Volume 124 Issue 16
kansan.com
Monday, September 12, 2011
City plans repairs of local skate park
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Photo illustration by Chris Neal
The term "teacher's pet" is often thrown around in a classroom setting.
Everyone knows "that student" in class who always has to contribute and always sucks up. It's pretty obvious how other students feel about those types of students, but how do the professors feel?
Dr. Craig Martin, biology professor, thinks that the term is used mostly among students and not with professors. "I am always very impressed with a students who has a lot of questions and a lot of things to say," Martin says. "But there is a line where they seem to be forcing questions or asking questions that aren't as good as other ones and they seem to just be asking for asking's sake."
Marilyn Rausch, a journalism lecturer, says a teacher's pet is a student who thinks he or she will get favorable treatment by engaging the teacher in a certain way. Rausch says she follows a model taught by her third grade teacher: be proud of what you can accomplish and not what you can get away with. This means students must earn their grades from their work, not from the way they interact with the teacher.
"My job is to teach you and your job is to be a professional student, so I prefer that the relationship stay at a professional level," Rausch says. "You as a student have a professional obligation to do the best that you can, and I, as a teacher, to do the best that I can."
Sarafina Kankam, a senior from Overland Park and biology teaching assistant, defines a teacher's pet as someone who tries to get a better grade or get on the good side of a teacher. She believes this happens especially at the end of a semester.
Kankam noticed students trying to suck up to her, either by starting pointless conversations or asking unnecessary questions, since she grades the weekly assignments.
Journalism lecturer Rausch, like Martin, says they appreciate when a student is being engaging. The feedback from students makes the teaching experience more interactive and easy to follow. Rausch says she likes the feedback because when nothing is said during a lecture, she can't gauge if the students are getting the information or not.
Martin and Rausch both suggest that students take advantage of special opportunities that professors offer, such as office hours or study group sessions before exams.
Teachers are not the only ones who want students to participate in more out-of-class opportunities. "I wish I had developed a relationship with more professors earlier on by going into office hours," says Meredith Walrafen, a senior from Overland Park.
While the line between being an engaged student and a teacher's pet is thin, the differences are clear. Professors and students agree that teachers' pets are an annoyance and take away from the class.
ARE YOU REALLY ENGAGED??
TEACHER'S PET
- Talk to get the professor's attention
- Talk to get the professor's attention
- Care more about the grade than the subject
- Aren't afraid to speak in class, regardless of statement's importance
- Dress to impress professor
- Sit in the front row, center seat to get noticed
- Make sure to show up to class as early as possible
- Visit every office hour without a reason
ENGAGED STUDENT
- Ask questions to verify understanding
* Are interested in topic
- Only speak up in class if confused about topic
- Dress to impress other student (or dress to personal comfort)
- Sit in the front row, center seat
- Sit in the front row, center seat because you cannot hear or see well
- Get to class on time, but don't rush
- Visit office hours to verify lecture or discuss assignment
Thirteen escape unharmed from Tennessee Street blaze
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
A house burned on the 1300 block of Tennessee Street Sunday. All occupants escaped unharmed, but the house suffered severe damage.
IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
"We're just so happy everyone
All of the occupants escaped with no injuries, but the fire destroyed virtually all of their possessions, and the house is severely damaged. At least 13 people were in the house, including seven students who lived there, according to James Hennahane, a sophomore from Leawood. Hennahane said he was asleep inside when the fire started.
Fire engulfed a house on the 1300 block of Tennessee Street around 6 a.m. Sunday.
Andrew Adford, a sophomore from Moorpark, Calif., was one of the first to discover a sofa on fire on the porch. After waking several people on the first floor, Adford saw that the fire had grown out of control and consumed the porch.
Hennahane was one of the last to exit; neighbors lent him shoes and a shirt. He watched the fire from outside as a propane tank on the porch by the grill exploded, destroying part of the roof. He said every part of the house was damaged by fire and water.
Lawrence-Douglas County Fire-Medical is investigating the cause of the fire, according to Sgt. Randy Roberts, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman.
"The fire alarm was going, but people were still sleeping," Adford
offer help obtaining textbooks, temporary housing and emergency funds. Students can donate household items and money at collection boxes located in the Student Union Activities office in the Kansas Union or at the office of the Jayhawk Towers.
Chance Penner and Matt Gasper contributed to this story.
sald. After helping to warn people on the second and third floors, he exited the house through a third-floor fire escape.
"You don't really have time to think," he said. "Just try to get everybody and get out. The fire started so fast, and the smoke was so thick."
John Kindscher, a sophomore from Leawood, also was asleep when the fire started.
Some residents will stay with family in the Kansas City area while they make decisions about what to do next. Kathryn Tuttle, the Vice Provest for Student Success, contacted the students Sunday to
Index CLASSIFIEDS 11A CRYPTOQUAPS 4A SPORTS 12A CROSSWORD 4A OPINION 5A SUDOKU 4A
got out alive," he said.
- Edited by Laura Nightengale
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
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