RSS Feed (xml)
Coming this fall? (Most likely.)
15 years ago
Friday, September 5, 2008
Oh the Drama! The Drama!!
Well, in a very exciting turn of events, one of my fellow students actually wrote a short play describing the frustrations of recent events in our class, posted it on the Discussion Board, and then quit!! The play was quite accurate and very funny, but somehow I do not believe the professor will see it that way. I'd post it here, but I haven't asked the author so I better not. My oh my, what fun we're having now! Well, I am simply going to continue to work through this class, which I am very much enjoying, not only for the subject matter, but now that I think I have a grasp of how the professor wants things done, I'm really liking reading the back and forth between confused students and an annoyed instructor. Ok, some of that was me, but still! Good stuff! I am sure glad it's Friday though. I need a day to sleep past 5 am!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Believe me, I'm not minimizing your experience in the class but I'm ruminating on your perspective of it.
What do you think, is this part of earning a degree? I think most students/faculty relationships are positive so the idea that one side has the power and the other must submit to that power isn’t obvious. So, you may love a class and think the faculty is the greatest, but you are always doing as you are told and accepting their authority in the form of grades. But what happens when the person in power doesn’t rule with a soft hand? As in this class, the power relationship is a lot more obvious. I suppose students have two choices: submit or rebel.
Unlike countries, rebels rarely overthrow classes. This usually only happens when the faculty member goes into exile by not interacting with the students. Still, even though it’s a mostly futile response I can understand the need to do it. As in most unsuccessful rebellions, the rebels sacrifice themselves to their ideals.
Those who submit have different experiences. If classes were countries, these students would likely become profiteersJ They make the best of a bad situation and end up ahead (they get the credit hours.)
I’ve been both so I can relate to both. The one mistake I made as an undergrad was dropping too many courses (not always because I was rebelling) so adapting to a bad situation is a smart move in my mind. Every time you remove yourself from a credit bearing experience you delay your graduation or begin a pattern that results in dropping out altogether.
Of course, remember the power shifts as the class ends and you have the chance to evaluate the class.
I was actually in a class like this my first 'official' semester at UIS. It was a Philosophy course and it seemed as if the professor wasn't quite intrigued by many of my posts (at least that's what I thought). He seemed somewhat critical and I so wanted to drop that course, especially by mid-term when I noticed that my grade wasn't quite what I'd hoped. I ended up actually enjoying the class while some students decided against staying for the long haul. Afterwards, I felt so accomplished and ended up getting a 'B' at the close of the semester. I was proud that I stuck it out because had I not, just as Andy stated, that would've pushed me back in my goal of getting my degree as planned. Try to hang in there and also perhaps try to encourage other students to do the same. If they still choose to leave, then maybe in their situations they don't have to worry about the timing of getting their degree or maybe they may have chosen a different course for the semester. Either way, you stay in the race no matter what others may decide upon. Do what you gotta do for you! :)
I agree, discussion boards can be vey entertaining. I have had a few experiences with difficult instructors, it is always best to do what benefits you. I have dropped a couple of classes over the years due to extremely unreasonable (or rediculous)instructor requests. I think Sometimes they try to weed out non-serious students so that the remaining (smaller) class does not contain any trouble makers. You are smart to get to know the professors style and expectations early in the game.
Oh, I'm not dropping, no way! And for me it's really not about power at all. I just want answers to my questions. If I have a question about when something is due, I really need an answer because late papers are not accepted. But without clear due dates posted or answers to a simple question, it's anyone's guess when the paper is due. As far as those that have dropped go, I guess that was just their choice to not continue with a difficult instructor. I am not that easily swayed from my course (no pun intended). Taking only 1 class at a time means if I drop I'm pretty much only hurting myself, and I am not that masochistic. I am actually having a lot of fun in this class. Not only am I getting to learn about a subject I am interested in, I also get to observe and take part in my own little passion play! It's like a two for one!
"two for one" - can I include this in promotional materials:)
Thanks for the link Anne I enjoyed reading some of your daily journals (particularly this one).
Interesting to find Andy's comments here as well (He's my adviser too!). I'd like to respond to his post actually.
I think from a distant glance one might be led to assume that the situation in that class (which I am no longer a part of, thank goodness) is primarily a battle of egos.
And I think in my case that would be true. I didn't need this course in particular and I was overloaded with homework anyways, which was cutting into my none-school related activities, so I could afford to butt heads with this professor and give her an ample dose of what exactly I thought about her.
Of course it helped that she chose to single me out in one of her snide remarks on our public forum for everyone to read. (Professor have anything at all to do with professionalism??)
But I think most of the other students aren't concerned about anything other than just getting through this class.
The instructions that this professor in question provided was so inadequate that those who want to do exactly what Andy referred to in this post (just get by with minimal complications) cannot even do that much.
And their requests to the professor for the bare minimum information regarding very basic things (like actual deadlines and content of major papers) in order to complete the course was met with the sarcastic and condescending response from the professor who has deluded herself to think that her information is adequate.
If one is familiar with it, the Biblical story when Pharaoh of Egypt demanded the Hebrew slaves to make bricks without straw would be a clearer depiction of what the situation had been like in that class rather than what Andy seems to have in mind, simply a power struggle between ruling party and the ruled.
I think there are surely situations where I would consider it profitable indeed to simply submit to injustice, for instance if someone was sticking a gun in my face and shouting "Submit or die" as was likely the case with a rebel to a country.
But it's slightly different, ok it's a heck of a lot different, when it's someone who I am paying to teach me.
I hope to God that the situation has improved in the course. And if my kamikaze served to help take the professor down a notch or two all the better.
I really hope that she at least read the play I wrote in her (dis)honor.
Personally my guess is that the role of a teacher is not taken seriously enough and anyone who has a reasonable grasp of a subject matter is considered qualified to teach it. Oh I'm sure they're given a seminar or two about actually teaching itself.
But knowing something can hardly be considered sufficient when the whole role of teaching is to communicate that knowledge.
Well I think I'm taking up enough of Anne's space here so I'll just cut off here.
Post a Comment