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I wonder how many students...

Miss Shelf

Miss Shelf

New Member
...are here ostensibly discussing books when they're really enterprising kids looking for input on a book they have to write reports on for school? I haven't really investigated but I bet if you track the posts of the people who start discussions about the "oldies" don't post any more after a while and don't post anywhere else. I got curious about this when I noticed there were a lot of discussions about the "oldies" that I remember reading in high school.

I don't know how I feel about this-on one hand, when we join in discussions about "oldies", are we simply giving kids something to copy and hand in as homework? On the other hand, discussing "oldies" sometimes gives me a new perspective.
 
Don't you think they deserve at least a C for creativity? (Plus which, the imaginative/creative ones may actually just be tempted to come on back for more.)

Okay, kids -- 'fess up -- how many of you fit this description?
 
Enterprising? Lazy!! It's laziness compounded. First they were too damn lazy to read the book then they were too damn lazy to do a proper Web search and find spark notes or any other myriad of discussions on the book they've been told to read. They're so damn lazy they think they can join a forum and bang off a quick one-liner post and have others fill in their book reports for them to copy and paste. Of course they're too lazy to search the forums to see if anything about the book has already been discussed before they post their one-liner.
 
Since I haven't had to do a book report since the days when a computer took up a whole room, and personal computers were in the Star Trek realm...I don't know that I can confess to this! It does seem stupid to waste the time mucking around in a forum for information so readily available elsewhere. I always just read the book, or made a mad dash to B Daltons to look for Cliff Notes. Of course gas was much cheaper then too:)
 
I think the students who come here for a quick answer to homework questions are pretty easy to spot. Their posts usually goe something like, "What do you think is the main theme of xyz and who is the main protagonist?" or "what are examples of foreshadowing in abc?" as if TBF members have never taken English courses before. :D

I don't have a problem with students who've read the material, thought about it and want to have a legitimate discussion to clarify things.
 
Some forums encourage that behaviour. I've seen one with half of its posts from students asking for help. One had the cheek to post a list of 6 books, saying he needed to know the main themes of each because she had an exam the day after.
I am waiting for some of those to turn up here. I would enjoy making them really welcome:D
 
*raises hand tentatively*

I'm a student. If I suddenly and unexpectedly start discussing some of the old classic it's usually because I've read it as part of the syllabus... because I do in fact read those books on our list :p I never get into discussions about books I haven't read so I'd like to proclaim my own righteousness in this case hehe

I'll gladly admit that if I see a good essay topic come up in a discussion here I might pick it up as something I want to do seeing as we make our own assignments. If I see a question I might want to explore more thoroughly, I'll go do that, but as for actual answers I really don't think I can find a complete essay of 10 pages on TBF :p
 
Don't forget that an important part of learning is being able to discuss the things you are actually learning about. Of course, there would be some lazy kids who are just wanting us to give them their answers, but there may be some who are having trouble grasping something and wish to discuss it with others who may be able to help them understand. After all, many students, young ones anyway, lack the experience to be able to discuss novels in depth with each other. And other's opinions bring different perspectives that they may never have considered. I actually think it could be a good thing. I'd be happy if my students came here and discussed the books we are reading. At least that way I'd know they were doing something about the books and discussing them with others might actually prompt them to read the book if they haven't already done so, especially if they have a heap of people reply telling them how good the book is.
 
I'm still a high school student, and I will join in discussions or ressurect old discussions on classics that are in my curriculum, but only after I have read them. I do enjoy seeing how other people have interpreted the book, and how some people's views differ to the views that we are taught during classtime. Obviously, the views on this site are more in-depth, and therefore for me more interesting. No foul play involved, I swear :D
 
ions said:
Enterprising? Lazy!! It's laziness compounded. First they were too damn lazy to read the book then they were too damn lazy to do a proper Web search and find spark notes or any other myriad of discussions on the book they've been told to read. They're so damn lazy they think they can join a forum and bang off a quick one-liner post and have others fill in their book reports for them to copy and paste. Of course they're too lazy to search the forums to see if anything about the book has already been discussed before they post their one-liner.
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Oh those evil dastardly kids and their lazy antics! My, my! Goodness! My lord, my lord!
 
Looking for Cliff Notes would always be a last resort for me. No matter how dull or boring our assignments are, I try to read through them even at the risk of falling asleep during every chapter.
 
You student types DO know about pinkmonkey.com,right? I found it while looking for study guides for books I wanted my kids to read for school, and was impressed by the multitude of titles covered. If you go, make sure to leave bread crumbs so you can find your way back! There's lots to look at there.
 
I got a PM from a kid who wanted to talk about The Jungle. I wrote a long missive to him about it, including my thoughts on the present day. He PM'd me back wanting sources and asked about four other questions-I told him to read the book and left it at that.:rolleyes: While we do talk about "oldies" here, it isn't enough for them to construct a decent paper out of. It isn't anything more than what their teacher would've already mentioned as they were busy sleeping in class. I wouldn't worry about giving them the answers to a given author as while they might learn key words and some phrases from us, to actually explain that stuff in-depth as they are required to do, would be next to impossible for the cheaters.:D
 
SFG75 said:
I got a PM from a kid who wanted to talk about The Jungle. I wrote a long missive to him about it, including my thoughts on the present day. He PM'd me back wanting sources and asked about four other questions-I told him to read the book and left it at that.:rolleyes: While we do talk about "oldies" here, it isn't enough for them to construct a decent paper out of. It isn't anything more than what their teacher would've already mentioned as they were busy sleeping in class. I wouldn't worry about giving them the answers to a given author as while they might learn key words and some phrases from us, to actually explain that stuff in-depth as they are required to do, would be next to impossible for the cheaters.:D
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Those types of questions are why I never got much good out of Cliff Notes;) All Cliff Notes do is provide barebones factoids about a book. They don't help much with the heart of reading which it to understand what the author means by those words on the page.
 
i'm 16 and in the 250+ posts i made so far, none of them were about a book for a school assignment. granted, i'm not taking an english course this semester. nonetheless, i'm better off reading the book and skimming sparknotes
 
WoundedThorns said:
i'm 16 and in the 250+ posts i made
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Since September. Nearly 10% of them made in that last hour. ;) This is a first for me; napalm posting.
 
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