A Little Story on Pedagogical Incompetence and Impracticality

Some history here before getting into this, the average grade of the 23 students enrolled in my section of this course this semester, is about 63%... that means... that almost everyone is failing the course, simply based off exam grades. Compound this with the fact that you need a letter grade of a C or better in order to get credit for the course to continue onto the next course for your degree. Currently, there are 2 students (out of 23) that are passing the course with a 75 or higher. Would you like to know why they're passing?

BECAUSE THEY ALREADY TOOK THE COURSE BEFORE OR HAVE TAUGHT THEMSELVES JAVA PROGRAMMING BEFORE ENROLLING IN CLASSES AT MCC.

So... today I decided to go speak with my CSC 101 Professor, regarding my grades and such for the course, because she decides to never return our tests after grading them with their actual grades on them (I'll explain that in a minute).

She gives her tests, takes 2 weeks to grade them, then hands them back with grading errors. We go over these exams in class, show her the mistakes she's made with the grades, and then she supposedly corrects them... but we never get to see the exam again and have to schedule times with her for her to allow us to see the exam again, either for review or just to ask questions about what the correct answer should be.

Before setting foot into her office I already know that my homework grade average is around 100%, because I have received a 95 or 100 on every single assignment we've done over the course of the semester. The number of assignments we've had to complete thus far is over 12...

We exchange the normal chit chat greetings and bullshit, then I ask her what my overall grade is in the course. So we begin to look over my grades and because I did poorly on the first two exams (57 and 63), she advises me that I should withdraw from the course. I ask her why and she explains that because of the track record of the exams (regardless of homework grades) it appears that I will not pass. (Excuse me?)

So I proceed to ask her that if this is the case, then how does she propose to advise the other 20 students in the class about their grades, considering that there are 20 other students besides me who are not passing the course based on their test grades. She has no response.

So I continue to say: "To be fair, this would mean that you would also have to advise these other students that are also NOT passing your course, to withdraw as well... is that correct?" Again, she has no response.

Me: "I think that your advisement here is absolutely ridiculous, considering that you have nothing to say about how you will be advising your other students... knowing forewell that they are also not passing your class."

Her: "I do not have to answer your questions regarding my advisement to other students."

Me: "I'm merely stating that you would have to be consistent in your advisement scheme if you intend to essentially remove over 90% of your students in this particular section of your CSC 101 class this semester."

Her: "Again, I do not have to answer to you."

Me: "No, but I do give money to this school to be taught well by the Professors of whom are teaching the classes of which I am enrolled. This school also pays your salary. In this particular instance, I would like a refund in full from the school for this course. I have learned more about Java Programming from my own studying than I have from listening to you babble on about how you worked for IBM on the stealth bomber. Not to mention that if anyone were to observe your class on a regular basis, would realize that you are completely pedagogically imcompetent. Your methodology of testing on the material of which you teach is completely impractical. We have debuggers and compilers for a reason... to tell us when we have made a mistake. In that respect, to test us using pencils and paper, while having to write the code out in full, doesn't make a whole lot of sense does it? Especially when we have all of these other tools to aid us in either our learning or as part of the job. Even in class you make dozens upon dozens of mistakes writing out your own code that you tell us to put into jGrasp... and we have to tell you that what YOU WROTE does not compile. So tell me again why I need to withdraw from your course considering I can prove to you that I know how to program in Java? Oh that's right... because my perspective of the "real world" is different than yours... sorry... I forgot for a moment."

At that point I had already picked up my bag and was halfway out of her door. She didn't say a word as I left, went down to the computer lab, and withdrew from her course... because after all, the probability I was going to be fail or be withdrawn from the class was fairly high anyway, right?

Un-fucking-believable. This kind of imcomptence drives me around the bend... how can this kind of shit be allowed at a COLLEGE level? If anything, it lets me know that I can more than likely teach better than 90% of the teachers I've ever had... but still... this is absolutely stupid.

/endrant

More pulling from facebook... "A little lesson on patience"

It's often said that patience is a virtue. A virtue that should be upheld regardless of the situation. Well, to be quite fucking honest... HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY TAKE THAT TO HEART?

Look, I understand that it is trying at times to be patient with a situation, a person, or people in general... but you should really take that into consideration, especially when the person you're dealing with... asks for some time to get through some more pertinent issues they are encountering.

Legitimately, some people just cannot handle being put on the back burner while you either: a) you get your shit done, or b) shit happens and you cannot make good on some plans. Why is it so difficult to give someone the time they ask for? Can you not realize that maybe you're just not that important at that moment? or perhaps not even that, but maybe they do not want to half-ass the plans and have said plans fall flat on their proverbial faces? Or even more so, maybe it's simply because the person you want to hang out with, just doesn't have time?

How are any of the above reasons cause for flipping out and cutting off all lines of communication? Simply for the fact that you cannot get WHAT YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT? That's like a god damn two year-old throwing a temper tantrum over not getting to watch the fucking Teletubbie DVD in the morning at the exact fucking moment that the child wants to watch it. Fuck the Teletubbies and fuck your ridicuous attitude. Un-fucking-believable.

If you as a person cannot deal with not being the center of fucking attention, or cannot deal with not having things your way (or the highway), or cannot understand the fact that sometimes people DO NOT HAVE TIME RIGHT NOW to do what it is YOU want to do... then all I can say is good luck with the surgery to get the fucking stick removed from your impatient ass.

If you're going to judge me AT ALL, judge me on how I act, what I say, what I do, TOWARD YOU. Do not judge me based on any other sort of predisposition you have of the opposite sex, or based on a "personality type" you believe I fit in, OR based on past experiences you have in general. You know why? BECAUSE I'M NOT THOSE FUCKING PEOPLE OR THOSE SITUATIONS YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH. Obviously you're patient and perseverent enough to keep on living this life and make it through to the present day. Bravo, you've done better than most people with down syndrome and I can respect you for that... but please do not hold it against me when I say that I need to get things I have prioritized AHEAD OF YOU done, before I can do anything else.

YOU
ARE
NOT
THE
RULER
OF
MY
WORLD
PRINCESS... wake up

If for some reason you think otherwise, bend over sweetheart, because I'm burying my size thirteen shoe deep in that tightly wound ass of yours... in hopes that it kick starts the fucking critical thinking portion of your puny sized brain.

/endrant

I really need to care less about people...

So I've come to realize that I care far too much about people in my life, especially those I consider my best friends. We're adults now, I shouldn't have to feel like I'm babysitting a fifteen year old when it comes down to it.... and that's exactly how I feel.

Why do I have to be the one to state that you should think about your actions before acting upon them, or think about what you say to others and if you truly mean it or not? Why do I need to be the one to point out your blatant and obvious hypocrisies when you should be old enough to realize them yourself? What's the point anymore? Why the hell do I care so much... oh wait... that's right... because I feel that I need to educate you on how to deal with other people, especially those you supposedly are romantically interested in. If you don't care about how people perceive you, then in turn you do not really care about how YOU see YOURSELF.

The bottom line is, actions speak louder than words. If those two pillars of civility do not line up and others realize it but you do not... that's a problem by anyones standards. Everyone should be old enough to realize that it's not just about what you say, but how you act upon those words. If you can truly act faithfully to those statements then more power to you, otherwise... it's just mindless chatter because you think it's what the other person wants to hear. In the latter, you're only screwing yourself at the end of the night. Keep fist pumpin' brah...

I need to stop caring about what people do with their lives in regards to things they obviously don't care enough to fully think about. I have a big heart, especially to those I'm friends with, or those I call my best friends, or people I confide and trust in. That doesn't give you an excuse to walk on it, but rather realize that if you're toiling over some bullshit, I am going to call you out on it whether you like it or not.

Moving along, I think I need to move to a different state. I'm considering Tennessee simply for the fact that I want to be in the music center of the United States, Nashville. I could not ask to be in any better place for what I want to do, that is to play with other like-minded musicians, have a great time doing so, and hopefully have people like it in some way, shape, or form.

It's time I started doing what I want with my life, instead of just talking about it.