tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post6385892936207337576..comments2024-03-29T00:37:50.677+00:00Comments on A Yorkshire Memoir: New Month Old Post: Hi there Duggy!Tasker Dunhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-85459313878179816212020-11-03T21:41:55.010+00:002020-11-03T21:41:55.010+00:00That's fair comment. I mention about people le...That's fair comment. I mention about people learning to come to terms with the accessibility and the informality. Also, anyone who had gained a top position by then would have risen up through a hierarchy in which professors were very learned and seen almost as gods, unlike now when some get made professors just for their administrative roles. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-54161677018744539572020-11-03T19:28:56.799+00:002020-11-03T19:28:56.799+00:00In defence of Fairwood - someone has to! In the ea...In defence of Fairwood - someone has to! In the early 90s things weren't so relaxed and informal, especially as emails were a new issue. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12165688485434172060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-12475934477358551292020-11-02T10:02:38.049+00:002020-11-02T10:02:38.049+00:00Ha! There was a study that tried to identify the q...Ha! There was a study that tried to identify the qualities and personality traits of high-achieving academics and the only thing they all had in common was an unassailable sense of their own infalibity. Ever since childhood they have been constantly praised for how clever they are. Well educated - undoubtedly although often narrowly, civilised - only the very best. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-8329394367780405852020-11-02T09:57:12.215+00:002020-11-02T09:57:12.215+00:00The entire incident amused me, which is why I kept...The entire incident amused me, which is why I kept it. In fact, the antics of students like Arshad were a never ending source of amusement and fascination. You had to do your best to try to encourage them to see beyond their assumptions but this chap seemed something of a lost cause. No, the authors did not include Sylvia Opper. I'm not telling who they actually were, much as I'd like to. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-20481712269826564702020-11-02T09:53:14.008+00:002020-11-02T09:53:14.008+00:00He was not the strongest student and probably bett...He was not the strongest student and probably better at computer programming than understanding the implications of the software he was programming, which was what the course was all about. It's a problem that continues to this day in some of the terrible web sites etc. we have to use. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-36242551845844734152020-11-02T09:49:48.846+00:002020-11-02T09:49:48.846+00:00Spot on. Fairwood considered himself too important...Spot on. Fairwood considered himself too important to handle this with equanimity. But don't get too carried away with being able to see that. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-45876921091930493712020-11-02T08:52:02.347+00:002020-11-02T08:52:02.347+00:00I just found the email funny and the high handed r...I just found the email funny and the high handed response arrogant but noted that Piaget came into the frame. One of the authors would probably have been Sylvia Opper my ex sister-in-law. And it reminded me of all those books I read at teacher trainer college, did they really educate me? ;)thelmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934860502828923562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-89271225041506837622020-11-02T00:32:49.987+00:002020-11-02T00:32:49.987+00:00I remember being of an older generation, attemptin...I remember being of an older generation, attempting to learn a technology that came into common use and was intuitive only for the generation first using it. That does not excuse Fairwood, but explains his background when he sat down to make his response via a letter possibly dictated to a secretary, or self typed on an early word processing program. As for the student, roaring into his assignment by asking for the answers, I doubt he ever changed. It surely takes all kinds. Some get on with lives devoid of a shred of kindness.Joanne Noragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16601010208310707750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-49290019240064747832020-11-01T23:37:23.954+00:002020-11-01T23:37:23.954+00:00The mark of a man or a woman who is well-educated ...The mark of a man or a woman who is well-educated and truly civilised is to deal with other people like equals. Fairwood should have been re-named Unfairwood. I would have happily slapped him with a wet haddock and he could have then written an academic paper on humiliation.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-76986481993316964082020-11-01T23:26:02.102+00:002020-11-01T23:26:02.102+00:00 People are far too quick to rank others in their ... People are far too quick to rank others in their importance...and some rank people for no other reason than to feel superior. <br /><br />Those who believe themselves to be superior annoy those of us who are.Debbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09531125606268748793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-83765518100123178672020-11-01T21:25:13.194+00:002020-11-01T21:25:13.194+00:00Absolutely. I think Fairwood was annoyed to receiv...Absolutely. I think Fairwood was annoyed to receive such an email from someone he considered at face value to have lower ability than the students in his own university, and who he probably thought unsuited to H.E. The questions asked in the email were a garbled version of some of the things I had said the students might like to think about, and it was wrong to ask the profs to do this for him when a careful reading of the paper gave plenty to go on. The profs were right not to do this for him but Rachel's comment 2 sums it up. These very high flying academics can be charming when you meet them but total bastards to work with. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-13842276756634264312020-11-01T20:43:42.455+00:002020-11-01T20:43:42.455+00:00Why did the academics respond with such vitriol an...Why did the academics respond with such vitriol and snobbishness to Arshad's enquiry? Perhaps he came from a family with little or no history of higher education. Perhaps he was a second generation immigrant. Whatever his circumstances the response should have been more generous and less precious in my exceedingly humble opinion.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-63879623940294523832020-11-01T18:39:36.703+00:002020-11-01T18:39:36.703+00:00Thanks for the background: I am beholden.
Stimulat...Thanks for the background: I am beholden.<br />Stimulating comments too.<br />I will be forwarding this post to people who don't know your blog.<br />Professor Chater I will follow.Hameldaemepal@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231016503726428849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-39999204417359594392020-11-01T16:42:20.376+00:002020-11-01T16:42:20.376+00:00The incident amused me enough to keep it. The thin...The incident amused me enough to keep it. The thing I find funniest is when the student refers to the co-author Mrs. "Farwood" - actually the guy's wife and a professor in her own right. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-31601566607180638332020-11-01T16:36:34.762+00:002020-11-01T16:36:34.762+00:00One has to bear in mind that, at least in the UK, ...One has to bear in mind that, at least in the UK, many of those who went to university from the 1990s onwards would not have passed for grammar school in the 1960s. That is not to say they should not have the opportunity. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-49001927123353960472020-11-01T16:33:41.438+00:002020-11-01T16:33:41.438+00:00Chater is another professor with phenomenal output...Chater is another professor with phenomenal output. The application of learning theory to learning technology advanced a long way in the 1990s when support for Piagetian play and exploration became more feasible (as opposed to the earlier Skinnerian programmed learning paradigm). Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-4032561095213246302020-11-01T16:28:20.175+00:002020-11-01T16:28:20.175+00:00Perhaps he was blinded by masses of key-stroke and...Perhaps he was blinded by masses of key-stroke and context analysis data, and perhaps it's not obvious until someone thinks of it. It was another of my students who pointed it out to me. Also, he would then have been used to the students of his own elite institution rather than those of the ex-polytechnics which he probably thought should not have been granted university status at all. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-80297876735181244582020-11-01T16:21:28.667+00:002020-11-01T16:21:28.667+00:00Doesn't it reinforce what you already think ab...Doesn't it reinforce what you already think about prima donna academics? I agree it would have been better to respond briefly to the student asking for clarification of his confused email, rather than to waste so much of his "valuable" time over it. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-18473195246962678042020-11-01T16:12:14.447+00:002020-11-01T16:12:14.447+00:00It would not have been unusual in that institution...It would not have been unusual in that institution. Certainly not as unusual as Dougman. Tasker Dunhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17634612033217902946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-46838927784837445322020-11-01T14:37:10.959+00:002020-11-01T14:37:10.959+00:00I couldn't help laughing when I read that emai...I couldn't help laughing when I read that email. <br />It wasn't 1st April by any chance?JayCeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373622852406554111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-25701251530626545302020-11-01T14:23:10.832+00:002020-11-01T14:23:10.832+00:00I once set an Industrial design project to design ...I once set an Industrial design project to design the exterior casing for a brand new and extremely powerful Russian Nuclear weapon. About 75% came up with very trendy sleek designs, and just 25% refused to take part. Not really much to do with your piece, but it reminded me of my project.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-62088465991320880292020-11-01T13:47:22.083+00:002020-11-01T13:47:22.083+00:00Girls pairing with girls, remember twice as much a...Girls pairing with girls, remember twice as much as boys, pairing in other combinations ...<br />If this post was a book, Tasker, I would purchase it. It is as fascinating as Piaget whose ideas I know from only two books.<br /><br />Last night I purchased Nick Chater's *The Mind is Flat - The Illusion of Mental Depth and the Improvised Mind* Penguin 2019. Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School.<br />Your post is just as absorbing. I shall read it again tonight.Hameldaemepal@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08231016503726428849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-15215310748879571462020-11-01T12:38:52.432+00:002020-11-01T12:38:52.432+00:00Interesting that the eminent professor overlooked ...Interesting that the eminent professor overlooked an obvious reason for the greater success of the girls in the study. His angry and defensive reaction to the email, illiterate and brash as it was, suggests his awareness of the flaws!Boudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08621560989986102122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-52391349218836382762020-11-01T10:17:24.638+00:002020-11-01T10:17:24.638+00:00I think Fairwood's reaction to the email was w...I think Fairwood's reaction to the email was way over the top and he must have been up his own arse to complain to Arshad's superiors about it. He should have been able to handle Arshad with a suitable short response directing him to further reading in my opinion and left it at that. Rachel Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16053924416805878169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023204082711630211.post-47713414848368936052020-11-01T10:12:36.228+00:002020-11-01T10:12:36.228+00:00When choosing a fictitious name for your student h...When choosing a fictitious name for your student here why did you choose Arshad? Why not Dave or Darren or Paul or John? Arshad hardly seems like an everyday run of the mill name to hit upon. Rachel Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16053924416805878169noreply@blogger.com