(no subject)
As my second semester at the University of Maryland draws to a close, I'd like to reflect on a phenomenon that I have come to refer to as the PRICK. This, of course, is an acronym for Professor who Really Isn't Concerned with promoting students' EduKation. You can thank my apathetic professors for the misspelling of the word "education".
I've been blessed with many, many truly fantastic teachers throughout my grade school days. In my four years of high school alone, I can name at least ten teachers off the top of my head who consistently show willingness to go the extra mile for their students. So maybe I'm spoiled. Maybe I expect too much.
Or maybe, college professors need to pull their heads out of their eighty-year-old asses and start giving a damn about the students who are milking their parents dry to pay THEIR SALARY.
I suppose it's unfair to make such a blanket statement. I've encountered a few professors in my two semesters here who have proven themselves to be genuinely concerned with teaching the material in a way that students will understand and be able to apply it. A very, very, very select few. But my experience is extremely limited, compared to your college senior, so maybe I've just been unlucky so far and had the misfortune of experiencing only the PRICK variety. For your benefit, let me describe the PRICK so you'll know if ever you see one:
Professors: You Know You're a PRICK If...
--You belittle students who ask legitimate questions in lectures.
--Your overall demeanor is condescending and unapproachable.
--You're eighty thousand years old and therefore consider yourself to be the reigning authority on EVERYTHING, not just the subject you're teaching.
--You don't bother to respond to emails.
--You couldn't care less about making accomodations for make-up exams, quizzes, assignments, etc. even if there is a legitimate conflict.
--Ninety percent of the lecture hall is either asleep or engrossed in sudoku, yet you don't bother to make the material interesting.
--Your English is suspect at best, yet you can't be bothered to try to communicate with English-speaking students. If you take offense to this, please try having a conversation such as the following and then tell me that it's not frustrating and extremely unhelpful.
Rhea: Where does the membrane potential come from when the sodium/potassium channels are opened?
Prof: Yes.
Rhea: ...
Prof: The sodium and potassium. The channels. They open. Membrane potential!
Rhea: Yes...where does the membrane potential come from?
Prof: Yes!
Rhea: ...Ok, thank you.
The bottom line is, college is harder than high school. And it's a hell of a lot more expensive. Is it too much to ask that the people who are responsible for those all-important grades on our transcript are not only competent and accomplished in their field (which most of the PRICKs I know ARE!) but are also compassionate and concerned with the students' progress? Is it really necessary for professors to be jerks?
I mean, okay. Alot of the profs at huge research universities are literally forced to teach undergraduate courses in order to do their research there. So research is really what they're all about and teaching is just an occupational hazard, so to speak. Okay, you don't like doing it. I'm sorry, but that is not my fault. I and the other undergraduates who are getting screwed over by your poor teaching abilities DID NOT FORCE YOU TO TEACH JUST SO YOU CAN CONTINUE TO DEHYDROHALOGENATE CYCLOHEXANOL MOLECULES IN YOUR LABORATORY. If I had my way, you could keep doing your thing in your laboratory or whatever and stay the HELL away from my education. But unfortunately for all of us involved, the PRICK has to teach. And unlike us undergraduates who spend hours each day trying to decipher your incomprehensible lecture slides, the PRICK is getting paid to suffer. So please, put some effort into it. When you're approached with questions during office hours, don't you dare give me that "Duhh how do you NOT know that, you n00b???" attitude. When your entire class is bored to tears by your lecture, try giving a damn for once and making it interesting. It's not my fault that you're eighty years old and probably will never make as much money as some of your students who are going into medicine or engineering or whatever. (The PRICKs seem to dominate in the science departments.) We understand that you're bitter. DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON US.
Let me relate a personal tale of injustice inflicted upon me by a PRICK. Last semester, I became extremely sick and missed a calculus exam. Illness is considered a legitimate reason for missing an exam, so I approached the PRICK and explained the situation. The PRICK informed me, grudgingly, that I could take a make-up exam the following Monday at 3pm. Unfortunately, last semester I had chemistry lab on Mondays at 3pm, and the rule for that course is that if you miss three classes, you AUTOMATICALLY FAIL. I explained that to the PRICK via email and asked, very politely and deferentially, if there was any other time I could take the make-up exam. His reply? "Not really."
I ended up missing my chemistry lab to take the calc test, and, although I didn't fail, I had to do another make-up assignment for the missed class. Just because the PRICK would not accomodate my circumstances.
It's not the fact that I had to screw around with my schedule that irritates me; it's the fact that the professor was deliberately inflexible. He didn't give a damn about my situation. That's another tell-tale sign of the PRICK, folks: the cranky, self-important geezer who firmly believes that HIS time is way more important than some lowly undergrad's time.
Let me remind you, PRICKs, that my fellow undergrads and I are GOING PLACES WITH OUR LIVES, and you are ALREADY THERE. You can choose to be a bitter asshole, or you can help society by giving a shit about our education.
I've been blessed with many, many truly fantastic teachers throughout my grade school days. In my four years of high school alone, I can name at least ten teachers off the top of my head who consistently show willingness to go the extra mile for their students. So maybe I'm spoiled. Maybe I expect too much.
Or maybe, college professors need to pull their heads out of their eighty-year-old asses and start giving a damn about the students who are milking their parents dry to pay THEIR SALARY.
I suppose it's unfair to make such a blanket statement. I've encountered a few professors in my two semesters here who have proven themselves to be genuinely concerned with teaching the material in a way that students will understand and be able to apply it. A very, very, very select few. But my experience is extremely limited, compared to your college senior, so maybe I've just been unlucky so far and had the misfortune of experiencing only the PRICK variety. For your benefit, let me describe the PRICK so you'll know if ever you see one:
Professors: You Know You're a PRICK If...
--You belittle students who ask legitimate questions in lectures.
--Your overall demeanor is condescending and unapproachable.
--You're eighty thousand years old and therefore consider yourself to be the reigning authority on EVERYTHING, not just the subject you're teaching.
--You don't bother to respond to emails.
--You couldn't care less about making accomodations for make-up exams, quizzes, assignments, etc. even if there is a legitimate conflict.
--Ninety percent of the lecture hall is either asleep or engrossed in sudoku, yet you don't bother to make the material interesting.
--Your English is suspect at best, yet you can't be bothered to try to communicate with English-speaking students. If you take offense to this, please try having a conversation such as the following and then tell me that it's not frustrating and extremely unhelpful.
Rhea: Where does the membrane potential come from when the sodium/potassium channels are opened?
Prof: Yes.
Rhea: ...
Prof: The sodium and potassium. The channels. They open. Membrane potential!
Rhea: Yes...where does the membrane potential come from?
Prof: Yes!
Rhea: ...Ok, thank you.
The bottom line is, college is harder than high school. And it's a hell of a lot more expensive. Is it too much to ask that the people who are responsible for those all-important grades on our transcript are not only competent and accomplished in their field (which most of the PRICKs I know ARE!) but are also compassionate and concerned with the students' progress? Is it really necessary for professors to be jerks?
I mean, okay. Alot of the profs at huge research universities are literally forced to teach undergraduate courses in order to do their research there. So research is really what they're all about and teaching is just an occupational hazard, so to speak. Okay, you don't like doing it. I'm sorry, but that is not my fault. I and the other undergraduates who are getting screwed over by your poor teaching abilities DID NOT FORCE YOU TO TEACH JUST SO YOU CAN CONTINUE TO DEHYDROHALOGENATE CYCLOHEXANOL MOLECULES IN YOUR LABORATORY. If I had my way, you could keep doing your thing in your laboratory or whatever and stay the HELL away from my education. But unfortunately for all of us involved, the PRICK has to teach. And unlike us undergraduates who spend hours each day trying to decipher your incomprehensible lecture slides, the PRICK is getting paid to suffer. So please, put some effort into it. When you're approached with questions during office hours, don't you dare give me that "Duhh how do you NOT know that, you n00b???" attitude. When your entire class is bored to tears by your lecture, try giving a damn for once and making it interesting. It's not my fault that you're eighty years old and probably will never make as much money as some of your students who are going into medicine or engineering or whatever. (The PRICKs seem to dominate in the science departments.) We understand that you're bitter. DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON US.
Let me relate a personal tale of injustice inflicted upon me by a PRICK. Last semester, I became extremely sick and missed a calculus exam. Illness is considered a legitimate reason for missing an exam, so I approached the PRICK and explained the situation. The PRICK informed me, grudgingly, that I could take a make-up exam the following Monday at 3pm. Unfortunately, last semester I had chemistry lab on Mondays at 3pm, and the rule for that course is that if you miss three classes, you AUTOMATICALLY FAIL. I explained that to the PRICK via email and asked, very politely and deferentially, if there was any other time I could take the make-up exam. His reply? "Not really."
I ended up missing my chemistry lab to take the calc test, and, although I didn't fail, I had to do another make-up assignment for the missed class. Just because the PRICK would not accomodate my circumstances.
It's not the fact that I had to screw around with my schedule that irritates me; it's the fact that the professor was deliberately inflexible. He didn't give a damn about my situation. That's another tell-tale sign of the PRICK, folks: the cranky, self-important geezer who firmly believes that HIS time is way more important than some lowly undergrad's time.
Let me remind you, PRICKs, that my fellow undergrads and I are GOING PLACES WITH OUR LIVES, and you are ALREADY THERE. You can choose to be a bitter asshole, or you can help society by giving a shit about our education.