Couch 215: The Overcoming Couch

Our city government asked for input. I was going to suggest alternate sides of the street smoking. Altho already you cannot smoke on campus, one block over and you cant breathe cuz everybody smokes. I especially love when the panhandlers smoke (yeah NOT).

Doing another run/walk before it gets too hot outside, though it’s already pretty muggy. And my calves are still a little sore from that massive hike on Wednesday so I’m going pretty slowly... but I’m doing it!

I don't wear a mask when I'm outside because if it's crowded enough to need one, I'll just leave. I have worn it in my car before because I didn't want to forget to put it on when I got to where I was going. I'm looking for cuter masks, though. Anybody have any favorite suppliers? My friend described it as a t-shirt for your face, which amuses me.

I stepped on a Little People goat a few days ago and actually bruised the bottom of my foot. I did not realize that was possible, but here we are.

EM, you may want to check out Etsy. Lots of cute masks there, some with free shipping.

I ordered a Mondrian mask from the art museum. It hasnt come yet.

The most comfortable masks I have are from Tom Bihn. I don't know if they are cute or not.

I’ve bought masks from Etsy and one from a friend of a friend. I’m not going out often but when I do I wear a mask. Our governor made them mandatory starting on Friday and social media is having a fit. I don’t see what the big deal is.

My sister made me several masks, so grateful! I wear one if I go inside anyplace, but just when I go for a walk around my neighborhood I don't. I rarely see anyone else on my walks. H refuses to wear one (of course) unless they make him someplace like at the dr or at Costco so he keeps one of the disposable ones from the dr's office in his car. Thankfully he doesn't go anywhere except to the grocery store or the dr, and he does pay attention to the 6 feet thing at least.

We had a storm blow through last night that took out half of one of my trees in the backyard, so we were out there cleaning that up this morning before it got hot (it's already 100 degrees F at 10am) yesterday it hit 108. We got about a third of it done before we had to take a break and come inside.

I admit, I am probably an "anti-smoking fascist." Cigarette smoke really triggers my asthma. It's highly problematic for me if there is somebody smoking outside at the entrance to a building I need to enter. I think it's pretty stupid to have smoking areas in places where other people are forced to be exposed.

I also support apartment places that ban smoking indoors. I've had neighbors who smoked before, and although it did not trigger my asthma when the smoke came through the vents, my apartment stank to high heaven. Of course, when those same neighbors smoked outside, they once set the front of my patio on fire because they would also just flick their butts over the side of their balcony. I was lying in bed one day and there was suddenly frantic pounding on my front door. A neighbor across the way had seen the fire and came to tell me to get out. I was so furious.

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I remember my mother and grandmother and others smoking in movie theatres - it was done all the time when I was little.

I am taking Spanish I in summer session I of summer school. I am really not a fan of my Spanish professor. She's kind of a *****, tbh. Yesterday, she sent me an email essentially accusing me of cheating. This was extremely upsetting to me seeing as I've done no such thing. She said I used "advanced grammar" for Spanish 101. I reviewed my submissions and I have no clue what she's talking about. There is no "advanced grammar." There was only one answer that had words in it not learned in the lesson material - and I used my paperback Spanish dictionary for that, which was a required course material. So wtf.

She told me I was not to use online translators or other people and told me I needed to review the syllabus to see what constitutes an honor code violation. I found that really offensive. I've never been accused of such a thing in my life and it seems uncalled for to reference nebulous "advanced grammar" then accuse me of being a cheating cheater who cheats.

I'm really concerned too because since I have not been doing what she thinks I've been doing, I have no way of avoiding further suspicion. However, I'm not really sure how she would provide any sort of evidence or justification for something that isn't even happening if she writes me up for an honor code violation. Yet I'm also not really sure what evidence I could give to prove my innocence.

It's all very frustrating. I did respond to that email, which was probably unwise, but I was not about to let there be any sort of misinterpretation of my silence as guilt.

Are you certain she was accusing you of cheating? It sounds to me like she was impressed.

She said:

I just finished grading the questions for Lesson 1 Lectura and noticed that your answers included the use of advanced grammar for SPN 101. Knowing that you have no advanced knowledge of Spanish, I assume you used assistance from external resources. I want to remind you that our course syllabus, Canvas, and my instructions, clearly state that the use of assistance from external resources (eg. electronic translators, other people, etc.) is strictly prohibited. Please read the syllabus regarding the Academic Honor Code and the consequences for violations.

Ouch...that is scathing. I'm sorry she couldn't celebrate your resourcefulness.

Oh wow, that sucks, Susannah. Did you tell her that you used the dictionary? If she still implies that you cheated (or does anything like that again), I'd consider contacting the department head or...whoever else you'd contact at the school about something like that.

I remember when a colleague had someone cheat by using a paper the colleague had written before she got married and changed her name. The paper used by the student had been published under an initial and last name so they did not know it was colleague. Oh how we laughed.

I send a reminder to students like that if I am uncertain as to whether they are cheating or not and I have had to be the person interviewing students when they get turned in for suspected cheating. Students send indignant responses whether they have cheated, whether they accidentally did something they should not have done, or if all is well.

I mean, it wasn't resourcefullness, really, because I didn't use external resources.

This may have been partially my fault, however, because I was not forthcoming about my history with Spanish. But, I mean, who wants to say in their class intro video that they failed the course the first time they took it because they had a mental breakdown? So I kind of lied and said I hadn't done Spanish since elementary school when I got to that question. I did not foresee that this question was one intended to identify cheaters and I don't feel particularly in the wrong for not admitting that I am retaking this class. The last question was about anything you want the professor or class to know, so I assumed I was broadcasting the information to everybody.

Well that's embarrassing. And stupid. Must have been a huge sense of deja vu when they started to read it.

The really baffling thing is that the assignments she said I used "advanced grammar" on were all fill in the blank with no more than three words, matching, or verbally pronouncing words. We're talking things like telling time, introducing yourself, etc. The most basic stuff. I think she must not be familiar with everything the module covers if she thinks I put in anything extra. Or maybe I made a mistake or typo that is actually some nuance of grammar. I have no clue and am completely baffled.

Yes, I assumed this, and it bothers me that there is nothing I can say or do that will change the perception of me as a cheater. I don't know if I'd say the email I sent was indignant, because I did not want to be rude and I am well aware that many of my fellow students do cheat and she doesn't know me or my character.

If I intentionally do worse in the class (which I'm not willing to do), that would indicate I must have been cheating before. If I continue as I have been, it will look like I'm still cheating. I feel like I'm in a no-win situation.

I did clarify with her that this is not my first time taking Spanish 101. I have no idea if that will give her pause or not. Hopefully when we get to the part of the course where I fell apart last time and I don't know the material, she will recognize that I just had an advantage with earlier modules.

I would think having a context for how you have the knowledge will help her understand your ability to answer.

I just read this about why people are not doing well with masks etc:
Sten Vermund, the dean of Yale School of Public Health, likened the behavior to running a red light.

"They don’t perceive enough personal risk and they don’t have a sense of altruism that is acute,"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...m_source=email

At my school - we would handle it just like the prof did. The only other thing most of us would do is ask the student to come in (or zoom now) to talk. But we would send such an email as the first step.

I braved Lowe's this morning and got my paint and supplies. I have just put coat one of the oil wax on the top of the dresser. I need to clean and sand the sides and front and get the first coat of paint on so it can dry along with the top. Next weekend I'm making shelves to replace the drawers.

Maybe a little ambitious because I really want a nap instead.

Yes—emails like that are standard practice. In fact the administration here requires them before you can bring a complaint against a student for cheating or to justify a grade lowered because of cheating

I actually don’t see anything wrong with the email either, though I would have phrased the second sentence as more of a question. It is frustrating to get such an email when you’re not using outside help, though. (And in my languages you can tell when soneone used an electronic translator—they are not that great.)

And at least she is on the lookout—too many are not. I just took a sociology midterm, untimed, open-book, open-note, no anti-plagiarism test software used, like Respondus that keeps you off other internet sites during the test.