regarding inept professors
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I swear on my life that today my programming professor insisted that this was legal in any language with it's roots in C like syntax
The context was telling her what the value of x would be when this runs. I told her nothing cause it would not compile and then told her a break can only be used in some form of loop. This includes "do while" "while" "for" and "switch-case" as switch/case blocks are compiled to assembly as specialized while loops. As there is no loop involved in her code it would give a compiler error.
She told me the break statement jumps out of the current block of code no matter what kind it is. I got into an argument with her and she told me to leave her class room and don't come back. My friends in that class ( the only other 2 in there that are bored out of their wits with this BULLSHIT class, showed her that it would not compile and that I was in fact right. I am reporting her to the head of the department for not knowing what she is teaching.(this is the third time something like this has come up, but only the first time I've called her on it)
My question to you, all of you, is simply have you ever been more adept then your college professor (should you have had one) at what they are teaching.
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The context was telling her what the value of x would be when this runs. I told her nothing cause it would not compile and then told her a break can only be used in some form of loop. This includes "do while" "while" "for" and "switch-case" as switch/case blocks are compiled to assembly as specialized while loops. As there is no loop involved in her code it would give a compiler error.
She told me the break statement jumps out of the current block of code no matter what kind it is. I got into an argument with her and she told me to leave her class room and don't come back. My friends in that class ( the only other 2 in there that are bored out of their wits with this BULLSHIT class, showed her that it would not compile and that I was in fact right. I am reporting her to the head of the department for not knowing what she is teaching.(this is the third time something like this has come up, but only the first time I've called her on it)
My question to you, all of you, is simply have you ever been more adept then your college professor (should you have had one) at what they are teaching.
Nope all of mine are really good programmers. Sometimes I think a lecturer gets stuck teaching a module they don't know as much about as some other lecturers, but overall they're still all far better than I am. What you just described is ridiculous, she shouldn't be employed there.
I - unfortunately - know exactly what you are talking about (despite the fact that I do not follow a programming course). I have had the same kind of quarrels with my computer science (which, as a subject, is laughable at our school, imho) teacher for quite a few times.
I was also amazed how he did not seem to be able to do some VERY BASIC Visual Basic programming (mind the obvious pun). He even gave me a 10 out of 10 for a program I made that was - basically (pun, pun, pun, pun) - a guess-my-number program with a GUI, multiplayer, computer opponent, high-score table and difficulty settings. The complete program came down to less than 25 lines of code, this seemed to amaze him. (The code itself was still bloated and ugly as hell, but he didn't even seem to notice.)
Being amazed about his epic failing seemed to go away quickly, leaving me stunned at him "teaching" HTML...
I was also amazed how he did not seem to be able to do some VERY BASIC Visual Basic programming (mind the obvious pun). He even gave me a 10 out of 10 for a program I made that was - basically (pun, pun, pun, pun) - a guess-my-number program with a GUI, multiplayer, computer opponent, high-score table and difficulty settings. The complete program came down to less than 25 lines of code, this seemed to amaze him. (The code itself was still bloated and ugly as hell, but he didn't even seem to notice.)
Being amazed about his epic failing seemed to go away quickly, leaving me stunned at him "teaching" HTML...
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^I heard from my friend that one of the teachers at my college sucked horribly. He was teaching a UNIX/C course, and apparently he didn't know how a makefile worked, or anything about structs/pointers...According to my friend, he just had students who knew the stuff come up and teach. Seriously?
closed account (3hM2Nwbp)
In my case it depends on what era you're talking about. My old C++ instructor is a wizard in the "old (mostly now deprecated) ways" if you know what I mean. I guess that I would consider myself more "modernly adept". Still, he could write me under the table with C device driver code any time any place.
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MY BACKGROUND: I started studying C++ when I was about 12, but I didn't know what I was doing until I was 16 and got put on my meds. By the time I hit the college I got my degree from I was 19, had not only been programming but building everything from radios to robots in my spare time and for a while even had an apprenticeship lined up for the IBEW through the shop I worked at where we built and serviced not only retail but also commercial PC's.
STORY: So I went to this private college for a degree in "Electronic Engineering" (They ended up losing some accreditation and I was left with an AOS, but that's another rant), I knew the first semester would be easy and remember even having to promise one of my proffesors that I would not be a distraction in his class or call him out on mistakes in an "Inappropriate Way", I liked the guy so this wasn't a problem. Other teachers I had an issue with though and fought with constantly the whole time I was there.
One of the teachers I got along with and even knew outside of class showed me at one point that in big red letters one of my teachers had written "KNOW IT ALL PAIN IN THE A**" under comments on my record. He covered up who it was and I understood why, if I persued it then HE would end up getting into trouble for showing me, but I was so proud at that moment that I bought the class, about 15 people at the time, diner at a place down the road to celebrate. Best $120 I ever spent on tacos.
STORY: So I went to this private college for a degree in "Electronic Engineering" (They ended up losing some accreditation and I was left with an AOS, but that's another rant), I knew the first semester would be easy and remember even having to promise one of my proffesors that I would not be a distraction in his class or call him out on mistakes in an "Inappropriate Way", I liked the guy so this wasn't a problem. Other teachers I had an issue with though and fought with constantly the whole time I was there.
One of the teachers I got along with and even knew outside of class showed me at one point that in big red letters one of my teachers had written "KNOW IT ALL PAIN IN THE A**" under comments on my record. He covered up who it was and I understood why, if I persued it then HE would end up getting into trouble for showing me, but I was so proud at that moment that I bought the class, about 15 people at the time, diner at a place down the road to celebrate. Best $120 I ever spent on tacos.
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That last sentence made me lol, no joke.
Edit: Confession. I've been telling everyone who asks how long i've been programming that I've been doing it for 10 years (since I was 8) and they believe it, maybe not at first, but when I demonstrate my knowledge with an accomplishment of some kind ( My scripting language, my game engine, my VERY simple OS, etc) they do then.
In all honesty? I started programming in basic in 2008, and then moved onto c++ and taugh my self that in about a year. I joined this forum to get a better understanding of the language. And as of right now, approximately 3 years later, I'm proficient in more then 6 programming languages, and can pick up new ones in about a week tops. I have a strong understanding of computational theories and it's getting stronger every day.
Obsession is the only reason I have the amount of skill I do now as a Computer Scientist. Not years of experience, and to this day I don't know why I lie about it.
Edit 2: also I'm well aware I have much more to learn.
Edit: Confession. I've been telling everyone who asks how long i've been programming that I've been doing it for 10 years (since I was 8) and they believe it, maybe not at first, but when I demonstrate my knowledge with an accomplishment of some kind ( My scripting language, my game engine, my VERY simple OS, etc) they do then.
In all honesty? I started programming in basic in 2008, and then moved onto c++ and taugh my self that in about a year. I joined this forum to get a better understanding of the language. And as of right now, approximately 3 years later, I'm proficient in more then 6 programming languages, and can pick up new ones in about a week tops. I have a strong understanding of computational theories and it's getting stronger every day.
Obsession is the only reason I have the amount of skill I do now as a Computer Scientist. Not years of experience, and to this day I don't know why I lie about it.
Edit 2: also I'm well aware I have much more to learn.
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This is one of the things that worries me about university. I've decided that if something like this happens, I'll report them to someone. No-one's putting me in £12,000 (nearly $20,000) (tuition fees) of debt for nothing.
closed account (1yR4jE8b)
ITT: whiners who think teachers are responsible for teaching them everything at University.
Did you even read the thread darkest? I complained that she's been wrong multiple times.
@ chrisname: You want to hear something to really worry about? One of the teachers I had for English, required for a degree in my state, was a real piece of "work", he'd say stuff like "You pay X number of dollars to attend this class so when you aren't here you are throwing away..." blah blah blah everyday and half ass his way through the leason plan that was given to him. One day when we get into class some guy was standing there talking to the teacher just back and forth small talk. It gets to be about two minutes after class is supposed to start I say something like "Why don't you and your boyfriend there go get a room? You know we pay X number of dollars to attend this class..." to make fun of him, and the crap he always says. So his friend leaves without a word, the class has a laugh and the day drags on like it usually does after that.
Next day I'm at school I get called down to the "Principals Office" I make a quick joke about it before leaving class, people laugh and I go down there; at this point I'm not worried about anything. I get there and find out that they are investigating a possible HATE CRIME because of what I said to that useless excuse for a teacher. Evidently in the good old US of A calling a straight man gay is funny, calling a gay man gay is a Hate Crime; this is at least how it was explained to me (I honestly didn't know or care which one he was, it seemed funny and he was always the butt of the joke in that class).
In the end the charges were rightfully dropped, but I ended up failing the class and three weeks of meetings and me yelling at people wouldn't change that. I guess the thing I learned from that is to never leave issues like this alone, if a teacher seems like a problem, then they are, deal with them then and there.
EDIT: By "deal with them" I mean to drop or switch the class.
Next day I'm at school I get called down to the "Principals Office" I make a quick joke about it before leaving class, people laugh and I go down there; at this point I'm not worried about anything. I get there and find out that they are investigating a possible HATE CRIME because of what I said to that useless excuse for a teacher. Evidently in the good old US of A calling a straight man gay is funny, calling a gay man gay is a Hate Crime; this is at least how it was explained to me (I honestly didn't know or care which one he was, it seemed funny and he was always the butt of the joke in that class).
In the end the charges were rightfully dropped, but I ended up failing the class and three weeks of meetings and me yelling at people wouldn't change that. I guess the thing I learned from that is to never leave issues like this alone, if a teacher seems like a problem, then they are, deal with them then and there.
EDIT: By "deal with them" I mean to drop or switch the class.
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closed account (1yR4jE8b)
And? Who cares? If you know it's wrong, tell all your friends that you study with what the correct thing is and move on with your life.
@darkestfright,
Teachers are responsible for knowing their subject to at least the extent to which you're supposed to understand it. I understand that you're supposed to do your own studying. That's fine. But the teacher should know the course they're teaching in-and-out.
What?! No. If your teacher is wrong once or twice in some minor way, you ignore it or maybe correct them. If they're wrong time and time again in a significant way like in the OP, they clearly don't have a clue what they're talking about and should not be teaching.
@Computergeek01,
That's ridiculous. Hate crime? Wow. The teacher was in the wrong and you were joking around, that's a completely unfair situation.
Teachers are responsible for knowing their subject to at least the extent to which you're supposed to understand it. I understand that you're supposed to do your own studying. That's fine. But the teacher should know the course they're teaching in-and-out.
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| And? Who cares? If you know it's wrong, tell all your friends that you study with what the correct thing is and move on with your life. |
What?! No. If your teacher is wrong once or twice in some minor way, you ignore it or maybe correct them. If they're wrong time and time again in a significant way like in the OP, they clearly don't have a clue what they're talking about and should not be teaching.
@Computergeek01,
That's ridiculous. Hate crime? Wow. The teacher was in the wrong and you were joking around, that's a completely unfair situation.
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closed account (1yR4jE8b)
@chrisname
I agree with you. But in the real world, that just can't happen 100% of the time. This is 'humanity' after all, and things to slip through the cracks from time to time. But the fact that he caused a scene in class to the point where the prof asked him to leave speaks volumes about his 'holier than thou' attitude. Why couldn't he just leave it alone and move on with his life, it's not THAT big of a deal...
I agree with you. But in the real world, that just can't happen 100% of the time. This is 'humanity' after all, and things to slip through the cracks from time to time. But the fact that he caused a scene in class to the point where the prof asked him to leave speaks volumes about his 'holier than thou' attitude. Why couldn't he just leave it alone and move on with his life, it's not THAT big of a deal...
@ darkestfright: Then what do you do when that teacher issues a test? What if they're the one of the possible ten or so teachers correcting the exam? Do you take a chance and write down what you know to be correct, because you can prove and give referances for your work? Or do you write what they told you because "they said so"?
The point is that none of us are 6 years old anymore, as teachers THEY work for US, so if you're going to tell us anything then it had better be correct. After all would you keep a consultant who constantly gave you bad advice? Would you keep an employee who couldn't perform their job, just because they are who you ended up with? "It's right because I said so, even though it won't compile I'm still right" doesn't cut it if even my tax dollars are going toward your check. If I have to pay more on top of that then they had better know their stuff or GTFO.
Teaching IMO is the most self destructive job you could ever have, if you were on a roof for ten years you wouldn't look as physically beaten as if you were a teacher for eight. But this is no excuse for not being able to do your job.
The point is that none of us are 6 years old anymore, as teachers THEY work for US, so if you're going to tell us anything then it had better be correct. After all would you keep a consultant who constantly gave you bad advice? Would you keep an employee who couldn't perform their job, just because they are who you ended up with? "It's right because I said so, even though it won't compile I'm still right" doesn't cut it if even my tax dollars are going toward your check. If I have to pay more on top of that then they had better know their stuff or GTFO.
Teaching IMO is the most self destructive job you could ever have, if you were on a roof for ten years you wouldn't look as physically beaten as if you were a teacher for eight. But this is no excuse for not being able to do your job.
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closed account (1yR4jE8b)
If he was mature about the whole thing and just showed them an example instead of arguing like a child there wouldn't be an issue about 'taking a chance on a test' would there?
We're arguing two sides of the same coin here...I agree, that the prof was wrong, and that should be inexcusable. But he had no right to cause a scene in class. We aren't 6 years old afterall...
Besides, a University professor has a PhD, and in many cases tenure. The head of the department isn't going to give two craps about some snot nosed punk whining about their teacher. He's going to tell him the same thing that I have: "Get over yourself and move on with your life". I've been through University, I've done my Masters, I've seen this happen before, it's very common..and nobody gives a crap.
We're arguing two sides of the same coin here...I agree, that the prof was wrong, and that should be inexcusable. But he had no right to cause a scene in class. We aren't 6 years old afterall...
Besides, a University professor has a PhD, and in many cases tenure. The head of the department isn't going to give two craps about some snot nosed punk whining about their teacher. He's going to tell him the same thing that I have: "Get over yourself and move on with your life". I've been through University, I've done my Masters, I've seen this happen before, it's very common..and nobody gives a crap.
closed account (3hM2Nwbp)
I think the difference in this case lies between a momentary slip-up and adamantly defending an incorrect point.
Ok darkestfright, I can see where you're coming from. After being in the working world for even a few years it's hard for me to remember where I actually stood in a classroom setting. Thinking back, I wonder if I even could go back to school with the chip on my shoulder I have now.
See, she doesnt have her PHd. she has her Masters. My Uni Sucks, and I know it, but it's all I can afford. as for being a snot nosed punk in the eyes of the Head. Well he vouched for me to take this class as well as the next class and the one after it concurrently Even though I'm a first student. Why? Because I've proven my worth as a student and shown him what I'm capable of. kinda helps that my admissions essay to the department of CS included original sources by me that implement concepts that wouldn't be touched until the 3rd, maybe 4th year of education on this degree program.
OH and one more thing. I didn't give the full story for brevity.
She has a very poor grasp of the native language where I live and where she teaches.
She's been wrong on basic concepts and denied fault many times.
and when some one poses a question she can't answer she takes the "santa clause is you're parents" approach (search xkcd to see what i mean).
I did a little research my self and the only reason she GOT the job was because the old department chair was her brother.
edit: now whether or not it will get investigated (as the department chair said it would) I don't know, nor do I care anymore. I am a freshman at uni and my words don't hold sway. I'm aware of this. But if you jumped through as many hoops as I had just to go to a 3rd rate University only to find out your money is being wasted on this class, wouldn't you want to try take action too?
OH and one more thing. I didn't give the full story for brevity.
She has a very poor grasp of the native language where I live and where she teaches.
She's been wrong on basic concepts and denied fault many times.
and when some one poses a question she can't answer she takes the "santa clause is you're parents" approach (search xkcd to see what i mean).
I did a little research my self and the only reason she GOT the job was because the old department chair was her brother.
edit: now whether or not it will get investigated (as the department chair said it would) I don't know, nor do I care anymore. I am a freshman at uni and my words don't hold sway. I'm aware of this. But if you jumped through as many hoops as I had just to go to a 3rd rate University only to find out your money is being wasted on this class, wouldn't you want to try take action too?
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| "santa clause is you're parents" |
with a simple comma,
"santa clause is, you're parents!"
But that is really crappy- I wonder if she got the job over someone more qualified?
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