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I guess it's less a factor of intelligence and more willful ignorance.

Pretty much. The kind who brag to their friends in the hallway about not reading the material, and then spend more time wrangling for an extra point on an exam than studying for it in the first place. Or who submit a revised exam for partial credit that contains the same mistakes.

There aren't tons of students like this, but just a few is enough to warrant the production of alcohol.

so....are you saying I can't have your custom rank?

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:so....are you saying I can't have your custom rank?

Mr. Socky says, "No." YAAAAAYYYY!!!!!

Reading about Professor Smith's and Professor Sigh's students and this song popped into my head. Don't let them get too deep...

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I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Philosophy is a talk on cereal box religion
Is a smile on a dog

I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep
What I am is what I am are you what you are or what?

I'm not aware of too many things I know what I know if you know what I mean
Philosophy is a walk on slippery rocks religion
Is a light in the fog
I'm not aware of too many things I know what I know if you know what I mean

Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep
What I am is what I am are you what you are or what

sigh you are one funny man and you won the weekly water cooler colleague conversation with this gem.....

"Your student doesn't want to learn, she wants have her brilliance confirmed. She also thinks education is a widget, you are the widget provider, and by gum, she's tapping her foot wanting that widget served piping hot and tasty on a buttery croissant.

Expect her to read? Damn it, man, provide her with a summary, guarantee it will be on the exam, feed it to her, and on exam day, serve her syrup of ipecac and place a sheet of paper right in front of her to vomit forth the answer. And you'd better catch every gloopy drop."

UPDATE

A day after class I contacted student by email offering to meet with her outside of class. She gives no response.

Day of next class meeting

During office hours another student from the class apologized to me on behalf of the other students for the behavior of the one woman and complimented me for not 'throwing her out a window' {I like that I was complimented for not assaulting a student. I take it in stride and it warmed the cockles of my cold professor heart.}

Get to class. Awkward silence in classroom.

Student who threatened lawsuit normally sits by door. Instead she say by herself on the far side of the room by the window, which was odd because her normal seat was open.

In the middle of class she took out her phone from her purse, walked across the front of the class coming within inches of the lectern where I was speaking, and disappeared into the ether of the hall. 5 minutes later she comes back in. Walks slowly across the entire room and sits.

She doesn't say a word in class. Not a peep. She takes no notes. She stares at the ground or glowers at me.

With 10 minutes left to go in class she packs up her books and leaves making a very slow walk across the front of the class
I am sure she thought it was dramatic.

It was clear that many of the students were trying not to laugh at her. (I cant have students laughing at her as that is just a toxic class environment) I call on one of nearly laughing students and bring the class back to task.

As she left it was just sad in a weird way. I felt really sorry for her.

I wonder if she got feedback from her peers between classes.

Which reminds me of a time my wife and I attended birthing classes and one father to be kept interrupting the teacher to complain about the medical profession, hospitals charging too much, birth was completely natural so why were lay midwives discriminated against, eventually leading to another man in class telling him to shut up or he would have to shut him up.

Why bother taking notes when Harvard Law is already in the basket?