I wish I had that man’s confidence.

Whoa. That takes me back. Do you think MUDs are still around?

Edit: Holy fuck Aardwolf is still around.

“Write 3 to 5 sentences explaining Gatsby staring across the bay at the green light of the far pier.”

This is a common type of prompt that most school systems use and in theory it fosters and develops critical thinking. Why would Gatsby stare at the light? What must he be thinking about? Why did the author choose a light? But (american) school systems never actually explain what critical thinking is. Only a set of minimum requirements that students struggle through.

I hated those prompts. They seemed like the teacher was just fishing for a specific answer. Sometimes the color doesn’t mean anything and the author thought it just looked nice. It wasn’t until I had a sociology teacher explain it with a poignant example that it really clicked.

He asked us “Is suspending a student good punishment?” He went on to elaborate that a student that skips class gets detention. Well if he skipped class why would he go to detention? So he skips that and gets suspension instead. This student didn’t want to be in school so the school ultimately punishes him by not having him in school.

Reductive and simplistic, sure. But the idea that you approach a problem or thought from many different angles to see all facets of it didn’t really gel with me until that moment. We need more of that. We need the “why” of critical thinking.

cries.

They would also use it as an excuse to try and teach the Bible in schools. Ya know, to correct the misinformation in those pamphlets.

Tl;dr:

"I don’t want to hear feedback. Just do your job.”

“We value you. But a promotion isn’t in the cards right now.”“

"This is on a need-to-know basis. Information will be shared when the time is right.”

“We can talk about compensation at the next review.”

"We need to fill this role. Let’s not share those details with candidates.”

"I called you last night at 9:00 p.m. Why didn’t you answer?”

"We don’t have time for fun.”

I’m doing my part by leaving the game running for hours as I try to balance playing it and taking care of my baby