asked “She’s right. We’ve got to get down to business.”
“I hate these triads. I don’t want to depend on someone else
“You play football. No wonder we have a lousy team. Where’s
“I’m going to med school. I need good grades. I want to drop
“I heard you try to corner and embarrass him at the beginning
“Let’s get down to business. How many of you honestly do the
“Some of you don’t even read the syllabus calendar and then
“Here’s what I think. The reason some of you are complaining “Well, I don’t understand the discussions sometimes.”
“Ask questions. I’ve never seen anybody embarrassed in this “Then, he makes us answer our own questions.”
“Maybe he’s trying to show you that you’re able to answer the “Maybe he could summarize at the end of class.” “Tell him. He won’t bite. I’ll tell him.” “Some of the triads aren’t working.” “Well ours has become a study group.”
“We’re friends and have become like family. We come to each
“It’s been hard for us, but we’re getting to know each other
“I think we are becoming family. I know more people in this
“I like taking the quizzes and discussing tidbits like we were
“Yeah, but some of us aren’t together. We haven’t been
“Why doesn’t everyone look at each other and point to the ones
“Look, Dr. Schmier comes in here, come hell or high water, “That’s his job. He gets paid for teaching us.”
“And we pay to learn by ourselves. We owe it to ourselves.
“To get a grade. This is all so stupid. He doesn’t lecture. “Get a life. You ain’t going to make the grade.”
“I don’t like how he asks me questions. He’s always asking,
“Maybe you embarrass yourself because you come in here
“Hey, I’ve been in his office and talked with him. Remember,
“How many of you have a smart person in the triad and say,
“That’s a good idea. We, too, meet in the library. We’ll
“Three of us just have been talking. I know we’re not in the “My best time is Sunday.”
“O.K. We’ll also be in the library on Sundays from 2-4.
“I hate the tidbits. I tell him what each article is about
“He wants you to think and understand. Use the guide words he
“Sometimes, when we finish talking, we close our eyes and do “We’ll work on the tidbits in the library.” “I’m not sure this is all going to work.” “It won’t if you don’t want it to.”
“I don’t know if I can do it. It’s hard and I’m not used to
“Maybe she and the others are right. Let’s see if we can help
“We’re used to memorizing things for a test. He doesn’t do
“Maybe he wants us to take control of ourselves and make our
“I know you all said you were going to come, but if you don’t,
“He promised us pizza and drinks on him if we all pass this
Shelley wrote me a personal letter at the end of her written
I don’t know what happened in your class. I don’t
I’m proud of myself! I feel that I have earned this
I can’t let anyone else tell me how to think about On that note, I’ll just say a very quiet, Have a good one |
Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier (912-333-5947) lschmier@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu Department of History /~\ /\ /\ Valdosta State University /^\ / \ / /~ \ /~\__/\ Valdosta, Georgia 31698 / \__/ \/ / /\ /~ \ /\/\-/ /^\___\______\_______/__/_______/^\ -_~ / "If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills" -\____ |
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AUTHOR: Louis Schmier
TITLE: WHAT A STUDENT NEEDS
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
ALLOW PINGS: 0
PRIMARY CATEGORY: Random Thoughts
CATEGORY: 1993
DATE: 05/08/1993 12:45:33 PM
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BODY:
Random Thoughts
Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
Sat, 8 May 1993 Well, it’s real early in the morning. It’s starting to get
“I’m no Sister Teresa, ” my colleague proclaimed. “We are
“Is that what an education is all about,” I replied, “just to
“Yes, and the student should have to take only those courses
“Why, then, are we in June becoming a university–at least, in
“It will give our students more prestige. They’ll be more
“Sounds like packaging to me, marketing if you will,” I
While the conversation ended without any minds being change,
I think those attributes are especially “needed” in these
Moreover, it seems that such a narrow definition of an |
Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier (912-333-5947) lschmier@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu Department of History /~\ /\ /\ Valdosta State University /^\ / \ / /~ \ /~\__/\ Valdosta, Georgia 31698 / \__/ \/ / /\ /~ \ /\/\-/ /^\___\______\_______/__/_______/^\ -_~ / "If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills" -\____ |
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AUTHOR: Louis Schmier
TITLE: A “HAPPENING” IN CLASS
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
ALLOW PINGS: 0
PRIMARY CATEGORY: Random Thoughts
CATEGORY: 1993
DATE: 05/05/1993 12:45:33 PM
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BODY:
Random Thoughts
Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
Well, it’s early in the morning again and I have just come in,
I found the courage to take the risk to place my students on
“Damn,” I disappointingly thought. And then I asked the
“There was cheating in some of the triads. You used the book “We let Dr. Schmier down. He trusted us.” “Hell, we let ourselves down!”
“Why didn’t you say something Friday when it really counted.
“I wanted to, but I was scared that everyone would think I was
“It’s easy to do it now that Dr. Schmier is here to ‘protect
“I would have backed you up. But I didn’t have the guts to “Bull! Who are you to accuse others?”
“I’m mad because we didn’t cheat and they’re going to get just
“Is that all you’re concerned about, the grade? How about
“I felt it was none of my business. If they could get away
“Those who cheated, speak up. We know who you are. Do you
“Dr. Schmier, our triad cheated. I’ve been feeling shitty
“It’s no big deal. We changed only three questions. As I “You sell your honesty cheap.”
“I don’t see where its worth it. Something’s wrong if a lousy
“What will you do if some big thing came down, when you people
“We cheated, too…..But I don’t think we ought to get
“You want a reward? Hell, you cheat, you pay. Just because “I’ll take it.”
“There are others. At least go into his office and own up.
“Wait a minute. I’ve been listening. We screwed ourselves,
“I think we all ought to leave here and do some heavy thinking
“Damn,” I jubilantly thought to myself. I was so excited. I
“We figured if others were doing it, it was alright. But
Now, that is what I call a value-forming, character-shaping |
Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier (912-333-5947) lschmier@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu Department of History /~\ /\ /\ Valdosta State University /^\ / \ / /~ \ /~\__/\ Valdosta, Georgia 31698 / \__/ \/ / /\ /~ \ /\/\-/ /^\___\______\_______/__/_______/^\ -_~ / "If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills" -\____ |
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AUTHOR: Louis Schmier
TITLE: CHARACTER-BASED EDUCATION
STATUS: Publish
ALLOW COMMENTS: 1
CONVERT BREAKS: 0
ALLOW PINGS: 0
PRIMARY CATEGORY: Random Thoughts
CATEGORY: 1993
DATE: 04/21/1993 12:45:33 PM
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BODY:
Random Thoughts
Copyright © Louis Schmier and Atwood Publishing.
It’s 5:30 a.m.. I just came in from a rejuvenating, four mile power
“…at Hyde School, we believe in the questions. Who am
Why do I bring this up? Well, while I was walking I was thinking “So, what’s your point,” my colleague asked.
I told him that most of these students are not incompetent. They
“You’re crazy. You and I are professors, not social workers!” was
Aren’t we? Or, shouldn’t we be? I asked myself these questions as
No, if I am to deal, as I think teachers must, with the questions
In short, being a teacher means not just asking students to ask the |
Make it a good day. --Louis-- Louis Schmier (912-333-5947) lschmier@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu Department of History /~\ /\ /\ Valdosta State University /^\ / \ / /~ \ /~\__/\ Valdosta, Georgia 31698 / \__/ \/ / /\ /~ \ /\/\-/ /^\___\______\_______/__/_______/^\ -_~ / "If you want to climb mountains, \ /^\ _ _ / don't practice on mole hills" -\____ |
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