[SweetCrusader]

I just need someone to vent to because I am really ticked off and powerless to change the situation. In one of my classes, the professor has arranged the course really idiotically and therefore gets a LOT of complaints from students. I personally have NEVER complained about anything.

Ok, so he's given us this textbook that is WAY more complicated than the level that students in this class are at AND he openly acknowledges this fact, too. And yet he tells us to read these chapters and basically determine for ourselves what information we should know in order to pass his tests. He provides a workbook that gives you sort of "practice questions" but they are not that much of an indication of what you'll find in his tests (nobody thinks so. I got a 95% on the first test, too, so it's not like I'm just a lazy complainer).

Anyway, so tonight I'm reading the chapter and I'm totally unclear on ONE tiny concept. I ask a question about it and he BITES my head off! He acts like I have complained about his course or something, and first he misunderstands my question and then he tells me that basically I should just KNOW that he doesn't expect me to understand this concept from the chapter! What a jerk!

Here are excerpts: (I won't post the whole thing of his, but I will post all of mine, b/c he is very long-winded lol! So note that this contains ALL of my post and only parts of his rant...er, reply!)

ME: I do NOT understand wobble pairing (Crick) at all. I understand the idea that amino acids use quartets and that the first two codon positions are significant, but as for Strickberger's explanation of WHY that is, I do NOT understand. What is this other acid (I) that it's talking about? I'm so lost!!

HIM: Amino acids are coded in DNA by triplet codons, not quartets. [NOTE: THIS IS WHERE HE MISINTEPRETED; AND YES, AMINO ACIDS USE CODON QUARTETS, BUT I GUESS HE DIDN'T READ THE CHAPTER THOROUGHLY ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THAT. JUST ASSUMED THAT I WAS CONFUSING CODONS WITH QUARTETS....BUT ANYWAY, THAT PROBABLY BORED YOU TO TEARS...GRRR AT HIM. OK BACK TO HIS RUDENESS]

Part of your frustration is you are not being definite enough in deciding how far you will go with the material.

Yes. Making that kind of decision is something you should have to do in college. I have not concerned myself with the details of wobble pairing either... If you will, please, think of the course design. You are asked fact questions (objective) about the basics and fundamentals. Then you are asked to explain basic and fundamental questions. If you absolutely cannot figure out something like wobble pairing, then ask yourself if you seem to have already picked up enough to write a decent discussion of the genetic code. There are some more interesting details in this section so pick them out. This may be a place, much as I dislike highlighting, for the highlighter to be brought into action. OK. Why do I have a text book where it does not match the student level perfectly?
Because, this book, despite its sometimes too-much detail, is the best, by far. Be assured, you can make some decisions about where you want to stop and do well in the class.

And, no, I won't make lists of what to study and what not to study. The workbook helps to set that tone (even though it is not study questions).

------------------------------------------------------------

This is actually one of his NICER posts to students. I am just sick of this jerk. I have never complained about his course, and I am probably the only one who hasn't. Yet he takes my head off for asking about a simple explanation of a concept in the chapter that he requires me to read.

UGH!!!

Angela

[eskielover]

Wow, that stuff is way over my head. My BS is in Computer Science, not the science of DNA. You have picked a very interesting subject to study.

Sounds like some of the Prof's I had. This one sounds like he is so intelligent in the subject matter, but doesn't know how to get across to others. Making him what I would catogorize as a lousy instructor. Hope you can find better ones that him for the rest of your schooling. The best way to turn someone off from a subject is by doing what he is doing.

Good luck & hope your ranting is over soon (or as soon as the semester/quarter is over)

Good Luck,
Debbie

[Larry_Hoover]

I understand your frustration. When a key concept is not clear, how can you possibly understand all the related ideas in their proper context? Perhaps seeing some other people's ideas of wobble-pairing might help?

http://www.web-books.com/MoBio/Free/Ch5A.htm
http://www.blc.arizona.edu/courses/m...sePairing.html
http://www.med.uottawa.ca/patho/devel/

BTW, sometimes I comforted myself by thinking about the qualifications necessary to become a professor. Seldom is teaching ability even considered. This guy is past his threshold of competency. If you maintain your efforts to exceed his standards (whatever they might actually be), you'll likely obtain a superb grade on the course.

Lar

[SeptemberMorn]

Right off the top of my head, it sounds like he doesn't know the answer, either, so he's got to put you down! Jeez, what a jerk!

[(JD)]

Yes, just because someone knows a subject, doesn't mean he can teach it. Bet he's tenured too!

Was he trying to say that, though yes, amino acids use quartet codons, BUT 3 (triplet) codons are what are used for DNA identification... now about the 2 with the wobble... you still have one roaming around eh? Criminy I think they discovered this stuff after I graduated!!! LOL

Good thing Larry's here!

Perhaps the answer is in the next chapter?

[(JD)]

tks Larry for the links... is this talking about tRNA splicing G-U?

[SweetCrusader]

Thanks for understanding my frustration everyone!!!

Debbie, I'm a PSYCHOLOGY major!!! I have to take this dumb class as a depth education general.

Sky, YUP he has tenure!! And he completely misundertsood my question. For those of you who will get totally bored by talk about DNA, you can stop reading here lol. Ok, so a codon is a grouping of 3 nucleotides in mRNA that codes for one amino acid. Most amino acids can be coded for by 4 different codons. The group of 4 codons that can all code for the SAME amino acid is referred to as that amino acid's codon quartet or codon family. My professor made the mistake of thinking that "codon quartet" referred to a codon being composed of 4 nucleotides, rather than a quartet of codons. This is ridiculous because codon quartets/families are discussed in the chapter, and are a CRUCIAL part of understanding wobble pairing!!! Apparently prof. didn't study wobble pairing, as he clearly stated above. Therefore, he misunderstood my question and told me that I WAS THE ONE WHO DID NOT UNDERSTAND- quite WRONG. And THEN chided me for not knowing intuitively that he would not expect me to understand these concepts in the chapter.

Oh, and he has gone on rants about how he's been teaching for many years and has this fool-proof and complicated grading system which he will not explain to us because he knows what he's doing and it's his job not ours to interpret grades... blah, blah, blah. Not a d--- thing any of us can do about it because we need this class for graduation and the guy has tenure so noone would listen if we did complain. In fact, he's a retired professor who has returned.

GRRRR.....

Thanks for letting me rant again

Angela

[SweetCrusader]

PS- About the codon quartet thing, the professor was "correcting" me for believing that a codon is composed of 4 nucleotides when I NEVER gave any indication that I believed that. If he knew what a codon quartet was, WHICH IS EXPLAINED FAIRLY SIMPLY IN OUR CHAPTER, then he would not have lectured me about that.

[Wants2Fly]

Okay, Sweet Crusader and everyone else who may jump on me for this, I am going to say a few words @ the professor, perhaps even a few defending him.

1. I agree that selecting a textbook that is inappropriate for the students' level demonstrates poor teaching skills. Usually this happens among new teachers, all enthusiastic about the deep discussions of graduate school, and eager to continue them with their undergraduates. Then, most of them come down to earth.

2. Except those with big egos or extreme insecurity, and thus defensiveness. In your professor's case, this may only be an indication of his having lived out most of his career in a "different era." Once upon a time, students did not question their professors or teachers. We sat and listened. We might make fun, softly, of a fool, but we almost never challenged the teacher. Why did he come back after retirement? Perhaps the department had a course that had to be taught, and he was pressured into filling the gap. This will affect his patience level, too. Finding qualified science teachers is very difficult.

3. Okay, this is the part many people who have written are not going to like: It is a bane of the existence of many of we professors that students demand "study guides." And then, should we dare to put a question on the exam that was not on the study guide, we are accused of not having played fair.

Here's the deal: The student is responsible for all the material in the course as portrayed in the syllabus. In fact, the syllabus has been considered the legal document, akin to a contract, in several court cases. The course should teach what it promises.

I like to compare the student's responsibility to know the material to the responsibility of every citizen not to drive drunk. The police set up roadblocks to identify drunk drivers. The instructor sets up a roadblock called a "test" to identify students who do not know the material. The police cannot stop all drivers, and the test cannot ask about everything one hopes the student will have learned. This does not mean that it's okay to drive drunk as long as you avoid roadblocks. Nor is it OK to just study what's on the study guide.

Personally, I give study guide. I did it bec. it was easier than putting up with the student yapping. I give key word phrases. I also point out that these key word phrases can denote whole chunks of info (History of radio) and my interpretations of what's important to remember may differ from the students'.

We live in what has been called an "overcommunicated" society. We are bombarded by -- I forget the exact number -- something like 10,000 messages a day. Most of these we screen out. I had the privilege of handling some data that was part of a major NIH study about how much people know about genetics. Genetics is going to shape the future. People know more about what Mickey Mouse eats for breakfast than genetics. Yet, this single complex science alone can wreak havoc or heaven on our world. And it is not the only one. People are voting and making decisions on the basis of silly misunderstandings about very important things.

The most important thing that we can teach our students in college is how to discern key information. Bec. that is what students have to do in the world outside the classroom door. And no one is going to hand them a study guide. Yet students are enraged if we ask them to study without a guide and learn the vital skill of discernment.

I honestly didn't see anything really awful in your professor's email. So maybe I am an ********** too who deserved to lose my job. Yet I have gifts and dozens and dozens of emails and thank you cards from students who got something out of my classes and our teacher-student relationships.

Let me emphasize that I am not dumping on you, Sweet, nor am I saying that this particular professor may not be a jerk. I'm just trying to present "the other side." Okay, so bring on the nay-sayers.

[SweetCrusader]

I see what you are saying, but I did not say WORD ONE about a study guide. I did not complain about ANYTHING. I did not do ANYTHING but as this professor for an explanation of wobble pairing, and he jumped my case based on OTHER students complaints.

I NEVER asked him to tell me what I should and should not study. I NEVER asked him for a study guide. AND he was correcting me for a mistake I did NOT make.

I can't believe you can't see how his response was totally out of proportion, unnecessary, and totally over-reacting.

Read my question again: "I do NOT understand wobble pairing (Crick) at all. I understand the idea that amino acids use quartets and that the first two codon positions are significant, but as for Strickberger's explanation of WHY that is, I do NOT understand. What is this other acid (I) that it's talking about? I'm so lost!! "

That is ALL that his rant was responding to. I feel like I got told off here for NO GOOD REASON.

Angela

[(JD)]

ok and the wobbling is from only having 3? anyway..

It sounds like a few of the class members need to politely inform the administration of a possible COGNITIVE problem with the old prof, eh?

They may have had doubts when they rehired him, but if no one complains, legitimately, then they will let it ride... it's tougher to find competent profs than to let one with credentials stay...

I had a private talk with one prof who completely reversed the concepts of deductive and subjective thinking! He would then ask me questions, in another room, about the next class... sheesh. Easy A. I also have spoken to another prof for a friend's prof who was misinstructing an English class in some basic grammar. (after endless arguing with my friend!) and let THAT professor correct the other...
(already had an A) Will either of these help you?

[SweetCrusader]

I'm not going to talk to him about it. It will do NO good. He is VERY VERY defensive, as you can see.

I just wanted to vent to you all about it because I'm upset about his response to me, and his lack of understanding even of my question!!!

Thanks Sky

[SweetCrusader]

PS: This is an online class, so we only have the text to learn from- no lecture to give us an idea of what he's focusing on. It is composed of mostly non-majors who have to take it as a depth gen ed class to graduate. And it's composed of mostly non-traditional students. I am at the top of the class, and I have like NO biology, genetics, or chemistry background and struggle in science classes as a whole.

I just don't feel he's being very reasonable or helpful at all. And he is SO defensive!

[Wants2Fly]

You are absolutely quite right, SweetCrusader. I did NOT read the question you asked carefully enough. I came from my own little world. You are right, his answer had nothing to do with your question, which deserved a very specific answer.

My most humble apologies.

[karen]

I am so very glad I do not have to take courses like that anymore! I remember several professors who were jerks like that too. One time, several of the students went so far as to complain to the dea. I guess it worked, he eased up on it and changed the format of the class after that! Maybe you could do that? Tell your other classmates who are complaining to go the dean! I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved.

[h0kie]

I've been in classes with these kinds of professors SC and there's little you can do about it. Which makes it oh so frustrating. I think everyone has at least one professor like yours.

My brother had a visiting professor that was a real piece of work. At his school they have an honor code, much like Tech, where I went. If you see cheating you have to report it. So he saw cheating and reported it. Not only did the professor not do anything, he told my brother off. Accusing him of "tattling".

If your school is anything like the ones I've attended, at the end of the course you get to do a "course evaluation". Therein lies your salvation, so to speak. Be honest. As far as I know, they get these AFTER grades have been assigned and do not know who filled out which evaluation (except in my classes with only 1 guy, where you have to check male/female...lol). Deans see these too...especially negative ones.

Talk with your other classmates. If everyone gives similar complaints, the department should see a problem. The best immediate solution...voodoo doll, or start counting the weeks til its over.

Good luck!

[SweetCrusader]

He's got tenure. Here I think they stop doing evaluations after like 10 years of teaching.

So there is really nothing I can do about it. As for the other students, the only way I have of contacting them is communicating on the message board for the class, where the professor reads EVERYTHING.

So, I have to just live with it. But I wanted to grumble and grrr and get some sympathy anyway! lol! I really needed to vent over it.

Thanks y'all!

Angela

[Wants2Fly]

In South Florida, the state requires that the evaluation be administered in all classes, every semester, at all state universities. A professor's annual "raise" (usually about 2% max) is based on the record of service (on the administrative committees that run the schools), research (publication & conference papers), and teaching (based on the numeric scores from the teaching evals). So a professor may not receive one-third of that raise -- and that money basically goes to the others who are not penalized. There was a complicated "point system" used in our department used to figure the allocation of moneys to each individual faculty member.

In addition, a new process is being started to review tenured professors periodically -- every 5 years, I think. If the professor has a difficulty in some area, s/he must come up with the 5-year plan to remedy it. However, bec. these folks have tenure, they will not lose their jobs.

And the political reality is -- if someone in the sciences is bringing in big grant money from the government or private corporations, that professor's teaching skills (or lack of) will be ignored.

[shakes]

Angela,
I completely understand. The college I went to had lots of problems with professors who had tenure and were good at researching and getting money for the university, but had no teaching/student skills whatsoever. To top it off no one cares!! It is never about teaching the students well it is about hiring and giving tenure to people who will make the most money for the school as possible.
We actually had a rally my sophmore year because the university fired a professor because they would not give him tenure. The reason: because he was a physics professor who was exceptional at teaching, but who wanted to focus on students and not money. The school did not like that...so they let him go.
Your professor is a jerk and def should be locked up in a laboratory someplace instead of trying to teach.

Jessica

[NicoleB]

((((((((((((Angela)))))))))))))))
I am so sorry your professor is such a jerk.
Nicole

[SweetCrusader]

Thanks Nicole & Jessica for your sympathy. It'll be alright. I'll do ok on the test anyway. I just wanted to vent. It's not that big a deal

Thanks
Angela

[cms39]

Old professor probably returned to "teaching" and I use that term lightly, because he was driving Mrs Old Professor NUTS.

Ok. Just had to say that.