Zoya Mitzi
Such a fun color, no? Grass green creme, with a satin finish. It's not quite matte-matte but still not quite shiny. It was a hard polish to put on. I needed three thick coats to get it to the smoothness you see in this photo (i.e. not smooth). BUT it lasted forever, which is totally contrary to my experience with mattes: I put it on one day thinking that it'd chip the next day and then I'd change my polish. But no... it clung to my nails for four days without a single chip. I only took it off because I was sick of the color. And the non-smoothness.
I had the most aggravating exchange with a student in section the other day. Sometimes, it's really hard to maintain a helpful attitude.
The scene: a classroom full of students bent studiously over a worksheet on using z- and t-tests. Everyone hard at work... except for one student who is doing nothing and looking bored. I ask him what exactly he doesn't get -- thinking that he's probably unclear about when to use a t-test and when to use a z-test -- and he asks in return, "What's a z-score?"
This is not a stupid question. Most people don't know what a z-score is. HOWEVER, it's something we started learning and using in early April. Since then, z-scores have been front and center in every lecture, homework and worksheet until about a week ago when we started talking exclusively about t-statistics. And it's not that this student has been absent... he's been in lecture, section and turns in work.
I explain z-scores to him briefly. He nods. I add that it's nothing to freak out about; we've been using it for weeks. Same ol' z. If you have the value of an area under the normal curve, you can find the corresponding z score in the same ol' z table.
Student: What's a z-table?
flinty: The table we've been using for the past three weeks. [I try to explain what the table looks like, thinking it'll jog his memory.]
Student: Where do I find that?
flinty: It's in the textbook.
Student: Oh.
flinty: [waits for student to open the textbook]
Student: [not opening the textbook]
flinty: Do you want to go to the z-table and I can walk you through the process of finding the z-score?
Student: OK. [still doesn't open the textbook]
flinty: Why don't you open your text to the z-table so we can get started?
Student: Where in the book is it?
flinty: It's in the back.
Student: [flips through a few pages in the front of the book] I can't find it.
flinty: Just flip through the last twenty pages or so. It's there.
Student: [opens the last page of the textbook and stops]
flinty: [waits]
Student: Can you find it for me?
flinty: Uh... sure. [finds the table and puts the book down on his desk]
Student: So what do I do now?
flinty: [walks him through the whole problem and eventually points out the answer]
Student: OK. So what do I do now?
flinty: The next problem. [pause] It's similar to the one we just did so don't close the book.
Student: [doesn't even look at the problem] I don't get it.
He had to have been pulling my leg, right? RIGHT?
This is why I have so much admiration for teachers. Because if I had to deal with that kind of nonsense every day it would quickly devolve into a reenactment from Pink Floyd 'The Wall'. And I don't mean the trashing the hotel room part.
ReplyDeleteAs to polish, I've had that mysteriously long wearing experience with a couple of very sheer Avons that required four coats to even them; I expected them to practically fall off in two days and they lasted a week with no discernible wear.
I don't think any of my professors would have been that nice lol.
ReplyDeleteYour a nice teacher, too bad for his flipping attitude, I probably would have done the same thing, (in fact I know I would) that's why I became a Physical Education teacher then, an environ. engineer, LOL Now I am into nail polish...I should write a book. Anyway, I have this color shade, love it...it came in a three pack with Zoya Mid Mattes Mini's, Phoebe, which is a teal blue, Mitzi, shown here and Molly, a hot pink shade.
ReplyDeleteFYI-Also, I don't want to spill the beans but Zoya has "try-on this color" spoons, (which are smaller little plastic nails with colors on them) I believe they go for $.50 pkg./each, so you can actually see the color polishes before and what they would look like on your nails, before you buy them and the $.50 goes toward the price of the polish(es) you want to buy. More details are on their web site.
Namaste.
Mc Huggs :)
That student would have been slapped on his head if I were the teacher, compliments for remaining patient!
ReplyDeleteThe classic difference between an "N" and an "S" (Meyers-Briggs). N's intuit the next step (opening the text book to find the table) S's have to be told step by step what to do. N motto: I can figure this (or anything) out if given enough information and time. S motto: Tell me what to do and I'll do it. More indepth information can be found at the Personality Pages here: http://www.personalitypage.com/
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding how different types communicate has helped me in so many ways. (I still make mistakes...I'm human afterall.)
Or maybe he just has a crush.
It has nothing to do with you. I'm what is considered a non-traditional university student (just graduated on Saturday). I seen a lot of this stuff in my earlier psychology courses. The younger students (probably in their late teens) were always expecting the professors to give them the answers and then complained when they got crappy grades.
ReplyDeleteDear Flinty.
ReplyDeleteI sympathise. I teach in a photography college. A student shows a photo, it has movement blur. Me:"Why didn't you use your tripod?" He: "It was downstairs".
Let's just laugh about it, and polish our nails! Thank you girls for your wonderful blog, many regards from Amsterdam,
Minerva
Crack. No other reason necessary.
ReplyDeleteI think most of my professors would have tossed him out the classroom by the end of that conversation.
ReplyDeleteAs for the polish, I'm going to pass on it and instead buy a similar shade of green and mattify it myself.
Wow. Apparently he thinks mummy and daddy will send someone with him in real life t tell him how to do his job, if he ever finds one. Wonder who wipes his behind. As far as being an 's', this goes way beyond that. He's been shown multiple times, he either can't or won't be bothered to do the work himself.
ReplyDeleteI've kind of steered away from mattes because thy chip horribly on me. Maybe I'll try Phoebe though.
Shieldmaiden: I didn't think I would be as patient as I usually am. I'm a very easily exasperated person but it's one of those things that I don't like showing people who don't know me very well. And I never know when some four coat polish is going to last forever or not. Sometimes, the ones that need the most coats fall off the fastest!
ReplyDeleteSavvy: I'm only a TA. I think TAs are generally "nicer" than professors.
Geo: Yeah, the reason I got any of the summer mattes was because I got one of the sample spoon plates with one of my orders. :) Phys ed to environmental engineer! Wow, that's quite the jump.
Deborah: It's strange… I didn't want to slap him at the time -- I think I was too busy being shocked at his behavior -- but in retrospect… what the hell??
Elizabeth: I think I just try to remember that it's not cool to curse at students. :)
girlinthebasement: I've noticed that actually. Older "non-traditional" students are usually much better students. They're not necessarily quicker to learn but they usually try harder. (And that's the type of student I really love interacting with.) I think it's because you guys appreciate the college education and know that it's a privilege, a luxury for many people. There's very little spoiled brattiness amongst the non-trads. And, you know, the maturity and worldly experience helps. :)
Oddly, it's always the most helpless who complain the loudest about their grades. I don't really understand it. If you don't work, you don't get good grades. That's how grading works.
BJ: HAHAHA. I like that, "It was downstairs". :) I think I would've actually rolled my eyes at that.
DMH: I dunno. The university I'm at is much more into pot… ;)
Rachel: It's definitely different being a TA and being a professor. Ah, to be a professor where I can be just a teeny bit bitchy without people being horrified. (I think it doesn't help that I'm very short and look young and have the word "pushover" written all over my forehead.)
Sandi: Honestly, I don't know how some of these kids are going to survive a job. Here's hoping that they've got wealthy parents.
Argh. I feel you, sister! I've been teaching for 15 years - fifteen! - and to tell the truth, a thought of a violent murder crosses my mind once in a while.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone else has been doing his assignments? How odd.
ReplyDeleteI think I would have nicely picked up the textbook and hit him on the head. Maybe he needed to have some sense knocked into him. Love that bright matte neon green. I bought the Zoya mattes but haven't worn them yet. I must try them very soon.
ReplyDelete