quote:Originally posted by T e x: Boy howdy! can't imagine the production editor's take on your third-person responses... not to mention your not knowing something so basic as which, that usage...
this editing project? online, or red-pencil?
(btw, I didn't "try to convey": you needed to be told, and I told--you really should drop that passive-aggressive chit)
anyhow, you're welcome...glad to be of service
__________
Greetings Tex:
Thank you for writing to the Munchkin Man once again.
The Munchkin Man will do what you suggested and brush up on his use of "which" and "that."
The Munchkin Man has a copy of "The Chicago Manual Of Style" and needs to refer to it more often.
Even the Munchkin Man has room to improve.
However, the American Disabilities Act prevents the Munchkin Man's editorial supervisors from taking any action against his Third Person Communicative Disorder (TPCD).
On the other hand, you wouldn't believe all of the grammatical and spelling errors that show up in these textbook pages.
Some of these authors write almost as badly as Mr. Bdgee.
To answer your question, the Munchkin Man's latest project was a hard copy project.
This means that the Munchkin Man got to write on the pages with a red pencil or pen.
The Munchkin Man was also instructed to place a Post-It Note on the pages he marked on.
By the way, can you recommend a brand name for a high quality red pen the Munchkin Man can use for these projects?
The Munchkin Man bought several brands, and none of them were completely satisfactory. Most of them tended to smear.
In any event, it sounds like you know a little bit about this line of work.
If the Munchkin Man's memory is correct, you seemed to be a little skeptical when the Munchkin Man told you about a project that was sent to him on a series of disks a while back.
This is what really happened.
When the Munchkin Man first started doing this kind of work about two years ago, all of the Munchkin Man's assignments were done on his computer.
The Munchkin Man had to go to the company's ftp site to retrieve and download the textbook materials.
Then the Munchkin Man began receiving projects on disks just as he described.
Most recently, the Munchkin Man's last two projects have been hard copy projects.
This is now the Munchkin Man's favorite type of project.
The Munchkin Man doesn't have to worry about his computer breaking down.
The Munchkin Man appreciates the "portability" of this type of project.
The Munchkin Man can take the hard copy pages to the library if the Munchkin Man feels like getting out of his tiny studio apartment.
The Munchkin Man hopes to receive many future hard copy projects to come.
quote:Originally posted by bdgee: After formal eduction that included a significant amount of graduate work in the English Departmentt of a very large University, much of which was devoted to the editing of newly written materials, among my other professional experience are a number of years serving as a writer and editor. The page count of those publications reaches way way into the thousands, without touching on my personal publiched work in mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. I really doubt that I need need the assistance or correction of a delusional looser that can't handle tenses appropriately, let alone writing styles in general, and cannot manage the rather simple task of normal punctuation without resort to a set of "gramer rules" that are guaranteed to be often result in logical falacy and discord from literary custom.
____________________
To Mr. Bdgee:
It's a good thing the Munchkin Man is not your proofreader.
If the Munchkin Man was your proofreader, you would be in big trouble.
On the other hand, the Munchkin Man suspects that the grammatical and spelling errors you committed in the paragraph quoted above were done deliberately, in a pathetic attempt to make a mockery, albeit a phony one, of the Munchkin Man's preference for grammatical precision.
For this reason, the Munchkin Man will not waste his time correcting all of the grammatical and spelling errors you committed.
Would you be willing to tell the Munchkin Man the name of an article you have written and where it was published?
This would give the Munchkin Man a much better assessment of your true worth as a scholar and a writer than the unintelligible jibberish you have just posted.
quote:Originally posted by bdgee: I cannot possibly believe you could actually imagine you have the ability to "overload (me) intellectually with too many scholarly articles at one time" (but I doubt the reverse would be terribly difficult), but simply scanning for the tenor of the links you provide tells me I have swum through that excuse for responsible instruction before. I won't wade in that cess pool again.
_____
This speaks volumes.
Indeed, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
One result of a wasted mind is a narrow mind, which you have so very successfully demonstrated.
If that approach were always required, as MM wants, we would not have the works of Kepler, Galilio, Newton, Kanter, Hilbert, or Descartes, to name just a few, and we would be stuck in a flat world with the stars, the sun, and the planets presessing the Earth.
_____
This is a classic example of a slippery slope logical fallacy.
quote:Originally posted by T e x: Boy howdy! can't imagine the production editor's take on your third-person responses... not to mention your not knowing something so basic as which, that usage...
this editing project? online, or red-pencil?
(btw, I didn't "try to convey": you needed to be told, and I told--you really should drop that passive-aggressive chit)
anyhow, you're welcome...glad to be of service
__________
Greetings Tex:
Thank you for writing to the Munchkin Man once again.
The Munchkin Man will do what you suggested and brush up on his use of "which" and "that."
The Munchkin Man has a copy of "The Chicago Manual Of Style" and needs to refer to it more often.
Even the Munchkin Man has room to improve.
However, the American Disabilities Act prevents the Munchkin Man's editorial supervisors from taking any action against his Third Person Communicative Disorder (TPCD).
On the other hand, you wouldn't believe all of the grammatical and spelling errors that show up in these textbook pages.
Some of these authors write almost as badly as Mr. Bdgee.
To answer your question, the Munchkin Man's latest project was a hard copy project.
This means that the Munchkin Man got to write on the pages with a red pencil or pen.
The Munchkin Man was also instructed to place a Post-It Note on the pages he marked on.
By the way, can you recommend a brand name for a high quality red pen the Munchkin Man can use for these projects?
The Munchkin Man bought several brands, and none of them were completely satisfactory. Most of them tended to smear.
In any event, it sounds like you know a little bit about this line of work.
If the Munchkin Man's memory is correct, you seemed to be a little skeptical when the Munchkin Man told you about a project that was sent to him on a series of disks a while back.
This is what really happened.
When the Munchkin Man first started doing this kind of work about two years ago, all of the Munchkin Man's assignments were done on his computer.
The Munchkin Man had to go to the company's ftp site to retrieve and download the textbook materials.
Then the Munchkin Man began receiving projects on disks just as he described.
Most recently, the Munchkin Man's last two projects have been hard copy projects.
This is now the Munchkin Man's favorite type of project.
The Munchkin Man doesn't have to worry about his computer breaking down.
The Munchkin Man appreciates the "portability" of this type of project.
The Munchkin Man can take the hard copy pages to the library if the Munchkin Man feels like getting out of his tiny studio apartment.
The Munchkin Man hopes to receive many future hard copy projects to come.
Thanks again for writing to the Munchkin Man.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
"In any event, it sounds like you know a little bit about this line of work. "
DOH!
lol, one more time...I'm one of the few who has worked the news desk at both major dailies in Dallas & Fort Worth; also was senior project editor at Harcourt College Publishing...
You're asking about red pens: there's the standard little fine point...Flair? Sharpie? don't remember the brand name, but if you find a picture of it, I'll know it...a coupla the gel pens are OK, too... However, would that you were one of my freelancers, I'd ask you to stick with the ol' reliable Col-erase red, no. 2: I absolutely can't imagine how your "author queries" come across...
As far as which/that goes, that's merely rudimentary mechanics. Of course you need Chicago, but you in particular should also keep Strunk & White within arm's reach at all hours...
Jiminy Christmas...what a world
g'luck, munchie...
-------------------- Nashoba Holba Chepulechi Adventures in microcapitalism...
IP: Logged |
This is a classic example of a slippery slope logical fallacy.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
elaborate please...
_________________
From Wikipedia:
"In debate or rhetoric, the slippery slope is an argument for the likelihood of one event or trend given another. It suggests that an action will initiate a chain of events culminating in an undesirable event later." _____
Mr. Bdgee is claiming that the "action" of the practice of the Munchkin Man's philosophy of teaching in previous centuries would have resulted in the following consequences:
A) The works of Kepler, Galilio, Newton, Kanter, Hilbert, Descartes, and other scientists would have never been published.
B) The world would still believe that the earth is flat.
Wouldn't you say that this is more than just a bit of a stretch?
The extreme consequences claimed by Mr. Bdgee above form a very steep and slippery slope, indeed.
This is a classic example of a slippery slope logical fallacy.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
elaborate please...
_________________
From Wikipedia:
"In debate or rhetoric, the slippery slope is an argument for the likelihood of one event or trend given another. It suggests that an action will initiate a chain of events culminating in an undesirable event later." _____
Mr. Bdgee is claiming that the "action" of the practice of the Munchkin Man's philosophy of teaching in previous centuries would have resulted in the following consequences:
A) The works of Kepler, Galilio, Newton, Kanter, Hilbert, Descartes, and other scientists would have never been published.
B) The world would still believe that the earth is flat.
Wouldn't you say that this is more than just a bit of a stretch?
The extreme consequences claimed by Mr. Bdgee above form a very steep and slippery slope, indeed.
Best Wishes,
Munchkin Man
lol, turn the telescope around!
-------------------- Nashoba Holba Chepulechi Adventures in microcapitalism...
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by glassman: so MM... have you any Math student(s) that actually went on to become Mathematicians?
cuz that's how i take the measure of any Mentor...
______
Hi Mr. Glassman!
You have asked a most excellent question.
The Munchkin Man has talked to a number of his former students who went on to major in mathematics in college.
Therefore, it is a reasonable assumption that a number of them became gainfully employed in mathematics related careers.
The Munchkin Man has never performed any formal longitudinal studies in regard to the career selections of his former students.
On the other hand, the Munchkin Man can state with absolute certainty that a number of his former students are incarcerated in the city jail and the state penitentiary.
Many years ago the Munchkin Man flunked a student who was taking 8th grade "repeat" mathematics in summer school.
This student threatened to kill the Munchkin Man.
He didn't get that chance.
He killed somebody else instead and is now serving life in prison.
quote:Originally posted by glassman: hmmmm.. Munch, why do you say bdgee has a problem with authority?
____________________
Well............
Whenever the Munchkin Man tries to discuss the virtues and advantages of memorizing and following a protocol of sequential steps in order to learn and master a given mathematics algorithm, Mr. Bdgee tends to go into a very angry rant by equating this approach with "following orders."
He also peppers his diatribes with such phrases as:
"mindless automatons"
"fascist states"
And many others.
The Munchkin Man is surprised that he hasn't called the Munchkin Man a "Nazi" yet.
It is this type of reaction which leads the Munchkin Man to the conclusion that Mr. Bdgee has a problem with authority.
Try to learn how to solve a long division problem with pencil and paper without "following the orders" which are necessary to solve it.
The Munchkin Man has never believed in the "Johnny will learn how to read when he is ready" approach to the teaching of reading.
Likewise, there are mathematics teachers who have been brainwashed by their college professors into letting students "discover their own algorithms" instead of teaching them directly.
The Munchkin Man has never believed in that either.
The Munchkin Man has dedicated his life to opposing and fighting this philosophy of mathematics instruction.
The good news is that there is a rising groundswell of support for the Munchkin Man's philosophy of teaching.
Indeed, the pendulum is beginning to swing back into the "right" direction.
Here are just a few of the organizations and their web sites that embrace and support the Munchkin Man's philosophy of teaching:
The Core Knowledge Foundation http://coreknowledge.org/CK/ By the way, Mr. William H. Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan, has made some tremendous contributions to the Core Knowledge Foundation.
The Munchkin Man can go on and on.
If you are willing to take the time to tour through these web sites, you will begin to understand the type of blood which runs through the Munchkin Man's veins.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bdgee has already refused to take a look at any of the links the Munchkin Man has given him.
posted
Try to learn how to solve a long division problem with pencil and paper without "following the orders" which are necessary to solve it.
it's not that hard even without pencil and paper......
of course i don't "do it in my head" if i need the exact numbers, but i can write down a few notes to get the exact answer without writing down the question... i bet you'd find many traders here do it many time time a day in their heads without even "stressing"...
a fundamentally complete understanding of theory leads to mastery of the art...
repittition is truly torture to some of us....
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.
IP: Logged |
posted
MM's concern with me not accepting athority is all purely a problem with me not accepting him as an authority.
I suppose it is like the Cathbolic Church's concern with Kepler's insistance that they, the Church, was twisting reality and had not the facts to support their claim to authority and their insistance that the sun traversed about the Earth.
(Should I have spoken only using third person, so that MM might equate that with authority?)
I think no one needs his biblical acceptance of a failed approach to teaching and it would belie my whole professional work to not point out the damage done by his kind of supposed "teaching".
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by glassman: a fundamentally complete understanding of theory leads to mastery of the art...
_____
Greetings Mr. Glassman:
The Munchkin Man respectfully disagrees with your statement above.
Understanding the theory which underlies a given mathematical process does not guarantee the attainment of a satisfactory level of skill or proficiency in the execution of that process.
One liberal mathematics education professor once told the Munchkin Man:
"Just teach the kids the 'gist' of it and they'll be okay."
It doesn't work that way.
The vast majority of the kids will not be okay.
Understanding the theory behind a given mathematical process is fine and dandy as far as it goes.
But it's not enough.
Students need to learn and master the sequential steps which are self-contained within that mathematical process.
For the vast majority of students, the successful achievement of this goal requires drill and practice, more drill and practice, and even more drill and practice.
quote:Originally posted by glassman: Try to learn how to solve a long division problem with pencil and paper without "following the orders" which are necessary to solve it.
it's not that hard even without pencil and paper......
of course i don't "do it in my head" if i need the exact numbers, but i can write down a few notes to get the exact answer without writing down the question... i bet you'd find many traders here do it many time time a day in their heads without even "stressing"...
_____
The Munchkin Man has no doubt that you possess this skill.
The Munchkin Man has no doubt that many traders possess this skill.
However, the Munchkin Man's students did not consist of any "traders."
The Munchkin Man never taught adult education.
Instead, the Munchkin Man taught middle school and junior high school aged kids.
Many of them would come into the Munchkin Man's mathematics class without ever having learned their multiplication tables.
Many of them would come into the Munchkin Man's classroom having never mastered the algorithms of subtraction and division.
A lot of them were even still counting on their fingers.
What these kids needed were the basics.
The basics are what the Munchkin Man taught them.
The basics really do come first.
Learning the basics requires "following orders", to borrow Mr. Bdgee's words.
quote:Originally posted by glassman: Just gotta twist the numbers some.
thats' the easiest way to describe what i do too...
avg. up a little on one, avg down a little on the other, et voila... ez to get it close.... just don't avg to far either way...
_____
There is a name for the procedure which you have just described.
It is called estimation.
There is nothing wrong with estimation.
There is a time and a place for estimation.
The Munchkin Man can see how it could be a very valuable tool for traders.
It can help you determine if the exact answer you have just worked out is "reasonable."
It can come in handy in situations when an exact answer is not always needed in a limited period of time.
The Munchkin Man even used to teach the skill of estimation in those contexts and settings where it is appropriate.
On the other hand, the Munchkin Man believes that estimation is given far too much time and exposure in today's elementary and middle school curriculums.
Many of today's mathematics textbooks on the elementary and middle school level devote entire chapters to estimation.
This is ridiculous.
Estimation is no substitute for deriving the exact answer.
The liberal educrats love the subject of estimation.
It allows many kids to pass mathematics who would be unable to do so if exact answers were required more often.
This gives kids a false and phony sense of self-esteem.
To many liberal educrats, self-esteem is what it is all about.
The exact answer is always a superior answer to one which is merely estimated.
The exact answer has a higher standard of correctness than one which is merely estimated.
The day will come when the Munchkin Man will be writing his own mathematics textbooks. When he does so, the Munchkin Man is only going to devote a cursory page or two on the subject of estimation at the very end of a limited number of selected chapters.
The excessive emphasis which is given to the subject of estimation today is a reflection of the dumbed down standards which have lowered the performance standards of American students in comparison to students from other countries.
Mr. Bdgee would do well to read the latest TIMMS Report.
The Munchkin Man would otherwise be glad to provide a link.
However, Mr. Bdgee has rejected every single link the Munchkin Man has given him thus far.
Only the sands of time will take care of those who keep their heads buried into the sand.
I think no one needs his biblical acceptance of a failed approach to teaching and it would belie my whole professional work to not point out the damage done by his kind of supposed "teaching".
_____
To Mr. Bdgee:
You have provided no evidence to support your claim that the Munchkin Man's teaching style is a "failed approach to teaching."
You have provided no evidence to support your claim of "damage" resulting from the Munchkin Man's personal orientation to the teaching of mathematics.
All you have provided is a convoluted hodgepodge of hysterical and paranoid delusions and obsessions, derived from the cognitive malfunctions of your mind, exemplified by the slippery slope fallacies to which you cling, and which you like to express with your chronic and excessive histrionics and hyperbole.
On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that the style of teaching which you support is a failed approach which has inflicted tremendous damage to the performance levels of American students nationwide for many years.
The Munchkin Man has provided you with the links which show you this evidence.
It is not the Munchkin Man's fault if you refuse to read them.
posted
I have, indeed, provided "... evidence to support your claim that the Munchkin Man's teaching style is a "failed approach to teaching." You ignore it and come back with more cut and past drivel from the Ann Rand school of dictatoral fascism that enlivens little minded people with no actual talent or record of success.
You are an egotistical jerk and phusical coward bullying helpless children to get even with the beach bum that kicked sand in yout face. Worse than that, you "brag" about it!
Teaching is not a game the teacher plays so as to prove to the students he has power and authority.
You are a sicko wanna-be writer without the ability to communicate, thriving on pill popping and abusing the eager minds of children to boost your ego.
The "art" of writing lies mainly in making the reader comfortable in reaching the understnading of point or points the writer wishes to convey, NOT in the third person.
IP: Logged |
posted
If the Munch is mostly unhappy about the dumbing down of teaching math in junior high...
I guess I can understand that.
We done a lot of dumbing down at the museum on the premise that it makes us more accessible (feeling-wise) to a broader section of the population.
I.E. Our Paleontology Gallery has been called Dinosaurs and Fossils for the last five years since everyone asks where the Dinosaurs are.
Despite this renaming, few understand that there is a difference between Dinosaurs and Fossils and now fewer understand what Paleontology is. LOL
I don't like dumbing down. It provides an atmosphere where wrong information is less likely to be corrected.
That said...There has to be room to make mistakes or growth doesn't happen. You stand to a strict "code" and you shut folks off. Seen it happen many times.
There is a middle ground where mistakes can be made and correct information can be disseminated without causing a perceived intelligence gap. It is a fine line though.
It is good to remember that whomever you are you do not know everything. Even what you think you do know is often "incorrect."
As an example (I have used this before) how many of you when you think of the Orangutang, know that I have misspelled the word? It is Orangutan...there is no G at the end of the word and it not pronounced with a G at the end of the word. If you have every written or pronounced it with a G...you failed.
Now...what's more important...that you learned something here? Or that I have been able to highlight your ignorance?
BF
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
IP: Logged |
posted
Munchie... i taught the times tables at home to my kids starting at kintergarten.. it took no time at all...
it's just memorization...
did you ever bother to tell your kids that when they go to catch a ball that they are performing very high level mathematics, and that all you are really doing is teaching them how to describe it accurately on paper?
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.
IP: Logged |
posted
School bullying activist: I know the terror Phoebe felt
quote:Once again, the nation is outraged that school bullying has claimed another victim. As news spread about the indictment of nine teens who are accused of relentlessly bullying 15-year-old Phoebe Prince to suicide this year, parents everywhere asked: "How could this have happened? Where were the adults?"
I couldn't help but wonder why it always takes a tragedy to get the world's attention. The suffering of millions of students all across America, some of whom are being bullied as badly as Phoebe and who have been crying out for help day after day, semester after semester, should be enough. Why are their voices not heard? What message are we sending these lonely, frustrated kids: that they might as well suffer in silence, because no one's going to take notice unless someone ends up dead?
"The thing about -- that Shakespeare does so well is, he always shows the moment of choice that these characters had. They could have gone that way or they could have gone this way. And if you keep going this way, this is what eventually happens."
-------------------- One is never completely useless. One can always serve as a bad example.
IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
