Essay Chat - page 2

re: all digital or hybrid course materials?

Jul 25, 2023

My school district is not one of the rich or well funded ones. We struggle to get coursework materials, new library books, even computers for the students to use. The hybrid system of education is one that we benefit from because of the lack of funding. With limited technology at our fingertips, we have to resort to text books that are more accessible at the local libraries. The students also use the internet at the local library rather than at the school. Does this mean hybrid learning materials make it more difficult to learn? On the contrary, the student have a lot more fun learning this way. They take glee in finding errors in the textbooks, as indicated online. They feel empowered to learn more because they are doing it among their peers after school. Hybrid course materials work for this generation. They respond better to the learning process. While they prefer to use the internet as their main source of learning, they see the value of books just the same when it comes to gaining an alternative opinion from early authors.

re: the problem with legacy admissions

Jul 25, 2023

Just as I did not see anything wrong with Varsity Blues, I see no reason to end legacy admissions. There has always been a societal divide existing in our world and the educational system is not exempt from that. There will always be some children born more priveleged than others. Why should they lose out on a chance to study at the best schools just because their parents graduated from that school before them? Isn't that the ambition of every parent? To have his child follow in his footsteps from education to career? So where is the problem with legacy students then? They are only fulfilling their place in society. They are meant to study at those schools. If they are not, then they themselves will opt not to attend or, they will flunk out of the school. It is not assured that they will graduate from the school just because they are a legacy. They are only assured a place of study in the best school. Why take that against them?

the end of essay writing

Jul 25, 2023

Since AI has invaded our classrooms in ways we never imagined, maybe the time has come to rethink the way that we conduct our classes and the learning activities? One of the activities that I believe has gone past its prime is the essay writing part of the learning. When a computer can write the essay for the student, who does not even bother to read the content, then we have a serious learning problem to solve. How do we get the students back from AI dependence? Why should we do this? Maybe we should do away with all written homework and just go back to the basics of learning? We have to find a way to prevent AI from taking over the learning process to the point where students get grades even though they failed to put any effort into the learning process. We cannot disallow the use of computers and AI so maybe use AI in place of textbooks instead? Any ideas on how teachers can use technology to our advantage?

chatgpt and changes to essay homework

Jul 25, 2023

I have been faced with an influx of AI written essays coming from students over the past few months. It is difficult for me to accept that the students are just passing off their homework to ChatGPT or Google Bard for completion. Yes, these programs allow them to comply with the class requirements but, I am worried that they are not really learning anything since they are not thinking about what to write anymore. They just go with the flow of the AI essay. They do not read it, they do not personalize it. Which is why the writing is wooden and lacking in depth. The only way I saw to solve the issue was to force them to read the essay in class. I went back to oral reading so that I could ask questions and force their logical thinking and reasoning skills to the front. Developing what they lost when they asked AI to write their essay for them. They struggle to respond. Is the response correct? Correct for the most part. I guess as educators, we have to adjust to technology. Learn how to make it work for us as teachers, rather than just letting the students use the AI without guidance or supervision.

benefits of no traditional exams?

Jul 25, 2023

I am beginning to get confused by the new age method of teaching that some schools have decided to implement. Now, the schools are telling me that to be fair to all students, they are doing away with the traditional way of assessing knowledge, which is by using exams. Instead, the students will be rated based on short and long essays (in place of quizzes) and perfomative tasks (rather than quarterly assessments). They claim that this is the best way to truly assess the learning of a student beyond simply memorizing dates and events. Now, the students need to prove that they truly understand the lessons beyond just textbook learning. They also claim that is will lessen the chances of a student cheating during an exam. Which is probably true, but then again, students hellbent on cheating will find a way to cheat, no matter how the teachers try to stop it. Anyway, I am just concerned that we are raising a generation of unlearned youth because of the way the schools are pussyfooting around the learning process for our children. What do you think?

no homework? any benefits?

Jul 25, 2023

I just received word that my son's school is going one step further than their no homework on weekends policy. The school has decided to eliminate homework altogether. Their reasoning is that the students need to have more time away from schoolwork if they are to learn anything about the real world and how it functions. So, aside from going to school to attend lectures and participate in activities, our kids, once they get home, can just take the rest of the day off and procrastinate. At least that is how I see it. I do not understand how they are supposed to learn anything if they do not get any form of learning extension outside of the classroom. There is no benefit to attending classes then right? We used homework to further develop our academic interests outside the classroom. Since when did that become a bad thing? What is wrong with some home based learning during the week? Home schoolers do that all the time and they are beating our school based students at assessment tests every single year.

no grading classes?

Jul 25, 2023

Schools these days seem to be hellbent on making life easier and stress free for students. They no longer want to rely on memory work to prove the intellect of a student, which is what our generation grew up on. Instead, they are now being asked to think for themselves and assess their lessons. The idea is that they learn from reading an understanding, their reasoning and logic skills now take the place of memory work. These, in a way, eliminates the need for an actual grading system to be in place at schools. As parents, how do you feel about this? Do you think it is right to disregard memory work considering the students are already failing in history classes? They do not know who the founding fathers are and they are barely getting by in math and sciences? Should we not be expecting more from the students and the schools rather than expecting less? Would this be considered a negative reflection of our current educational system?

paraphrasing using chatgpt?

Jul 25, 2023

I am attending English Second Language classes. In our classes, we are being taught how to write essays. For these lessons, the teacher tells us that it is important to know how to paraphrase text from other sources. We have been practicing this for several days now. I have been doing this on my own and have done a fairly good job at the task. Then I heard from my other classmates that they ask ChatGPT to do the paraphrasing for them. They told me that it helped them learn how to paraphrase better. That our teacher cannot tell the difference when they use the AI for their essay writing take home tasks. Shouldn't this be considered cheating in a way? Even though the work was written for them, that does not make it original since the AI could have cut and paste information from other online sources right? Can anyone suggest the best way to learn how to reword text, without cheating in the process?

ai promoting bias thinking?

Jul 14, 2023

I am a teacher who has allowed my students to use ChatGPT for their homework needs / essay writing. I figured, why not allow them to use it since they will use it whether I give them permission to or not? Well, it was a good idea at the start. I finally had 100% homework compliance in all my classes. The work was mechanical for the most part but I ignored that in favor of the fact that the students were at least making an effort to complete the class requirements. I could always quizz them orally on the AI generated text. That is where my observation started to kick in.

The students were no longer thinking for themselves. They simply memorized the text from the essay, which they did not write. Their mindset was influenced by the text that they read. When I asked them to explain their opinion further, they could not do it. They did not understand the context that the AI had written. They had merely taken key points for their responses. They were not thinking for themselves. Reasoning and logic were dead. AI did that to them.

Let this be a warning to other teachers. We need to find a way to control AI use of our students. AI is good when properly used. The last thing we need is to produce a generation of non-thinkers. We have enough of them already these days.

what is ungrading all about?

Jul 14, 2023

So, I have heard a lot about this thing called "ungrading" where students are not going to be getting letter grades in school anymore. There is a perception that letter grades are no longer necessary because logic and reasoning development have become the school learning slants these days. Grades only work on memorization, but do not really represent true learning on the student's part. So why grade them for memory work? It sounds logical, but then, how would students know that they are doing well, or not well, in any given class? How does it really work?

While I am highly interested in the talks happening at my school about this, I am uncertain about how it would affect my future as a college applicant. How would ungrading benefit me as a student when colleges and universities are not applying this method when it comes to their applicant assessment? Can I be confident that I will be given a fair share of admission consideration then?

all digital or hybrid course materials?

Jul 13, 2023

I was wondering if my school is the one that is still left in limbo when it comes to reference materials for students? While all the other schools that I know of have already moved towards digitizing all of their reading material and classwork, even the exams, my school is still implementing book based learning, paper based tests, and giving electronic reference materials only as a last resort reference for students. I find the books to be highly outdated and quite difficult to access since there are only a certain number of copies available of a book at the library. It is almost as if the school is trying to make it difficult for us students to learn. Not to mention, they want use to learn outdated information rather than up to the minute information that can actually help us become more intelligent individuals. Do these books still have any place in today's school system? I envy my friends who do not have to carry schoolbooks with them everyday, they just have a single tablet in their backpack and nothing more.

the problem with legacy admissions

Jul 13, 2023

So, it seems that Harvard has finally gotten into trouble because of their legacy admission policies. Finally, these Ivy League schools are being called out for their unfair admissions practices. I firmly believe that legacy students take away the rightful place of deserving students at the university. These kids have their place in the university secure from the moment of conception. They are admitted to the university whether they are capable of doing well at the school or not. They do not really study, nor do they pay attention to their grades. They are legacy kids, they will get their certification no matter what. I hope that Harvard will lose this case. The courts need to do away with this discriminatory practice existing in exclusive admission schools. There should not be a separate set of rules for the kids of the rich that keeps the deserving middle or low income students from attending the school. This case was long coming and I hope, will have a positive outcome for the students who find it difficult to gain admission to the school.

stop look an listen message abot bioiversity

Jun 30, 2023

stop look an listen message abot bioiversity

re: do-over grades?

Jun 25, 2023

I would prefer that teachers always implement do-over grading for the students. I am a student who does not perform very well in class the first time. I am a visual learner. I need to understand what is required of the me in the task. I need to have it pointed out to me at least once after I submit the paper to my teacher. Once I know what I did wrong, I go back and improve upon the paper, this time producing as expected. While I do not expect to get a high score for submitting the paper late and, needing to do the assigment or task a second or third time, I do appreciate the chance to not fail the task in terms of grading. While a do-over reliant student will never be the brightest of the bunch, he will eventually catch up to the rest of the class and perform in alignment with them. Do not judge the student based on his ability to get the task done right the first time. Not everyone can perform in a cookie-cutter, factoryline setting.

re: college admission is contingent on academic honesty?

Jun 25, 2023

If a school will not consider academic dishonesty a major offense that should keep the applicant out of its school, then that institution is nothing more than a diploma mill. It is important that schools consider the personal and academic integrity of the students applying to become part of their student community. The image and brand of the school is at stake. No school would want to be known as an "easy" entry. Only party colleges and universities carry that image with pride. Even then they try to avoid the connection whenever they can. Academic integrity dictates the kind of students that the school graduates. Giving students a break after having previously violated the rules in their previous school does not give them a second chance. It tells them that its ok to violate the rules. They will be forgiven for it anyway. So no worries. Just go about breaking the rules. Your future will not be affected by it. That is the wrong message to be sending the students.

re: should i use writing bots for college admission essays

Jun 25, 2023

I tried using a writing bot for my college essay. Just because I was facing a mental block and had no idea what or how I wanted to say in response to the prompt. I gave the AI as much information as I could, including the word count. Then, I waited for it to work its magic. It sure came up with a 250 word personal essay for me in a flash but, it wasn't really as useful as I thought it would be. The writing was just too mechanical in format. The words did not flow as naturally as it would if I had written the paper myself. Sure the paper seemed exciting when I first read it, but then the novelty of reading the AI developed text wore off and, upon further reading, I realized that the paper did not really offer a true representation of who I am and what I want to tell the admissions committee. I ended up trashing that version and writing my own version instead. Now that, I could live with.

re: should college students be admitted based on trauma essays?

Jun 24, 2023

I am ashamed to admit that I am a student who only got into college because of my trauma based essay application essays. I truly had a horrific background to speak of in the first place. I never expected that those problems from my past would have helped me get into my first choice college. I had dismal grades and I would never have been admitted to the school if I had not qualified as a diversity student based on my application essays. That is not something I am proud to admit, but something I have admitted to my classmates and friends each time I am asked how I got admitted to the college, considering I can barely keep my GPA up to stay enrolled. They understand my background and agree I should be given a chance, but they are also vocal about letting me know that I may have taken a slot away from a deserving student, who did not use guilt to gain a place in the student community.

re: schools: indoctrination or teaching channels?

Jun 24, 2023

This is a concept that detractors try to throw towards our free or public school system. They are trying to convince us that public schooling is a place of evil just because the public schools do not allow the parents to control the educational system. Parents who dictate or would like to dictate the learning process of their kids will do well to enroll their kids in private school or home schooling. Do not expect to have a child ready to face the real world though. They are indoctrinated to think differently from the rest of the free world. Public schools on the other hand, prepare the children for the real world and the changes that are slowly emerging in it. They are not doing anything more than their mandate to educate and open up with mind of the student. Make them more free thinking, as opposed to indoctrinated and brainwashed to believe a particular thing. Schools should never function that way.

re: why slow down with revisions

Jun 24, 2023

I tend to do quick revisions to my paper. Draft once, review once, correct as I read, then I am done. I do not slow down too much nor do I over review the draft. I find that the more I change the contents of the paper or correct more than just typographical errors, the paper takes on a life of its own and I find it difficult to draw the line as to when to stop the editing and revision process. There is no such thing as the perfect academic paper. There will always be some flaws in the presentation. No professor will expect a paper to come out of the work of a student. He does expect good work though. Good work is what revisions allow us to aim for and acheive. That does not require slowed down revision. Peer reviews maybe, but not repetitive, slow review and correction of the paper. That just isn't logical, specially when the paper concerned is not one of the major class papers of a student.

re: should students write their own recommendation letter?

Jun 22, 2023

Students should not make it a habit of writing their own recommendation letter for college or higher learning admission. They should also never do that when applying for student scholarships. Students have to trust that the letter their teacher will be writing for them will be to their benefit. If a teacher does not want to write a recommendation letter for him or her, then that means the teacher is not supportive of his ambitions or, the teacher does not believe he will make it. A recommendation letter only works if a teacher believes in the capacity of the student. It must be worded in an appropriate manner. It cannot sound juvenile nor contain information that is out of focus. These are the problems that indicate a student written recommendation letter. When the admissions team suspects that, the student will find his application weakened. They will tend to call the teacher to confirm the information, which could end up being the reason for his application rejection.

re: labor based grading creates more responsible students?

Jun 22, 2023

Labor based grading is a unique way of teaching students. It also highlights the learning style of each learner as they are given the freedom to establish their own learning routine and class participation. Either the student becomes a diligent learner, who becomes more active in terms of his own learning and class participation or, he becomes a cramming specialist who barely passes in class because he just does enough to glide by. By giving the students the responsibility for their learning, we see who is responsible and who is not. Labor based grading can create responsible learners, as it does most of the time. Students like being in charge or an active participant in their educational quest. It is up to the teachers just the same, to ensure that they inspire the students to be responsible and take charge of their learning needs. It does not take much to prod those who are responsible. Those who are not, well, even labor based grading can fail because they apply it incorrectly to their learning needs.

re: the case for ending the pass or fail grades

Jun 21, 2023

Well, pass or fail grades serve a purpose in the educational world. Internationally, schools will consider students based upon their academic performance and standing. How well they perform in subjects related to their chosen major and whether they would have the intellectual capacity to successfully complete overseas academic assessment tests. Thinking along those lines tells me that there is no way pass or fail grades can ever be completely done away with. It might just take on a new form of grading or assessment testing, but it will always be there. It is important that students are assessed for intellectual capacity so that they can forge their future based upon the knowledge that they can perform well in one particular field of study. Additionally, failing grades help strengthen the character of a student. It allows them to learn about failure and how to deal with it or, eventually, how to overcome it. There are a lot of benefits to pass or fail grades.

re: schools: evolve or become obsolete?

Jun 21, 2023

As schools continue to forget what they are supposed to be doing, which is educating our kids instead of trying to rewire their brains, I believe that schools will eventually find themselves becoming obsolete. Parents who do not agree with the way the kids are taught these days will be pulling out their kids and enrolling them in home schooling or some other alternative educational program. They may even hire tutors directly. So the purpose of sending kids to school will be end up being defeated.

Schools are the ones creating the obsolescence of their purpose. They are no longer focused on education. They are looking at fulfilling political intents and virtue signalling. Both of which have never been considered a traditional part of education. So yeah, I do see schools becoming obsolete in the future. Not because their usefulness has been reached, but because they have forgotten what schools are all about. Education, not indoctrination. Learning, not brain rewiring.

re: should college students be admitted based on trauma essays?

Jun 20, 2023

Regular college should not, in my opinion, be admitted based on trauma based considerations. It just isn't fait to the students. They work hard in high school to gain admittance based on merit, so they should not lose their chance just because they do not have a sob story to share. If students must be admitted based on traumatic events in their lives, then let that consideration apply to refugee students or ESL students, not to American students. Universities and colleges have diversity quotas anyway so use the diversity quotas properly and not just on the basis of race, religion, skin color, or the alphabet of a person. Fairness in the admission process can only be found when the admissions committee learns to get real and assess the regular students on a level playing field. Do not force them to develop some sort of fake trauma just to get into school. That defeats the purpose of the personal statements. Accept the students based on their realities, not what you want them to make up for you to enjoy reading.

re: why slow down with revisions-

Jun 19, 2023

I find that my students who take their time in revising their papers always end up turning in the best researched and most informative papers to my class. The time that they took to actually write the paper, the information they presented in the paper, everything about the paper just tells me that they took their time in revising their drafts until they came to the version they submitted to me. Effort is often seen in the final product. Slowing down during the revision process, so they can actually avoid any grade reducing errors or, mistaken information, becomes evident in the work produced. There are so many grade beneficial reasons to slow down when the student has already reached his draft revising process. The problem is that most students these days no longer care for the quality of their work. They just want to come up with some sort of paper and submit it, just to get it out of the way. They fail to realize the importance of a properly completed revision.

re: college admission is contingent on academic honesty?

Jun 19, 2023

From what i have gathered reading the web these days, academic honesty is something universities and colleges are finally willing to overlook. These academic venues are having problems retaining their students and also, inviting freshmen in. So, while they may find out about the academic problems or violations of a student, they tend to give the student a chance if his record looks like he could benefit from the education of the school. They do not even offer conditional acceptance anymore as they used to with incoming freshmen who have a record. I guess they figured that they run a business first and foremost so, the best thing they can do is overlook certain violations from students, who then have a clean slate to start on during their college learning. Now, if the student chooses to violate the rules and gets caught in the process, then that is another story. For now, it is all about increasing the head count at these schools and collecting the tuition fees from these students. Who cares about their academic integrity?

re: possible writer blackmail: is it still worth it to hire them?

Jun 19, 2023

If you have not worked with a paid writer before, then I do not suggest you start doing it now. If you have gotten by doing your own work, but are aiming for a higher grade, I am telling you to learn to be satisfied with your own intellectual and writing capacity. There is no sense in delving into the academic writer hiring scenario at this point. Not with the way all of these scammers are proliferating the web and even trying to directly contact students on social media just to con them. Think of the academic repercussions if you are caught. If that happens, blackmail will be the least of your problems. While more blackmail cons can easily be avoided, it is not something that you should be fearing when you hire a writer. If you have that fear, then simply do not do it. Listen to your instincts. It may not be worth it for you. Do not invite trouble.

re: schools: indoctrination or teaching channels? -

Jun 18, 2023

I fear that schools of the US and Canada are becoming exactly what they claim the Russians and other socialist / communists do with their children / students. They are indoctrinating our kids into a new belief system. A new society and social order that are unknown to us as their parents. That is the main reason why they are trying to keep us out of the educational system these days. They know that parents will balk at the way that students are being made to believe that new beliefs should be normalized while old beliefs and cultures should be shunned and shamed out of existence. This is where I believe the educational system has failed out children. Schools are too busy indoctrinating, they have forgotten how to educate our children. Instead, we are left to find them educational help through other sources. Sources that are more attuned to our beliefs as parents and do not indoctrinate our kids for any reason.

re: do-over grades?

Jun 17, 2023

Let's remember that generations of students passed through all their academic levels without having a chance at a do-over. It is all part of preparing them for adulthood and giving them lessons in responsibility. They should get only one chance to prove they know their lesson, like everyone else before them did. Look, do-overs only exist in the movies and video games. There are no resets in real life. That is what schools should be teaching the kids. That you only get one chance to get things done right. Do it wrong and there are consequences. You fail your task grade, you repeat a grade, you get thrown out of school. Those are the realities of academic life that have professional and real life counterparts. There is no sense in sugar coating anything for them since that will give them a false perspective of how to handle situations. So if they do not do the work properly, give them the failing grade or low grade that they deserve. They better learn about the harsh realities now than when they get to work. Enough of these do-over and safe spaces. It doesn't help the students.

re: college admission is contingent on academic honesty? -

Jun 7, 2023

I do not believe that an incoming college student should be judged by the actions he has taken in the past. It is not fair to deny him entry into his chosen college just because of a previous action that only proves a youthful lack of judgement on his part. Why should he have to pay with his educational future for something that he has surely learned a lesson from and will not repeat in the future? Academic acceptance should not be based on a judgemental consideration. Everyone deserves a second chance. In this case, why not interview the student and ask what made him do it? While he will never admit if he plans to do it again, it is important to understand what fueled his decision so that he can be made conscious that he should not do it again. Give him conditional acceptance for the duration of his stay at the college. Make this the main reason he could be dismissed in the future, but allow him to attend the university. There is no sense in a double punishment at this point.