Tyler Clementi Story

1.  Who is responsible for Tyler's Death? Perhaps more than one person is responsible? You may want to place responsibility based on percentage. Some examples of who may hold responsibility are, Tyler himself, Tylers Parents, Dharun Ravi, Molly Wei, or even Rutger's university?

      In the end, Tyler is responsible for his own death.  Certainly there are other parties involved and crimes were committed that should not go unpunished but I don't believe that any of those people should be held directly responsible for Tyler's death.  Before Tyler made the decision to start a homosexual relationship he should have considered the consequences.  Granted having it filmed and posted to the internet is not the way that you want the world to find out.  Tyler made no attempt to get help or let anyone know how he was feeling before he jumped to his death.       

2.  Is there something that could have been done to prevent this?  It seems like some people watched the posted video, why didn't anyone step up?

      I don't think that there is necessarily any way to prevent this kind of activity but if you make the consequences so severe, people might think a little longer about what they intend to do.  The only way you could prevent it would be to make it illegal to use another persons image without their consent and make the penalty harsh.  I think the people that viewed it, like a lot of people who view content on the internet, think that they are doing so anonymously.  They therefore feel no need to be accountable for preventing what they may otherwise view as reproachful behavior.  

3. How do you think that anti-bullying laws will impact cases like this?

     Sadly, lawyers are so good at exploiting loopholes in any law, they would probably make it nearly impossible to prove that it was bullying in the first place.  With the technology that is available and the new stuff that is constantly being developed it is sometimes difficult to make old laws applicable to newer technologies as there is no precedent for there use or application. 

Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?em

1.  Is professor Grossman off the mark when he says “I tell my classes that if they just do what they are supposed to do and meet the standard requirements, that they will earn a C,” he said. “That is the default grade. They see the default grade as an A.” why?

       Professor Grossman, I believe, is correct in his statement.  A basic understanding of the material and meeting standard requirements is what the average student demonstrates.  A deep understanding of the material and being able to apply it outside of the class context in an above average manner puts the student in a position to earn an above average grade.         

2.  What do you think is causing students to feel entitled to receive a good grade? Is it because a grade of A is now the expected default for "average" work where in reality a grade of A denotes "above average"?  Are the students prior experiences in high school or earlier the cause?  Are parents to cause "my child is perfect so it must be the instructors fault"?

      Educators, in most cases, up to that point were willing to accept just being present and going through the paces as acceptable work. In many cases the focus of a particular curriculum is just to prepare a student for a standardized test that, if scored high on, can secure the district with valuable funding.  It does nothing for the overall education of the student and their preparedness to enter the world of higher education or be an asset in the general workforce.  Parents need to stop coddling their children,blaming their teachers, and take an active role in their educational process.

 

3.  Give your honest opinion of the article.  Do you feel you deserve grades based on your effort or is it that you earned the grade you receive because of your effort?  Anything else you would like to add?

     No, you absolutely do not deserve higher grades based on the amount of effort you put into it.  If the quality of the work is reflected by the amount of effort involved, yes, but not based strictly on effort.  If you work really hard and the finished product is still bad why should you get more points, or pay if you were working.  If the understanding of the material is not demonstrated, regardless of the level of effort, than a higher grade is not justified.  Overall I agree with the sentiment of the article.

mossy box

Made this little box out of wood that was reclaimed from a barn up the street.  I thought it would be better to save the wood and eventually build something with it instead of it just going to the landfill.

The clasp is petrified wood.