Grades

I just woke up. Starting the day right by blogging it up for the first time in a while. It's one of the first mornings I've had in a while without finals, work, church, conferences, or the the dire need to sleep. Basically, it's a good morning. I finally got all my semester grades up on the John Jay website, and the end result, as some of you know, was A, A, A, A-, C+. Which one is not like the others? The C+. Surprisingly, however, I was not as upset about that C+ as I was about the A-. You see, the A- I received in a class in which the teacher promised me an A. The majority of that sociology class was spent watching movies relevant to the subject matter. This included American History X, Monster, Crash, and some lesser-known films... but anyway, on the first day of class I volunteered to help out with setting up these movies. So the grade for the class consisted of 2 essays, attendance and participation. That's it. I only missed about 3 classes max ('cause it was in the middle of the day, not my first morning class), I clearly participated a lot and I got an A- on the first essay. When she gave that essay back she told me  I had the highest grade in the class and that it was the best written one (duh). A few days before the last essay was due she told me I was guaranteed an A in the class and that as a result of my good work and for helping her out with the movies I didn't have to do the final essay. Okay. So from the professor's own mouth I was told that I was guaranteed an A (not an A-).

Flash forward to my grades being posted online, and I do NOT have an A in her class, but an A-. Had I known that she was doing so I would have done the last essay. I don't know if in her mind an A and A- are the same thing.... and normally I am completely satisfied with an A-, but the fact that she guaranteed and promised me an A makes the A- sting more than The Police. I'm not as upset about the C+ because that teacher is legitimately a moron. That class, Research Methods, is one of two required courses. For most majors you have a choice of Statistics or Research Methods, and being as I hate math I decided to give research a whirl (for some majors you actually need both classes, but that's unimportant). First day of class, the teacher (and I will always refer to her as a teacher, as she is not worthy of the title "professor"), walks in 10 minutes late - a pattern she followed throughout the entire semester - and the first thing she tells us in her pubescent boyish voice with her thick Turkish accent is "most people find this class very boring and the material is very dry." I almost walked out right then. How the Hell are we supposed to take a class seriously if on the first day the instructor tells us it sucks? It's ridiculous they require a course like this... We spent the semester listening to her talk about bull crap that had nothing to do with anything. She did teach us what an independent variable was, but I learned that in 5th grade! I remember learning it! We never got a legit syllabus... We only got a sheet with her contact information and a little outline on the course. Nothing about tests, grades, and dates. The class before the midterm she announces for the first time that the next class we will have our midterm and it will be on everything we've learned so far! Everyone starts yelling, and saying things like "WTF?!" "This isn't fair," "What's it on?"... and meanwhile I'm sitting in my regular seat in the back corner of the classroom and simply raise my hand... When she calls on me I ask everyone to quiet down and I ask her,

"Professor, how do you expect us to react when you come into class 10 minutes late and announce that the next class will be our midterm? How do you even expect us to take it seriously when on the first day of class you told us the material is very dry and most people hate the class? And better yet, how do you come in the day before a test and tell us we're having a test on everything we've learned so far when you legitimately have not taught us anything? It's easy for you to say that as the one giving the grades, but we are the ones getting graded! We are the ones whose grades are affected by your lack of good teaching. So can you please teach us something so we can actually be graded on something?"

At this point some of the kids started jokingly clapping and cheering, but I was like, "No, stop... I'm serious, I'm not trying to start a problem, I'm trying to help us out." Anyway, the teacher spent the rest of the class going through what was on the midterm. None of what she taught was on the midterm. And no, what I said was not mean. Some people need to hear it. I think the fact that someone like her is even allowed to teach in a college is ridiculous, and I'm not afraid to let them hear it. I'm not afraid to start controversy, and I do it while being respectful, if the situation calls for it. That's why I'm not mad about the C+ because I think it reflects heavily on her... If I get straight As and one C+, that says something in my opinion...
The best part of this story? At the end of the semester it is legally required for all professors to give out instructor evaluation sheets... The grading system where you answer questions pertaining to every professor and give them a number grade from 1 - 5. I would have given her all zeroes had she given it out to our class. I told her on the last day of class. I said "Professor, listen. It is no secret that I am no fan of your teaching style because I have taken absolutely nothing from this class and I think you have taught us nothing, but that is my problem. As a student I have the legal right to offer my opinions, but you have not given us the evaluation forms which you are legally obligated to give out to every class and THAT is not fair. I am entitled to evaluate your teaching method or lack thereof." Her response? Once again, in her thickly-accented English "I sorry! I check my mailbox every day but I never got it! I know I have to give but there was nothing." That is almost word-for-word what she said. I almost laughed in her face. I said "That is not an excuse. I think you're scared of how we will evaluate you so you 'forgot' to give us the evaluations. And I don't think any student should ever have to go through this class again if you are the one teaching it, because I think your teaching methods are detrimental to our collegiate learning." That was the last thing I said to her, as I turned around and walked out. At the start of next semester I am going to bring this situation to the ears of the upper-ups. And I do know enough people of some power in the school well enough to actually do something about it. I think it's ridiculous she ever got her PhD. I'm not even sure if she has it... And like I said, I don't care about my grade. That's done with. I still got a 3.6 GPA for the term despite the C+... I just don't think other people should have to suffer through her excuse of a class because she's an idiot, and I can probably do something about it.