Complain about professors!

[RedLeader]

Concerning publishings, I think it's important to look at whether the publishings are being done by the academic alone and/or with other academics/practitioners, or if the majority of them are being done with students as co-authors. In the latter case, I tend to respect the professor a lot more. Sure, I mean a smart professor could slap a student's name on a paper when the student had little contribution, but I have not seen much of this.

But ya, looking back on my academic career, the professors I thought were better teachers were ones that made sure to publish with students as much as they published on their own initiatives. Different students learn differently, so if you're working with a variety of students in attempt to get a number of papers published, this will help train you to be a better teacher overall.

 

[axl blaze]

I usually love my profs, but last quarter I got my first C in college.

first, I was taking American History to Reconstruction. I love American history, took the AP level course in high school (but couldn't take the AP test to opt out of college because I got in suspended the same week - I was a troubled youth).

but anyways, this professor was interesting, albeit a little dry.

he just had the MOST strict policies for writing a paper. any use of contractions would be a couple percentage points off for any uses of contractions (which, I know isn't that bad but I am a journalism major and we are taught to USE them). that is not the problem though, he had pages and pages of Nazi-esque and RIDICULOUS rules for papers to turn in.

I turn in a paper about an American art critique, and the title page was upside down (compared to the rest of the paper). he gave me an immediate ZERO and told me to re-turn it in. I turned it in again, and I originally got a 99 percent but he knocked it down to a 33 percent.

because of this SNAFU I got a C where I would have easily aced the class.

what pisses me off more is that the whole class thought he was a dick, didn't listen to him, and by the end of the quarter a 20 something student class was just 4 students. nobody ever gave a flying shit about what he was saying - except me. I would always engage him in lectures, because I truly love American history. he would make references to his favorite movies like Reservoir Dogs, and I was the only one in my class cultured enough in pop. culture to even know what that god damn great movie was. I showed genuine interest and I got fucked in the end.

 

[aanallein]

^ I would complain. I'm sorry but typos and shit like that should not be a punished offense in college. That's some horseshit.

 

[RedLeader]

Though I did not have this professor, I had a job grading homework assignments for his class. Typically when your job is being a grader for a math course, you are provided with the solution manual for the textbook used in the course (second semester calc in this case). Annoying thing #1 was that I was NOT given a solution manual, so I was stuck actually doing the homework assignments myself And I might be experienced with it and somewhat good, but I am not perfect. I am not a substitute for an answer key! (haha, thank God I had a girl in the course who essentially was an answer key).

Annoying thing #2. Each assignment, he made the students write a "cover page," which included their name and assignment information. But it was also to include three paragraphs - 1) What did you find easy about the assignment? 2) What did you find hard about the assignment? 3) How did this assignment make you feel, with respect to it fitting in with the course material?

I was told that if I got a homework set with no cover sheet, it was an automatic failure. And if the cover sheet was not "written well," then I should take off a significant amount of points (like 50 percent). But I was told nothing about discretion, what "written well" really meant. I thought I was grading for a math class, not an English course as well.

He had other crazy rules as well, like ony writing on one side of the paper, only done in pencil, boxing one's answer, etc. I hated having to constantly kill people's scores due to these policies.

The good thing, though, was that I was paid by the hour and how many hours I logged was completely on the merit system

--


Then I was later doing research under him, and noticed that he had a book on his bookshelf which I was trying to track down from a library, but failing to do so. I asked him if he could lend it to me. He said "okay," and I started to leave his office. And then as I am about to break the doorway, I hear "Wait. Just so you know, it's very important that you don't lose this book." I didn't really know what to say, so I just kind of came up with "don't worry I won't" He just stares at me, moving in a bit closer. I then said "In the rare case I did, I would surely buy you a new copy." He then paused and came even closer (like faces a foot apart), and very coldy said "It is very important that you do not lose this book."

I didn't lose the book, but oh my god....

 

[aanallein]

^ hahahahahahah the last part was pure awesome.

That is a home grading nazi though, wow.


My HW grading process is so much simpler..

 

[axl blaze]

Redleader, I thought your professor was going to try to make out with you or something (by the end of that story). LOLWTF

professors are weird. that's why I'm going to college to hopefully one day teach English at college

 

[AmorRoark]

I was sincerely annoyed about some of my professors at my last university but realized my annoyances were minor relative to some of the professors I have where I currently study. Jesus, they're ridiculously tough.

If you have seen The Paper Chase, it's not totally out of proportion. Or even maybe the French teacher in School Ties.

Ugh, one of my professors makes us stand every time he calls on us. There are about 70 people in the class, and, on an average day you can expect to be called on at least once. Some days you're lucky and not called upon, while others you'll get called on 4-5x. It's nerve-wracking. A lot of professors at law school like to make their students sweat. I understand the motive (getting us prepared for the profession) but it's still hard as hell.

The others seem less severe but don't mind staring at you, in silence, for a long time, if they think you're wrong.

Every one of my classes set-up is professors calling on my classmates. And then calling on other classmates asking them to argue with the initial classmate.

Like "Miiiiii...... (everyone slumps in their seats) ster James, what was the analysis for the Court's ruling in the Schwartz case?"

 

[satricion]

I work and teach at a university. If you think you have been graded unfairly, like that person who got 33% knocked off a paper for having an upside down cover sheet, you should appeal and complain. There are processes to deal with these issues, and you should take advantage of them. People get fucked over on their marks all the time because they don't realise these processes are there for them to use.

Appeal your marks. There is always someone higher up than your teacher that you can appeal to. You just have to keep pushing. Having 33% knocked off a paper for a cosmetic issue is bullshit and should not be allowed.

I make it clear to all of my students that they have the right to appeal if they think I have judged them harshly. I don't care - it's no extra work for me whatsoever (since someone else will mark the paper again), and it's no skin off my ego (appeals happen all the time) so whatever. So appeal your grades!

 

[stoneddave]

I've had a few professors like this...it infuriates the shit out of me when professors start barking off their political and philosophical agendas on me...Unless I'm in a poly sci class or a philosophy class, I wanna hear nothing of their opinions; even in those classes you should not hear opinions from professors. They are there to teach you the facts in an unbiased fashion and leave it up to you to form your own opinions about life and politics and what-not...every single professor that starts talking their opinions about stuff they shouldn't be should be fired on the spot IMO....there are far too many ignorant, impressionable people in every classroom that might actually buy into what these people are saying without bothering to find out if it's even truthful or not.

 

[RedLeader]

Anyone got any good stories from this semester?

 

[ebola?]

3. teachers who go out of thier way to know everyones name

Fair enough, but we also get the 'stink eye' when we don't know them. And when we are forced to take roll, it's a lot more efficient if we can just look around the room and take note of who's there.

4.getting test review sessions/review sheets and then 75 percent of that material isn't even on the test

Fair enough, but we also like to preserve the illusion that you are actually interested in learning.

5. professors who call on random people!

Fair enough, but this also entails that people in discussion sections cannot be dead silent in the absence of cold-calls (I've never actually been able to bring myself to implement this).

ebola

 

[ebola?]

And for the record, I don't grade for spelling, grammar, or mechanics. Even if I had the pathological desire to do so, I wouldn't really have time.

 

[ebola?]

They are there to teach you the facts in an unbiased fashion

This is in fact NOT our job. If this were the case, university would be a massive waste of time--people would do better to read encyclopedia articles and raw data-sets. We are instead charged to give you some theoretical frameworks to interpret facts in new ways. The very idea of doing so "unbiasedly" is a convenient fiction.

This is, however, in social sciences and humanities. I don't see how political grandstanding could be relevant to pure mathematics, for example.

ebola

 

[Binge Artist]

Back in my daddy's day, profs used to smoke cigars in class, and cuss at students...What happened to the good ol' day?

 

[Cyc]

This is in fact NOT our job. If this were the case, university would be a massive waste of time--people would do better to read encyclopedia articles and raw data-sets. We are instead charged to give you some theoretical frameworks to interpret facts in new ways. The very idea of doing so "unbiasedly" is a convenient fiction.

This is, however, in social sciences and humanities. I don't see how political grandstanding could be relevant to pure mathematics, for example.

ebola

There's plenty of grandstanding in Biology and Chemistry, it's just displayed differently. A lot of fronts are controversial within the Sciences, and a lot of information has different practical application. Professors have no problem using a particular lecture to tout their views or use of application.

Of course, the closer you go to pure mathematics (Physics and math specifically) the less this applies.

 

[Binge Artist]

^Well...keep in mind, a LOT of mathematics professors use their hour not to talk about math, but to rant about whatever random nonsense happens to be on their mind ATM

Especially those with tenure.

 

[RedLeader]

Haha. I had this old dude for a measure theory course in grad school. His phone rang in the middle of a class, and apparently he had forgotten to pick his wife up from the local pharmacy (after dropping her off at it an hour ago during his lunch hour). That was the one who dressed up on Halloween by wearing two boxing gloves, one with a delta written on it and the other an epsilon....and kept calling himself the "mathematics boxer."

 

[satricion]

There's plenty of grandstanding in Biology and Chemistry, it's just displayed differently. A lot of fronts are controversial within the Sciences, and a lot of information has different practical application. Professors have no problem using a particular lecture to tout their views or use of application.

I think this is a very good reflection of how scientific disciplines actually work.

 

[Ds]

Wow, i had 2 drop a class this morning because of my fucking english professor.
I mean people that are trying to get their Masters degree and teach should fucking try to teach.
Shes my fucking lab teacher, and what a bitch.
She laughed at me when I brought her my "blue slip" that explains I need somewhere quiet, and extra time for a test. Ugh I'm re taking the class but i'm not getting her as a teacher.

 

[satricion]

^^
Laughing at a student in that situation is completely fucked up.

If she's your lab teacher, I take it that there's a different person giving the lectures? The person who gives the lectures is above your lab teacher in the university hierarchy. Ie, the lecturer is the lab teacher's boss. Laughing at you is completely inappropriate.

You need to get in touch with the person who runs the course (if it's not the lab teacher) and tell them that she laughed at you when you went through the proper bureaucratic procedures which the university sets out for people to be able to get through university successfully, and make it clear that it is unfair and also potentially discriminatory (depending on the reason for your special consideration during the exam).

If your lab teacher is also the lecturer, you should send them an e-mail telling them all the things I mentioned above, and you should cc the e-mail in to the head of their department, so that their boss knows what is going on. Because that is fucken bullshit. I would never laugh at a student in that context and I've never worked with anyone who I think would.

Don't let university staff get away with this shit! Uni's are heavily regulated places, but students aren't aware of how much power they have.

Eccentricity and poor teaching is one thing. Often they're unavoidable. But some of the bullshit in this thread is just that - bullshit, and it's not allowed at universities. There are things you can do. So do them!