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Sup TL, just venting here.
So I'm sure you're all tired of the bad teachers/school rant kind of threads but this incident just made me absolutely furious.
So our contemporary issues teacher gave us this assignment a few days ago to read an article he gave us and write about our opinion on it. I chose an article about tracking cookies and cyber profiling. If you don't know what this is, it's when websites take your information, browsing history, trends, etc and sell it to advertisers.
Now, this teacher was obviously someone that hated technology. He spends entire classes ranting about how computers are ruining our world and the internet and video games are turning our generation into potatoes. He refuses to use the projectors in class, he makes us list a minimum of 5 book sources and limits us to 1 internet source. He tells us how he goes home at night and listens to the radio, as he doesn't own a TV or computer. I'm not really bothered by this. To each their own I guess.
Anyways, so this assignment really hits home for me as I do help manage and write content for a few websites. I spent probably 3 hours writing what was only a 10 point assignment, but I was doing bad in the class and wanted to get a good grade on it, and also had a lot to cover.
I decided to write about how these types of software are necessary for independent website developers and administrators. Without the targeted marketing of things like GoogleAds and others, websites that aren't backed by large financial bodies would not be able to sustain themselves due to costs of bandwidth, so you might see people like us having to pay to access services like Facebook, Youtube, hell, even TL.
So I'm 4 pages in to the 10 point assignment, and finally decide I've got enough here. I come in the next day, hand in the assignment, pray for a good grade and wait it out.
Naturally, I get it back today, and I got an 7. out of 10.
And, honestly, that really isn't bad for me, especially considering I had a D in the class. But wow, I was shocked. I spent a long time working on this, and I thought I definitely had the grade.
I came up to him after class and asked to discuss it with him. He obliged, and we go back to his office. I told him how hard I worked on it and my background on the subject.
He tells me, "Well, you presented a strong argument, but you completely missed the point of the article"
I asked him what point I missed.
He says "It was supposed to convince the reader to fear for their safety on the internet, and, to be honest, you really don't have the qualifications to write from this side of the fence anyways".
Sigh...
I guess that's what you get for trying to come up with something original. I mean, what the fuck is the point of asking for our opinion on something, but at the same time expecting a certain answer?
These kinds of people confuse me to no end. Oh well, rant over. I wound up getting a c- in the class, but jesus christ if I have to listen to him rant off on technology again I swear I'll punch him.
 
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"You took the wrong stance on the issue so I'm giving you a mediocre grade."
Pretty low. I've faced very tough markers and very dry lecturers but I haven't encountered anything like that yet.
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you're in HS I assume
sad state of affairs that teaching on a non-college level has lost so much prestige that schools are desperate enough to have ignorant luddites teaching "contemporary issues"
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go to the principal or whoever is the teachers superior and show them what happened and tell them the teacher is full of shit and get your grade changed.=
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i had this stupidly biased english teacher in my senior year of high school and she ended up getting fired
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That's kind of like when I turned an assignment arguing that pornography is a tolerable evil in society to a feminist lesbian professor. I wrote a pretty good paper if I say so myself, but I got owned with a B-. This is further questionable considering I got an A on every one of her other assignments and ended up being one of her favorite students that quarter.
Your professor, though, OP, is a retard.
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best way to deal with these teachers.
ask another teacher to get their opinion on your work (dont tell them its been marked yet just go along the lines of this is an important assignment and in its current state what grade would it be worth)
if the second teacher gives you a mark around the same well you deserved it. if there is a huge discrepancy between the grades confront the first teacher (the one who is giving you the assignments) as litterly force down his throat a lecture about how being biased effects students learnings sereverly and keep asking him aggresively why he is giving you bad marks for somehting you could be getting higher marks from a different teacher.
eventually he will rage with the whole YOU SHALL NOT TALK DOWN TO ME STUDENT. you get him to go on the aggressive in the arguement then pull out " not setting a good example, your here to teach me not attack me into a corner!" in more or less different words. and well profit  you get a name for yourself as well (and some girls go for the tough mess with the teacher kind so thats an added bonus )
of course dont take my advice unless you enjoy making teachers go bonkers and basicly dont need to worry about grades from certain classes.
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Who's to say the OP didn't follow the specific instructions? Clearly, the OP is just as biased as he's trying to make the teacher look like the bad guy. From what I've read, it seems like you didn't follow the topic at all. As a TA / grad student, I've seen a few great papers from pretty smart students..who missed the instructions. If you don't write what's asked of you, you won't receive the A or B you're looking for.
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Sounds pretty bad man. College professors aren't free from it either. I think most of the time it's better to write on a "safe" topic that won't fall under the teacher's bias/personal crusade. When you get a teacher that is open minded and or shares your views then you can bust out the ideas you're passionate about.
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I used to get C's in high school English all the time. I also barely passed a few intro English courses in college. Quality doesn't really determine grades in a lot of these kinds of classes. I got a C in Asian American studies, Intro to Writing, and a B in human sexuality because my opinions weren't particularly PC.
I felt like I was picking a fight every time every time I wrote an opposing opinion. I think you should just scrape together the B or C and resist the urge to yell at your teacher. It's usually not worth it.
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Of course he's biased, he's human.
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Hi, that sucks for you, and I don't really want to hijack your thread or anything, but why do we get all these "this teacher is horrible/biased/terrible/incompetent" threads and I never see any "I really appreciate my hardworking/amazing/dedicated" teacher threads?
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I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles. So I picked images that showed that we are really moving away from gender norms in the opposite direction in that both women and men are becoming hypersexualized.
Teacher bitched and moaned about how I didn't do the assignment right.
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Well it kind of sound like you actually did miss the point. You were probably supposed to either support or rebut the notion of "fearing for your safety on the internet" It seems like you sidelined the issue and went off on a more tangential economic argument about the benefits of cyberprofiling despite the repercussions it has on privacy issues. Seems a bit off-topic to me...unless you linked 'em together somehow...
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Students (especially in university) fail to understand that the classroom is not a place to passive-aggressively forward their own agenda through papers.
If your plan is higher education the bottom line is that you need the grades to lay the foundation for a strong application. Nobody cares how "brilliant" you are if your professor decides to flunk you because he disagreed with what you wrote.
Life isn't fair - you either set yourself up for guaranteed success or you take a risk. To those who decide to take that risk, whether due to an overinflated ego, sheer stubbornness, or any other factor: You can't complain when things don't quite work out as expected.
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On November 13 2010 16:13 McDonalds wrote:
I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles. So I picked images that showed that we are really moving away from gender norms in the opposite direction in that both women and men are becoming hypersexualized.
Teacher bitched and moaned about how I didn't do the assignment right.
This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about.
Why would you do that?
Going severely against the grain is a high risk/low reward option. The only thing you get is the satisfaction that you're more clever than your peers (which is a moot point if you end up getting a significantly worse grade).
I've said it once and I'll say it again: The classroom is not a place to attempt to forward your own agenda. At best it's a feeble passive aggressive way to forward your thoughts which won't make any difference at all. At worst you jeopardize the future you're trying to create for yourself.
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On November 13 2010 16:17 FC.Strike wrote:Show nested quote +On November 13 2010 16:13 McDonalds wrote:
I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles. So I picked images that showed that we are really moving away from gender norms in the opposite direction in that both women and men are becoming hypersexualized.
Teacher bitched and moaned about how I didn't do the assignment right. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Why would you do that? Going severely against the grain is a high risk/low reward option. The only thing you get is the satisfaction that you're more clever than your peers (which is a moot point if you end up getting a significantly worse grade). I've said it once and I'll say it again: The classroom is not a place to attempt to forward your own agenda. At best it's a feeble passive aggressive way to forward your thoughts which won't make any difference at all. At worst you jeopardize the future you're trying to create for yourself.
My own agenda? I suppose you think I'm against stay at home dads or something?
It was a grade 10 anthropology and sociology class. I followed the instructions exactly and presented evidence showing the opposite of what was assumed to be the correct answer.
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On November 13 2010 16:13 McDonalds wrote:
I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles. So I picked images that showed that we are really moving away from gender norms in the opposite direction in that both women and men are becoming hypersexualized.
Teacher bitched and moaned about how I didn't do the assignment right.
Well if your assignment was to choose pictures that show that society is moving away from traditional gender roles...and you did the exact opposite...of course you did the assignment wrong?
I disagree w/ Strike and find that it's alright to voice your own perspective on things if the professor/teacher gives you a paper where you have the discretion to do so (which is usually not only allowed but encouraged on most liberal campuses). As long as the tone of your paper is genuine and sincere, then it's highly unlikely that you're going to get strongly dinged for voicing a viewpoint that stands on the opposite spectrum of your prof's.
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On November 13 2010 16:20 McDonalds wrote:Show nested quote +On November 13 2010 16:17 FC.Strike wrote:On November 13 2010 16:13 McDonalds wrote:
I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles. So I picked images that showed that we are really moving away from gender norms in the opposite direction in that both women and men are becoming hypersexualized.
Teacher bitched and moaned about how I didn't do the assignment right. This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Why would you do that? Going severely against the grain is a high risk/low reward option. The only thing you get is the satisfaction that you're more clever than your peers (which is a moot point if you end up getting a significantly worse grade). I've said it once and I'll say it again: The classroom is not a place to attempt to forward your own agenda. At best it's a feeble passive aggressive way to forward your thoughts which won't make any difference at all. At worst you jeopardize the future you're trying to create for yourself. My own agenda? I suppose you think I'm against stay at home dads or something? It was a grade 10 anthropology and sociology class. I followed the instructions exactly and presented evidence showing the opposite of what was assumed to be the correct answer.
The assignment was: I was once instructed to find pictures from magazines showing that western society is moving away from traditional gender roles.
So um... answer the question?
Many issues can easily be argued from both points of view - in fact on debate teams many times you're not even allowed to pick your stance. It's chosen for you and you have to defend it whether or not you agree with it. The fact that you came up with a (from what you're saying) valid counterargument does not change the fact that you didn't properly answer the question.
I mean it was grade 10 so wtv, but I seriously get confused by people who seem to glorify the "go against what the assignment is asking for / what my teacher thinks is right" philosophy.
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Either the assignment told you which opinion to take, in which case he's justified in taking off points for not following instructions, or it didn't, in which case he's not. Ask to see how he graded it if it's bugging you that much, and (high school right?) take it to the principal.
Bad habit to let shit like this happen to you when half an hour of effort will stop it happening again.
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EPT
