i hate crappy teachers - Page 3

On October 14 2010 13:14 imBLIND wrote:
I despise teachers that can't teach at all.

High school physics is a pain in the butt if you have a teacher that can't explain it right to you. I might as well just get a tutor and take the AP exam rather than sit in the class itself.

On October 15 2010 09:22 Hizzo wrote:


Hey man can't say it gets much better from there. I lucked out and had a great mechanics professor (who actually taught my step-dad 20 years ago when he went here) but now I have a shitty electricity and magnetism one.

You're always going to get one somewhere imo.

(PS: took 3 years of french and don't remember nearly any of it either, fucking high school)

On October 15 2010 09:18 PoopLord wrote:

It's funny because he got caught with having pictures of the students, as well as porn, on his personal computer a couple years later. I don't know why they haven't fired him, though...

On October 15 2010 09:22 Hizzo wrote:
Also in my systems programming class (programming in C) the prof goes off on these random tangents about things vaguely related like memory addresses, wondering what the code of some built in library functions look like and showing it to us like we need to know what's in it, etc. Kills me, I don't learn shit except when we have projects and then I have to dig myself out of a huge hole because that's when everything starts to click.

On October 15 2010 11:21 mieda wrote:
I speak from the perspective of both a student and a teacher.

One should also be aware that the lecturer may think of things not exactly the way you want it. It may not be packaged just right for you at the time of your taking the course, and it will most likely benefit you to see different perspectives of the same material. Believe it or not, there are actually many different ways of approaching the same topics.

I have many personal experiences of this, where the first time it happened to me when I was an undergrad I almost panic and freaked out from "how the hell am I going to ever make it through this course?!" but when my back was against the wall and just tried my best to survive (by going to office hours, bothering my professor, TA/CA, looking up resources in library, etc..), I actually came out really understanding how these people viewed the subject. It was beautiful! From hindsight, I would not want a life where I had given up, threw my hands in the air, and just blamed the lecturer for my own inadequacy.

Yes, it is scary at first, it's different from what you're used to (the easy packaging of the materials where everything is in cruise-mode). And yes, it takes effort on your part to try to understand how the lecturer is thinking of the subject. And yes, it is much easier to give up and blame the course/the lecturer for your inadequacy. And yes, this is what genuine learning entails. Don't expect it to be easy. You're going to have to be proactive and stop waiting passively for learning to happen. It's going to be hard, but also rewarding.

Most real learning is non-linear. You don't have one textbook or rigid source guiding you through it step by step (unless it's a very well understood subject like baby calculus or baby linear algebra, but even then you're going to have to learn it non-linear if you want to learn it well). You need to look up and read neighboring resources (or ahead of the books, and work backwards even), ask questions actively, and try to really understand by trial and error on your part - invent your own examples, be creative with them. In process, you may just as well find your own way of doing things. Great! Compare it with how others think, amend, compromise, etc..

On October 15 2010 13:07 Cambium wrote:


I feel like you are just baiting for someone to respond with your walls and walls of text, so I might as well take the bite.

The ideals you stated are great, except it has nothing to do with the discussion. Topic of discussion: some people cannot teach for beans.

You need to get off your high horse and stop with the assumption that every professors can teach properly; note, simply knowing the material well does not make you a good professor, you need to be able to explain it to the students. No, it should not be up to the student to spend extra time to learn on his own if the prof writes walls of ambiguous text while speaking to the board. While most students are capable of learning the material in a proactive manner, it's ridiculous to just dismiss the prof's responsibility of giving clear and understandable lectures. After all, each student pays thousands of dollars per class, and is entitled to the service of being lectured to a degree of satisfaction.

On October 15 2010 13:13 mieda wrote:


Sure, so what are you going to do if you do meet a professor whom you can't understand? I'm giving most kids here a little advice on how to take matters into your own hands. Most of what I hear here are lines and lines of complaints, with no suggestion of what to do . So what if your professor can't teach? Either 1) You form some justice alliance to throw away the evil tyrant or 2) Deal with it. Take your pick.

Or is this just another thread where people only rant, with no constructive suggestions? If so, then I apologize and continue ranting.

On October 15 2010 13:24 Cambium wrote:


If what you said was truly a "suggestion", then it is indeed valuable. Unfortunately, it's pretty easy to infer from your apparently equivocating phraseology that, "if you don't understand the professor, then it is your fault for not trying hard enough".

I am just glad that we have your original intentions cleared up, because I'm happy that you acknowledge that some profs are just horrible, and to compensate for their ineptitudes in teaching, the students need to work harder, which may not be a bad thing.

On October 15 2010 13:13 mieda wrote:


Sure, so what are you going to do if you do meet a professor whom you can't understand? I'm giving most kids here a little advice on how to take matters into your own hands. Most of what I hear here are lines and lines of complaints, with no suggestion of what to do . So what if your professor can't teach? Either 1) You form some justice alliance to throw away the evil tyrant or 2) Deal with it. Take your pick. I'm giving a suggestion on what to do if you decide to pick option #2.

And the way I see it, you're mostly paying the tuition so you can get your high horse titles anyway.

On October 15 2010 14:15 kineSiS- wrote:


However, aren't we entitled to gain knowledge through an intermediary that not only has the desire to teach us but has skill?

What is genius without the proper ability to COMMUNICATE with one's apprentices. These students are the very next generation that will be commandeering the future. The school is entitled to hire teachers who are proficient and can do their job properly. This point can be expounded upon ,but I have little time to waste today.

Furthermore, there is the idea of locum parentis . This entitles the school to be responsible in not only the legal matters that involve the student but to make sure the student is prepared for life. If the student does not have a teacher that can successfully help the student, then he is worthless. If you have twenty dollars as opposed to one, but the vending machine does not accept bills past one and there is no immediate area (that you can go to without expending excessive amounts of energy) then the twenty dollras is worthless.

A nobel laureate that cannot express his ideas is more worthless than a sub-par and mediocre teacher than can guide his students. Though, it would be preferred to have a sort of segway or compromise between the two.

Taking action is obviously a valid point, I don't disagree at all. In fact, that is important, the generation nowadays lacks the fortitude and resolve to achieve what they want. They expect the greatest things in life to come with minimal effort. Impossible that is, however, without an intermediary between knowledge and the avid learner, it is more fault upon the school than the student.

However, aren't we entitled to gain knowledge through an intermediary that not only has the desire to teach us but has skill?

However, aren't we entitled to gain knowledge through an intermediary that not only has the desire to teach us but has skill?

These students are the very next generation that will be commandeering the future. The school is entitled to hire teachers who are proficient and can do their job properly.

The school is entitled to hire teachers who are proficient and can do their job properly.

This entitles the school to be responsible in not only the legal matters that involve the student but to make sure the student is prepared for life.

If the student does not have a teacher that can successfully help the student, then he is worthless.

A nobel laureate that cannot express his ideas is more worthless than a sub-par and mediocre teacher than can guide his students.

Impossible that is, however, without an intermediary between knowledge and the avid learner, it is more fault upon the school than the student.