Lots of posts from high school students today

[keiser31]

There are a lot of posts from students at Bettendorf high school today.

Moderator's note: I have edited this post and discussion due to information that was not initially available when the discussion was started. MCHinson

Edited November 22, 2013 by MCHinson (see edit history)

[MCHinson]

I don't think it is actually what I would consider SPAM. It would appear that some of the young people are seriously attempting to get help on their project but a few are just attempting to be funny. The inappropriate posts will be deleted. Hopefully the teacher who has suggested this site as a resource will monitor some of this behavior. If it continues, I will be calling the school to ask for their help with this issue.

I am sure that we all would like to help those students who are serious about their research. Any who continue to cause problems will be banned from the site.

[Guest mike23]

agree we arnt spaming were trying to learn

[MCHinson]

Mike,

I would appreciate it if you would alert your teacher to the problems that a few of your classmates are causing on the forum. That will make it easier for folks to help those of you who are seriously seeking help on your project. Thanks.

[TexasJohn55]

Mike,

You need to concentrate on your English classes to improve your capitalization, grammar, spelling and sentence structure. It makes a poor impression if you haven't mastered the basics.

TexasJohn

[CarlLaFong]

Mike,

You need to concentrate on your English classes to improve your capitalization, grammar, spelling and sentence structure. It makes a poor impression if you haven't mastered the basics.

TexasJohn

With cursive being thrown out the window, I foresee the day when spelling and grammar will become optional. Kinda like T ball, where there is no score, so nobody's self esteem is traumatized.

[JPHIL]

Mikw

Spend more time in spelling class.

[Guest myold88]

Arnt- Aint that a word ?

Sorry, had to do it.... lol.

[Bhigdog]

agree we arnt spaming were trying to learn

This from a HIGH SCHOOL student? Where the Hell is his teacher(s) and what are they teaching?............Bob

[West Peterson]

Most problems with lack of learning begin at home. From there, teacher shortcomings can be traced to top-heavy school district administrations that keep heaping loads of useless paperwork onto teachers. From there, the teacher unions can be blamed for making it extremely difficult to get rid of a single bad teacher, let alone a bunch. Good teachers are resigning in great quantities because of the hand-tying.

[Guest billybird]

Lets not be too hard on these students. Some may be legit and some may not. Isn't one of the goals of this club to recruit young people? If we have enough dialog even with the jokers, they may actually see we're not all stiffs. I have two daughters in High school and I take large amounts of time with them to support them in their school projects. Sometimes I feel the projects are useless, but thats just to me. Support the young people. They're the ones who will keep this hobby going when were gone. Exit soapbox.

[Guest Soupnaz]

Most of us are actually trying to get info, I don't appreciate being labeled when I am trying to get info for my project. I appreciate the info I have already gotten.

[Guest mike23]

Thanks again for all those who have helped me threw my project

[R W Burgess]

Lets not be too hard on these students. Some may be legit and some may not. ...................... Support the young people. They're the ones who will keep this hobby going when were gone. Exit soapbox.

I agree with Billybird. I've seen some of the seniors on this web site that couldn't spell too good either, myself included at times.

[MCHinson]

I deleted some posts by some of those who were more interested in joking than learning. I have communicated with several of the students by PM. As an update, I have received several nice messages from some of the students. These messages even included a couple of who apologized for their inappropriate posts. After a slightly rocky start, it looks like they are on the right path now. Hopefully they will all learn a lot about antique cars and the antique car hobby while completing their projects.

[keiser31]

Thank you for that Matt.

[Guest Obey_Ben]

we are not a spam. we just want information. 8p

[keiser31]

I realize that all of you wanting information are NOT spammers or jokers. My comment was only directed toward the kids who posted rude comments. We appreciate the fact that some of these kids are looking for good information on a hobby that is losing members every day. We are more than glad to help those with a real interest.

[Marty Roth]

Now that we know the reason for these multiple requests, it would be beneficial to these young people, and to the future of our hobby, to respond in a forthright and respectful manner, and to provide solid information where we are able. I've started on a couple of threads, and appreciate the interest displayed, even if it is an assignment rather than purely personal desire. We may be assisting a future AACA Region editor, president, and even a future restoration specialist - maybe even a McPherson College student.

[MCHinson]

I have changed the title of this discussion to more accurately reflect the content of the discussion. Maybe this will help more people read it and understand what is going on.

[KURTRUK]

What surprises me, (and this is not a negative,) is that these "technology-driven" high-schoolers need help here finding this info. Maybe Google sent them here. But much of the info would easily be found with the most rudimentary search on their electronic device of choice.

[Rusty_OToole]

I have tried to help with info but I'm sorry I missed the jokes. Or were they the kind that aren't funny?

[MCHinson]

Rusty_OToole,

Yes there were a couple of inappropriate "jokes" and other inappropriate posts, but that has been handled and hopefully this will be an opportunity for forum members to help out these young people. I share KURTRUK's surprise that high school students did not do more of a general search engine inquiry to complete their projects, but hopefully their time here will be a good thing in the long term.

[Guest keat]

Kurt, yes we could find the information by Google, but learning from people who really enjoy car's instead of reading off Wikipedia is a lot more interactive for the students and you guys. That's why we are getting information from here instead of just sites.

[Guest Soupnaz]

This website was actually highly recommended to us, sure we can hop on Google and Wikipedia to find our desires, but why not have real-time discussion with people who have a passion in the subject or even the cars we are looking for. The technology is there, I can even speek to my phone and tell it to get me the info, but I simply prefer to communicate with people on a real-time stand point and get the best facts I can about my project at hand. Community boards are a great way to put many minds in as 1 and create a community of like-minded people, why wouldn't students of any kind look for information from the people who care about our topic.

[Dave@Moon]

I agree with Billybird. I've seen some of the seniors on this web site that couldn't spell too good either, myself included at times.

I've seen some of the seniors on this web site that couldn't spell too well either, myself included at times.

Sorry Wayne, I had too.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Dave@Moon (see edit history)

[jscheib]

I do not see where anyone suggested that the school seek out a local car club to help with their work. Maybe a direct contact with some of us "old folks" will convince them to occasionally use correct spelling and grammar then "text talk", which may be faster, but some times hard to understand if you do not use it all the time. Its just a culture clash, but one that we can tolerate, if we have to.

John

[Bhigdog]

I've seen some of the seniors on this web site that couldn't spell too well either, myself included at times.

Sorry Wayne, I had too.

Sorry Wayne I had to.............

Me too..................Bob

[rocketraider]

Great wisdom from Marty as usual. Let's not discourage our high school friends- they're the future of our old cars.

They ought to see from some of these responses that geezers like to poke and rag on each other same as high school age guys.

I daresay you can blame some of the spelling on computer spell checkers as I've seen plenty of those suggest the wrong word for something slightly misspelled, same as a GPS will often direct you down a road that clearly cannot take you where you want to go but will insist you go that way. Syntax and grammar, now that has to be learned and applied. Once you master it, boy howdy the things you can use words to say! William Faulkner notwithstanding...

[trimacar]

Any old car guys in the Bettendorf Iowa area? A school visit with an old car or three might be fun for these students.......

Heck, I'm learning to ignore the other stuff, I once had a bumper sticker from LSU that said "4 years ago I couldn't spell Engrinear, and now I are one!"

[MccJoseph]

Trimacar, That's a great idea. I am going to contact the Mississippi Valley Region AACA. They meet less than 10 minutes from Bettendorf, and see if they can bring a few of these old girls in to look at. I think the kids would get a kick out of them, they will pry wonder where you plug the I pod into the radio... or where the radio is for that matter.

[jeff_a]

Dear MccJoseph,

All in all, it sounds like a good idea. A few difficulties going from the classroom project to the antique car owners isn't too unusual, considering everyone has to go from the academic to the real world. It's funny to think that a bunch of us you can't see or hear on the AACA Forums are the "real world"(maybe you're real and we're virtual).

Remember that you can use the auto technology classwork for multi-disciplinary assignments, too. Maybe someone has an English class and instead of writing about the difference between newspaper and radio journalism...they might try to do a comparison/contrast between the 1928 Buick and a 2008 Buick. There are people out there who get paid to write about car stuff! A great example is that Chevrolet with not-much-space-behind-the-seat and the fiberglass body. I'm sure one of your students can think of that one. Does anybody know how many books have been written about that model?*

Regarding spelling, I can't type 10 words without correcting my spelling and making my sentences "make more sense". However, after lots of time re-reading and editing, I can make my words look like I went to school awhile.

It would be kind of nice to bring in a newer front wheel drive car and your 1978 Toronado to compare, and then have someone show up with a '36 Cord (if someone nearby had one by some miracle).

Thanks for your time!

In Haste,

Jefferson Brown

*600: probably more titles than have been written about Des Moines, Jefferson City and Madonna combined.

Edited November 23, 2013 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[Guest Classic50s]

criticizing a students typing skills when asking about vintage cars? REALLY! They came here to get some help and advice not to be criticized. I agree with many of your comments but if I was in high school and had car collectors talking to me like that I would turn away from old cars and never look back. The public school system and parenting styles have changed and I agree mostly not for the better. My g/f has 3 kids in elementary school and I don't approve of her parenting style, nonetheless if any kid comes up to me asking about old cars I wouldn't judge them. I like the teachers idea (very creative and adaptive for modern students), but the students need to behave because like it or not there are rules on the forums.

[Guest garys64wildcat]

I havent posted for a while but I know of several kids high school age that do appreciate our old classics.

I grew in the days when you had to work problems out with pen and paper.

My first car was a 41 Ford sedan for $75.

I had a thing for cars then and took auto shop in high school and had to learn from help fron older mechanics etc. My first set of wrenches was a hand me down from an oldtimer that brought a new set and thought they would help me out. I still have some of them. I have had my 64 Buick Wildcat Convert since 79

My Sons are grown and have kids and used to help me alot and still are into the old cars. I will always be there to lend a ear to a young one wanting to learn.

Now I ask them to help me make my computor do something I cant make it do. So I feel its good to keep our hobby going by giving help to someone wanting to learn. There are some that are smart A**es but I know some old ones also.

Give the kids a break if they are interested

Gary

[Durant Mike]

And we wonder why the younger people don't want to have anything to do with the older folks. Common, to criticize the young persons spelling is ridiculous. I think it was great for the teacher to turn to those who love their old cars and try to have the older generation help foster some interest in cars other than Honda, Suzuki and Nissan. You never know when you might just spark that interest in one young person to continue to learn about the early U.S. Automobile history or get involved. isn't that what we want anyway. We're always complaining that the young people are not getting interested in our hobbies. Well if they get criticized or chastised for trivial things that whey would they even attempt it. You also have to understand that most young people today are texting right and left. On their phones they use a kind of shorthand to say things, much like other communication modes do. Morse Code, different professions. The spell checker on the text message program does all the correction for them. They are not used to going out and having to run a spell checker before sending out the message. The fact that these young people at least were interested in trying to complete their assignment per the teachers instructions is great. How many others were just too lazy to go out of their way to do any research at all. I think it's a great idea to have some of the local car clubs bring some of these classics up to the school one day to let the students see them first hand. Maybe there will be a future AACA member there!

[TexasJohn55]

Come on! It is not just about spelling. Are you so shortsighted that you cannot see the kids' education is far more important than a class project about old cars and that culture?

The way these kids are taught and present themselves as educated in both speech and writing has a very real impact on the rest of their lives and their future in society. Will they take their place as successful contributing citizens or stumble through life on public assistance not being able to stand on their own two legs,placing a burden on society.

Imagine if you can these youngsters' job applications or resumes. Imagine their written reports done on the job. Imagine applications for institutions for higher learning. Imagine..................impressions are important and how you communicate is very important to your future.

It is not about SPELLING.

[FLYER15015]

Thanks again for all those who have helped me threw my project

So tell us Mike, where did you throw your project ?

Mike in Colorado

DHS class of '60