Am I Crazy?

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For the last half of this school term I’ve been in a dispute with the school over a class. I stopped going to class, because frankly, it was crap. It had no substance and no business being offered as a 3 credit hour class. In place of a textbook, we had about 30 PowerPoint slides/week!

When I stopped going to class, I had an A, and everyone I discussed my complaint with thought I was crazy for not wanting the easy A!
They could not understand that I wanted a good, challenging class!
So, am I crazy for actually wanting an education?

I opted for what was behind door number three, Bob... but really I do not blame you for not just taking an easy A. I have been known to drop classes that I knew I would get nothing out of. I am paying for that education, damn it, I am going to get it.

Nope. But then, did you really think you were?

No, but I suspect many would think you are. Hell, even some of the university departments I've come across are so locked into a 'student as consumer' imdset, that they are baffled by students who actually want to engage with, and be challenged by a subject.

^^^

Yeah, it was a surreal experience for me.

The chairperson of the section and to a lesser extent, the dean of the division had that attitude…

They were like, “Well, nobody else is complaining about the class…”

I responded with a story:

That usually ended the conversation.

I'd go for the easy A to be honest. Unless there was an option to take a more interesting class and get a similar/better mark.

Effort/Interest sadly doesn't seem to count for much in life; paper qualifications do.

Man, I know exactly how you feel. I have had classes where the teacher was actually dumber than me. Unfortunately, I couldn't drop or skip class. The idiot teacher thought that because "there's a correlation between attendance and grades" (as she said every day) that forcing an attendance policy would raise her grades. The irony is she actually went over the difference between correlation and causation in the class. I actually started talking Chinese last year because I was so bored with my easy classes.

On the other hand, you are kind of stuck in the credits you need to get a degree, yeah?

No, but I'd probably take the A and educate myself properly on my own time.

I take easy A classes for that reason.

I would take the easy A if it was a bogus class like a breadth requirement that had nothing to do with my major.

If it was inside my major, and I was not learning anything or getting a valued education I would take the easy A and spend the extra time and effort on something more meaningful.

Unfortunately, my university will not do anything for students who want an education rather than a degree (there is a difference between the two).

Usually universities have some mechanism by which you can drop the class (without a refund, if it's too late in the grading period) or change it to pass/fail status. I certainly wouldn't allow myself to get a failing grade on my transcript simply because I thought a class was stupid; that would make ME stupid.

No, I don't think you're crazy. In fact, I find your attitude refreshing.

I just finished teaching my first university class and was pleasantly surprised that most of the students actually DID care about the material (they cared about their grades, too, but at least they were willing to work for them).

@GoonSquad: I agree with you 100% about kids getting useless degrees and being unable to do anything useful as a result of their "education." That's not doing them any favors.

@conundrum,

Congratulations on teaching your first class (something I hope to do one day), you are my new hero!

There are a few posters around here with pretty negative opinions on higher ed. They complain bitterly that even 'entry level' jobs require a degree plus 2-3 years experience.

I think the reason for this is because a degree is no longer a guarantee of 'entry level' competency. That's very unfortunate and it hurts everyone, the people who skate by and the people who work hard too...

Anyway, I think I have my immediate problem resolved. I got an incomplete for the class and a chance to retake it with a different instructor.

My hopes for the new class aren't too high, but maybe I won't be penalized for being smart or doing more than necessary this time...

Thank you, GoonSquad! That's really nice to hear. Which subject(s) do you want to teach?



Sadly, this often is the case.

I had a long talk with a professor about something related to this. She told me that for the first couple of years, undergrads often have very little required of them, whether they start at the university itself or at a community college (at least in this area--where I was an undergrad, I felt that a lot more was expected of me, or maybe I just expected more of myself). Anyway, by the time they come to the junior level, having to do any *real* work is sometimes a nasty shock.

In my class, that translated into several having issues with writing properly. Thankfully, nearly all of them were more than willing to learn from me, and substantially raised their grades.

I also work at a grocery job to help pay the bills, and I think one of the main reasons I was hired is that the manager who interviewed me has a solid undergrad degree, is planning to go higher and was impressed that I hold a graduate degree, even though it is most definitely NOT necessary for this position!



I hope that is the case, too. I get so frustrated with the "dumbing down" of society in general, and what you are describing is largely responsible for it, IMO.

This quote from the film Idiocracy sums it up very well, I think:



(from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/quotes)

Let's hope we never sink so low that such things ARE but a distant memory.

Good luck with the class. Please let us know how it goes this time.

@conundrum:

Well, my original intent was to teach History at a college level. However, some recent classes have rekindled my interest in science. I built a practical model of Mt. St. Helens for my final project in a Geology class. I have no real interest in Geology, but I really enjoyed doing the project.

It was fun watching documentaries on the 1980 eruption and trying to figure out how to make my model behave the same way. My model simulated the massive landslide, collapse/explosion of the north face, huge pyroclastic eruption, and ash venting…
It made a big mess and got an A. My professor said, “Wow, that was entertaining AND TECHNICALLY ACCURATE!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her I enjoyed the Engineering of it a lot more than the Geology!

Anyway, because of that project, I’m thinking of shifting my major to physics or the like (if I can get my maths back up to par). As much as I love history, I’d love to teach applied science in high school too (robotics, etc). And, with all the emphasis on STEM education, a science degree would probably be more marketable than history… Which is too bad, because both are very important.

PS

You sound like my kind of teacher.

One of my favorite teachers ever was a freshly graduated Sociology professor. On the first day of class she gave everyone handouts on the importance of critical thinking and effective writing along with directions to the school's writing lab.
That was a great class.

@GoonSquad: That sounds like a very impressive working model. When I think of model volcanoes, the first thing that pops into my head are those grade-school science-fair things. Yours sounds like it was much more professional.

I tend to agree with you about a science degree being "more marketable" than one in history. However, you are absolutely right about the importance of both. Many students dislike learning history, so I think it is up to teachers to make it more interesting. I wasn't sure how I was going to make a course in white-collar crime interesting, but apparently I (and the students) succeeded.

Throughout my academic career, I considered Math, Physics/Astronomy and Chemistry before majoring in Psychobiology (that's what my B.S. is in) and then entering a graduate program in Applied Criminology (M.S., last May). I am still interested in the former three subjects--I just hit my "ability limits" as far as continuing to study them *formally*.

Thank you. You sound like my kind of student.



I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I should add something like that to my syllabus.