<p>For all those who don’t want to toe the line to get the grades, there is always STEM! :p</p>
<p>^^or my major, one of those “vocational” ones abhorred by some on cc–accounting!</p>
<p>I think it is very rare to have to toe the line to get the grades.
Some of you seem to accept that as established fact?</p>
<p>JHS addressed this already in #453</p>
<p>Any thoughts on his post?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Absolutely. I “dinged” her myself for that, although it was a personal statement, I should have added. And my D did, in fact, adjust her argument in response to criticism from that teacher, several helpful friends, another teacher and me (her favorite and best editor!). The part that I found frustrating was that the original teacher said, “Ooh, I’m afraid you’re going to anger people with this point of view” (I’m paraphrasing; it was words to that effect). What I would have liked is for my kid to be challenged to refine and better articulate her argument, rather than be told she was going to irritate people by coming at the question from the point of view that Barbie was a fun “gal” who helped her explore her own sense of what it meant to be a woman or a human being. That’s making the essay sound a lot more serious than it was and making it sound like Barbie play was more educational than perhaps it was. In any case, her Barbies lost many of their traditional feminine trappings (princess gowns, nice hair) quite soon after they came out of the box. Nothing we could do about those weird feet and those goofy breast-waist-hip dimensions.</p>
<p>absweetmarie: you are quoting JHS</p>
<p>I wouldn’t dare take credit for his posts.</p>
<p>I am interested in her specific arguments because I really am into this whole barbie question.</p>
<p>And because it may sort of go back to the various stereotypes discussed in this thread.</p>
<p>Way off the main thread topic (but, I suppose, no more off than Tex-Mex cooking), re JHS’s post #453: I think that JHS has been very fortunate in the quality of K-12 schools his children have attended, based on other posts by JHS.</p>
<p>I have no trouble envisioning the scenario suggested by absweetmarie.</p>
<p>Out here in some parts of the country, it’s possible to get dinged by a high-school English teacher for quite a few strange things. For example, QMP got dinged by the HS English teacher for not realizing that Thomas Jefferson was the second President of the US, and for not realizing that the First Continental Congress had signed the Declaration of Independence. </p>
<p>I’ve been off this thread for a while, since I realized how many of the participants are armed! And I just showed up with an Aharanov paper! :)</p>
<p>QuantMech: Oh my!! How did you deal with that? At my kids’ school, if you cited real sources (and lots of them!) that pretty much took care of that particular problem - though it might negatively impact college letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>Do you think you could get dinged at college for the same sorts of “strange things”? specifically at these hoity-toity elite schools? where mostly they don’t pack?</p>
<p>ps - in my rural southern Baptist neighborhood we pretty much say we are “carrying”</p>
<p>alh,</p>
<p>Oops. So sorry! That’s what I get for trying to pop in on this thread while I’m supposed to be doing work. I can PM you the essay if you like. It’s just 500 words. But I like it. (I’m the momma.) Let me know! </p>
<p>P.S. I fixed my original error as I was within the 20-minute window.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yikes! Thanks for the reminder to be appropriately grateful for living in my little bubble!</p>
<p>My daughter actually had the opposite problem, at least by 11th and 12th grade. She was an excellent, stylish writer, with fine instincts for political correctness, and her teachers treated her more like a colleague than a student. No one read her papers critically at all, and she never got dinged even when she should have, like for grammatical errors (which, granted, were rare), much less weak arguments (a lot less rare). They just told her she was wonderful, and could she possibly help grade their papers from other classes?</p>
<p>I just had a PTSD flashback to a certain HS Machiavelli test.</p>
<p>absweetmarie: Thank you. You are sweet!</p>
<p>This question of “toeing the line” for professors is related to the point I was making earlier. While you might find yourself disagreeing with professors on lots of issues and jousting with them, most of them (in my opinion, at least the good ones) will not downgrade you for disagreeing with them unless your opinions are too far out of the mainstream for them to accept. I suspect that few of us would think that a professor should respect virulent racist views. At most colleges, I would argue, professors are not going to respect a belief that evolution didn’t happen. They will probably downgrade a student who insists on saying this, especially in a science course.</p>
<p>But I think it’s fair to note that at religious colleges, there may be significantly less room to disagree with professors, especially if there is a mandatory set of doctrines for the college. It sounds like Baylor is not at the extreme end of this spectrum, though.</p>
<p>Note to alh: my comment here, and the ones above, are primarily designed to be my perception of how things actually are at the colleges I’m talking about, and not necessarily my view of how they ought to be.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>On a 4th grade spelling test, my teacher called out the word that means “attractive.” When I got my test back, she had counted one wrong: “pretty.” I had spelled it “pretty.” I asked her why she had counted it wrong. She replied “because it’s misspelled.” Astonished, I asked “HOW is it spelled wrong?” She responded “I’ve answered your question already. Go sit down.” I shook my head in astonishment all the way back to my desk. At that time, I wasn’t assertive enough to push the issue.</p>
<p>I’ve never forgotten that, even 40 years later, grrrrrh. :D</p>
<p>Hunt: What I am confused about is whether you were saying that it is, in fact, a matter of opinion whether opposing gay rights denigrates others… or just that some people may regard it as a matter of opinion.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Maybe she was looking for “purty.” :D</p>
<p>^^^^^I’ve had a really bad cold/cough and the muscles around my rib cage are sore. Your post made me laugh-----OUCH! :D</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How about a ‘C’ on a research term paper, with bibliography and footnotes, on The Big Bang for Honors Jr. English with the only comment “How do I know you’re not making this up?”</p>
<p>I am interested in hearing peoples’ opinions about what exactly “moral compass” means in the context of this college choice, and how Baylor’s moral compass differs from the other top colleges Lizzie rejected. Examples would be helpful.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Seems like only Lizzie could answer your question as it relates to her specifically; certainly we could weigh in with our own opinions, which may have nothing to do with how she made her choice.</p>
<p>^Yes, I realize that.</p>
<p>P.S.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4,
Are y’all “cooler” now? I’ve always wanted to ask you that, because I read your screen name as “Nerds before.” :)</p>
<p>Bay: We have now determined that Baylor has around 90% professed Christian staff and student body. I would assume most believe they share a moral compass, by virtue of being Christians. This moral compass may or may not impact the way they present the material they teach. I’m pretty sure it is possible for a person of any belief system to teach any subject without exhibiting personal bias. I’m pretty sure there are students who would prefer to be taught by a member of their own belief system, even if these beliefs weren’t relevant to the course material.</p>
<p>Is your question how a Baylor Christian moral compass differs from the moral compass of a college not 90% Christian?</p>