scottsdad

My wife has finally decided to watch GoT, so I've been catching up on season 1 again. First time I've re-watched it, and it is strange watching the show when it has about 3 characters in it. On this new episode, the real sad part for me wasn't Hodor's death. It was learning that his entire life had been ruined for that moment. A happy friendly boy - ruined and then killed, thanks to Bran.

Good way to end an excellent show

Same thing. If someone is on, say, 59% we look at the same things - year 4 grades vs year 3, student engagement and so on. Then we make a judgement call.

Grandchild is due tomorrow....on alert now! Waiting for the phone call.

Just finished Fatherland by Robert Harris - excellent book. This one is well worth a read if you like Scottish history and adventure: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloodright-Craig-Kennedy-ebook/dp/B01DV7ODM4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463651204&sr=8-1&keywords=bloodright

Each university does it differently. I know of one that just uses software to generate the result. We don't. We discuss each student individually - average grades, 'trend', work rate and so on. To give an example, let's say the student averages 69%. You need 70% for a 1st class degree. As a Board we'll discuss the student and make a call - first or second. In cases like that we'll almost always give the student the 1st. Lower down the scale can be different. Someone on, say, 49% average is looking at a 3rd class degree. The discussion might be (and we had this once) that the student didn't engage, didn't contribute in classes and so on and so he stayed at 3rd. No 2:2 for him. This is why I always say on here - go to lectures. Talk to lecturers. Engage. Yes, you might skate by skipping the classes and just learning the textbook. But students that do that never do as well as the others.

On episode left, I'm expecting some kind of bloodfest between Proctor, the Nazis, Carrie and the mysterious East Coast people.

Exam boards...

Polly Walker in Rome...superb

I enjoyed season 1 of BCS more than season 1 of BB. The same cannot be said for season 2.

"Just because I'm a woman, do you think I'll crack under the pressure?" No. I think you're a woman goalkeeper, and that over the course of a 90 minute match you'll let in at least 8 goals. Still...Stephanie Labbe...wid

Utterly wonderful. That scene in the car - I was nervous as hell watching that.

Final season of Banshee starts in the US tomorrow https://youtu.be/LvWzUT7ZEYc

Michelle Gomez on the BAFTA shortlist for Missy

That TK Maxx advert with the woman who apparently jumped on a trampoline and ended up through the roof. Just a pair of legs hanging down from the ceiling as she voice overs some utter drivel about meeting the man of her dreams. At the end, a pervert shows up with a plunger ready to do untold horrors to her and the advert cuts out.

Undergraduates are great to teach most of the time. I don't want anyone to get the impression that they're an inconvenient imposition - they're not. And it's genuinely pleasing to see people turn from fresh schoolkids in to functioning adults with some sense about them. But the process can be difficult, and much of that is down to attitude.

I think it moved on quite quickly yesterday.

Excellent - this is what happens when you tell a show maker to produce 6 episodes every 2 years. High quality gubbins.

The missus utterly detests him - but that's a different story. He's in Australia now, doing very well for himself.

Don't be put off by this. Early on as a student my advisor asked what I got for Higher Chemistry. I told him and he said something like "Shouldn't you maybe think about another course?" 4 years later he was my PhD supervisor - and then afterwards my postdoc supervisor. He's been at my wedding, and we've published (at last count) 21 papers together. And I do still remind him of what he said to me.

Yep. Lecturers are contracted to spend somewhere between 30 and 40% of their time teaching. From the get go I tell my students that if they send me something, feedback takes at least a week. So long as they make progress and meet me regularly, send me new drafts regularly, all is good. But if someone sends me a draft days before a deadline - and I've not seen or heard from the student in a while - then it just isn't gonna happen

Simple enough question - what do students expect? I've had the whole spectrum, from students who disappear for ages only to show up at the last minute, feeling harassed and expecting me to drop everything else in order to pull them through, through to those who say to me on day one "I want a meeting every two weeks - let's set a time". At the beginning of the dissertation process I sit them down individually and tell them what works well and what doesn't. Mostly the students listen to me, follow my advice, and pass with a very good grade. Some, though, seem to think that Uni is school and that we're teachers sent to chase them up. You might be thankful you didn't have me as a supervisor. That's probably fair - I set my dissertation students to work hard from day 1. I am very critical in my feedback. And I expect the students to spread their work throughout the time allotted. If you prefer to spend your Christmas break on holiday, or decide that things can wait, you probably would have hated me. All I can point to are the students who've been through it with me, passed with a good grade and have ended up as independently capable workers with a good degree. Those who, come the last 2 weeks, have things all in hand and look at their classmates running around totally stressed. But, hey, thank f**k there are people who'll smile and pat you on the back out there instead of folk like me, eh? So back to my question - what do students expect?

My eldest is 7 months gone now. When she fell pregnant I was - to say the least - sceptical. But she and her boyfriend seem to have got their backsides in to gear and seem well organised and prepared. Excited, even. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come. When I saw her 2 weeks ago she looked like she always did. Now suddenly she's huge.

Check your student handbook. With our students, the onus is on them to contact the tutor, not the other way around. And 3 emails in a week - so what? You've had 7 months to get in touch. Why should the tutor drop everything s/he is working on just because you've decided to leave it to the last minute to get your finger out? My own undergraduate dissertation students have until mid-April to submit. All have been told I'm on holiday for the last 2 weeks of their time. If they want feedback - send me stuff now. Amazing that students feel that supervisors just sit around waiting on their golden words arriving in an inbox. How long do students think it takes to provide meaningful feedback for something like this?

That was excellent - the new one.