Help cure "Do My Homework Syndrome"

[Chris Dean]

I’m not quite sure I understand, perhaps I miscommunicated. If people having a conversation are using the same words, but to each they have different meanings, there will a breakdown in the communication process. Basic semiotics.

In the scientific writing, one of the most important things the authour does when writing is to “operationalize their definitions” so the reader knows what the authour means. It is not an attempt by authour to dictate the meaning of a word for all contexts, but simply saying “for this paper, when I use the term X, I mean this” in order to ensure accurate communication.

And I do not understand how they can be moot when there have been thousands of posts where people self identify exactly as previously described. There are design students and teachers on this site.

Can you clarify your statement “…do you think non-"teacher"s
cannot help people be parasitic?”

I am hoping to have a conversation rather than a debate over semantics.

[JamesT]

Christopher,

I think we all know what you mean when you write about "teachers" and "students" and the role of the typophile community in either aiding or hindering one's problem solving abilities.

In the end, I think it's up to the individual to choose whether or not the want to help a student. If the student's question is legitimate, I don't see the problem.

The role of typophile, I think, should not be to solve everyone's typographic problems (otherwise, over time, everything would become too homogenized due to the influence of a few people), but to help people understand discrepancies in their own designs and to provide direction and education.

[hrant]

> If people having a conversation are using the same words, but to each they
> have different meanings, there will a breakdown in the communication process.

If I didn't agree with that I wouldn't have complained about your definition(s).

> There are design students and teachers on this site.

And most of those "teachers" don't fit your definition, but they might (and do) help students "[stunt] their problem solving skills" anyway. But FWIW like I said I personally don't mind, because I love separating the wheat from the chaff.

Your definition of "teacher" (and to a lesser extend "student") will impede any potential resolution that you seek, here on Typophile.

You guys want to talk about "illusion"? Here's the biggest one: Control.

hhp

[J.Montalbano]

Ah, control!

Yes you are right, control.

I've seen the damage done by no control, so yes, control, just a little bit.

Not an illusion. Clearly you have very little experience teaching.

[hrant]

Yet again: it depends on the definition of "teacher"! :-)
In the context of this thread and Christoper's quest,
the conventional definition sucks lead.

hhp

[Chris Dean]

When I composed this thread, I refrained from including the following phrase because I did not want to begin it with a negative tone:

“I sincerely hope this thread does not spiral downward into in-infighting and name-calling as this would be unproductive, reflect poorly on our community and set a bad example for younger typographers.”

Disappointing.

[hrant]

On the other hand name-calling (which I have not done here) is not the
reason this can't work (especially for somebody like me with titanium skin).

hhp

[dezcom]

Perhaps all that Christopher is doing by posting his operational definitions of teacher and student is trying to limit the scope of the discussion to just that narrower view for the sake of simplicity. It seems he is just clarifying that the problem he sees and wants to address in this thread is with "students" [as he has defined them] seeking help with formal school assignments as opposed to general information seeking on the web. It seems he is trying to place a boundary on what would be considered proper "help" by us here on Typophile, without "aiding and abetting" a perhaps lazy student who wants an easy way out of doing his own work. I don't know if I understand him correctly or not.

If that is correct, there is still not a way to absolve either student or teacher from their real responsibilities in the formal education arena. There will always be both lazy teachers and students to be found. I doubt if we here can find an easy way to separate the wheat from the chaff. As others here have said. The poster and responder in every case ultimately will get whatever value he gets from the discussion. The "Good" student will benefit much more than the lazy one but we have no real assurance that what we have said will be what he is searching for. I prefer that we make no attempt to systematically evaluate or censor a request as a group and just let individuals post whatever they deem appropriate. It may be Russian Roulette but at least not harmful or a means of censorship.

[Té Rowan]

@jmontalbano - Hrant is right. There is no magic threshold beyond which the transfer of knowledge becomes strictly one-way.

@dezcom - I certainly think you grokked Mr. Dean's meaning and intention.

[Chris Dean]

Something I find telling is to check out the Track on someone’s profile to see what the bulk of their posts are. It’s not too hard to find a pattern.

[Chris Dean]

Wow. What started off as “Do My Homework Syndrome” has actually devolved into “Develop My Coursework Syndrome.”

https://typography.guru/forums/topic/101256-forwarding

Perhaps the cure is for Typophiles to simply assign themselves homework?

[emspace]

Christopher : Since it's the 2nd time tonight that I run into a comment of yours that bashes my thread (i.e. on Twitter and your previous comment on this thread), I will give you some context on my situation.

I teach classes every week night and freelance in the daytime. Out of my 5 classes, 4 of them are different. I give an introductory graphic design class, an InDesign and page layout class (x2), a pre-press class and the last type conception class of the program.

In my type class last week, when I announced to my students the next project that we are about to do and which is already planned in the curriculum. They then let me know that they already did a similar project last semester, which was not supposed to happen. I don't think giving the same exercise twice would benefit their portfolio or their education so I whip up a new project last minute. I feel the need for a second opinion because I don't really have time to let it simmer as much as I would like to before giving them the actual deal so I turn to Typophile to explain my project and get some global opinions in case someone would spot a blatant mistake in my assignment that I didn't think of or would think of a better way to do things.

I don't expect anyone to do my coursework for me and I would gladly share the results of the project I've given my students in the Typographic Education section which I think could benefit other teachers out there. Even if it's not perfect, they could still benefit from my mistakes.

I think the way you've implied in the other thread that my students would come on the Typophile forum to get their homework done and now and on Twitter that I posted on the forum to get my coursework done by others is way disrespectful and completely undeserved. I realize that you don't speak for the whole but I find this kind of attitude very disappointing coming from a regular member of Typophile and I will definitely think twice before posting on Typophile again if it is to be treated in this manner.

[hrant]

Émilie, you're right. But don't pout. Since you're clearly
willing and able to defend yourself in public there's no
good reason to avoid trying to get help in public.

hhp

[Chris Dean]

Awesome. Two people asking for help on the same homework assignment at the same time.

https://typography.guru/forums/topic/105306-forwarding
https://typography.guru/forums/topic/105275-forwarding

[Chris Dean]

For now, I’ve simply resigned myself to the fact that educators don’t care, students are lazy, and instead of thinking for themselves, they ask the internet. And us. They do it to the detriment of developing their own problem solving skills, and we do it to the detriment of our profession. If you’re going to ask someone to do your homework for you here, the least you can do is cite it properly to avoid being accused for plagiarism. APA 6.0 states:

Dean, C. (2012, October 25). Re: Thread title (Online forum comment). Retrieved from http://url of the thread

In this case, replace my name and date with the time and person who answered your question.