|
canyoneer posted:I successfully escaped a toxic group once. Over the course of 2 weeks, the other 5 people in the group literally did nothing for this project. There were two big deliverables, including an experiment design halfway through. I did everything for the experiment design, sending emails over and over again asking the other idiots to do stuff (which they never did). I also escaped a toxic group, but it was bad for the opposite reason: the girl who had asserted herself as the leader of the group had completely misunderstood the actual requirements of the project and directed the other group members to complete all this work that didn't fit the assignment. We were supposed to do a big presentation about a different culture and I defaulted into a group with the nearest people to me. We picked Deaf culture. Well, I check in with them at the next class about what direction we're going, and whether I could do a portion on Deaf media and theatre. The girl gives me this condescending look and says, "Oh, well, we've already done most of the work, so I'm not even sure what you could do…" They all kind of exchanged glances like I was some clueless freeloader, but no one had even contacted me about what portion I was supposed to complete… I went and spoke to the professor about peacing out of the group because I didn't feel comfortable letting my grade ride on a project that I had basically no involvement in. She thought I was crazy to do this huge project on my own but honestly it wasn't that big of a deal and much simpler to just do it alone. It turned out that I was right to trust my instincts because their entire presentation was on the physiology of deafness and hearing loss (didn't mention the culture surrounding ASL or Deaf communities at all, which is  ) and the professor told them that she would need to meet with them separately because she couldn't even grade them on the rubric for the project. The ASL interpreter for the class actually got up and said a bit about her experience with Deaf culture because the presentation was so misguided. So that experience was pretty validating. It ended up biting me in the rear end though, because later on in grad school I waited too long to try and approach people to group up for our semester long project (thanks, social anxiety!) and by the time I did people had already divided up work. I though, "Oh well, I'll just do it solo!" and it ended up being one of the worst experiences of my life, haha. Pulled the most stressed-filled all nighter of my life, drank so much caffeine that I was hallucinating that someone had broken into my apartment and was behind me at all times, vomited from a panic attack, and then had to drive myself into town in the morning to complete the final for the same class! It was awful. Don't take on an entire semester's group project on your own and then wait until the last minute to do it! Ahh, life lessons.
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 06:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 21:38 |
|
|
Tomorrow I will submit my fifth weekly assignment for an online class that I need for my major; each assignment is roughly 3000 words and takes 2-3 days to complete. The teacher has not posted any grades yet or given any feedback whatsoever. I wrote a note to him suggesting he reconsider the work load for both our and his sakes. I have not heard back. E: Maybe I'm naive but my term research papers are usually shorter than each weekly assignment for this class. The teacher must be insane. Hummingbirds has a new favorite as of 18:06 on Feb 7, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 18:01
|
|
|
The last course I had with assignments that often had a one page limit on each- what class is this?
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 18:31
|
|
|
Kavak posted:The last course I had with assignments that often had a one page limit on each- what class is this? I've had several history and graduate classes that assigned at least one of these. The idea is to teach students to write concisely and effectively rather than vomiting words to fill page after page.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 18:44
|
|
|
Those "be concise" one-pagers were always so refreshing after "I want fourteen or more pages discussing the causes and effects of the Children's Television Act of 1990, with a standard font and one-inch margins. What is that, complaining? This is a 400-level course. Grow up." Though I did hate when the topic was excessively broad for the short ones. One page and one page only to discuss African-American stereotypes in broadcast media? Where do I even start? What do I include, and what do I leave out? Do you want observations? Opinions? Statistics? 
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 18:53
|
|
|
Kavak posted:The last course I had with assignments that often had a one page limit on each- what class is this? It's Environmental Law. All of the weekly assignments are to write a bunch of case briefs, so they aren't hard, just tedious and very very time-consuming (since I have to research each case to ultimately write 300 words about each one). The professor seemed to think we would be able to fit 5 briefs on each page but despite keeping things as concise as possible while still giving him what he asked for in the rubric, I'm averaging about 2-2.5 per page.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 19:05
|
|
|
The worst group project I ever had was for my kayaking class. We had to write a paper where we come up with a trip plan, and discuss all our gear and contingency plans, what could go wrong, how to deal with it, etc etc. The teacher spent a good 20 minutes explaining how much he takes referencing seriously and will happily fail anyone who doesn't do it right. I didn't know anyone in the class, but I asked two guys if they wanted to work together. We wrote our names down on a piece of paper to give to the teacher, then at the the end of class, they both left without exchanging contact info. We only have this class once a week and it was due in a day short of two. I was only going to see them once again before it was due, so I e-mailed my teacher asking for their e-mails. I decided to take on the leadership role, since they didn't even seem to care. Working with one guy was great, however, he responded quickly, worked on his section and referenced everything according to the rules. The other guy though. I sent him multiple e-mails, and got no response. I tried to talk to him in class but we were too busy on the water practicing Greenland Rolls. You can't really talk to someone when you're underwater for half the class. A day and a half before it was due, which was a Saturday night, he e-mails me finally and asks if it was due Monday at midnight. I said no, it was Monday at noon, and I'd like his work before the last second for formatting and editing. He responded that oh, he was out and couldn't send me anything. By Sunday at 8 pm I still hadn't gotten anything so I set to work to do his entire section by myself because I hate unfinished work. I finished at about 5 am. At 8 am, he sends me an e-mail with a couple of paragraphs copied and pasted from Wikipedia and Paddle Canada, with no sources or anything. The section I did for him was three pages. So I submitted without his name on it. I explained the situation to my teacher in an e-mail. He responds with "What about [fourth guy]?" Apparently Mr. Incompetent got a fourth person to join our group and didn't even tell anyone else except the teacher.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 20:41
|
|
|
Synonamess Botch posted:Just leave next time, who cares if she gets annoyed. If she says anything about it tell her that her class is over and you need to go to your next class. She doesn't have the power to make you stay, and what she's doing is pretty unprofessional. If you feel like it's really a problem see her in her office and bring it up to her. Some professors count leaving early as absences and start issuing penalties, like dropping grades in increments for every class missed, no matter what the excuse. There's a special place in Hell for these people. Disgusting Coward posted:Oh man I hate the big "in the REAL WORLD" speeches so loving much. It's always some motherfucker who's never left the Toy Town of academia, bloviating about how IN THE REAL WORLD your boss will poo poo in your mouth all day every day and your co-workers will tamp it in with their dicks. And usually it's to justify the sloppy-rear end unprofessional conduct of a perpetual high schooler who thinks that cause they occasionally have to write a paper and teach a class they are fuckin' HARDCORE so that's why it's cool that I lost all your papers/make you jump through some hoop or other/act like a oval office in response to a simple question. My roommate gave me the real world speech because I didn't want to take an 8am class with him, partly because I don't do well in early morning classes, and partly because I can't stand him. When he gave me the speech, I remembered that he's never had a job in his life, is the product of helicopter parents, and has horrific hygiene habits. Most people who try to scare you with the Real World are actually unhappy with their station in life, like that one SMBC comic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 22:32
|
|
|
The worst part about missing some required courses in college and having to take them at the end was that it meant returning to professors with really draconian attendance policies. I'd gotten so used to nice, small, easygoing upper lit classes that coming back to Algebra 102 or whatever and having to Show Up And Sign In every day with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds was torture.Forceholy posted:Most people who try to scare you with the Real World are actually unhappy with their station in life, like that one SMBC comic. Which comic?
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 22:49
|
|
|
Having been out of academia for 8 months and working a regular 40 hour a week job for 4, I can safely say that the "real world" is much less stressful than being in school. Professors that try to scare you about how tough the "real world" is are full of crap. Sorry you guys still have to deal with all the academia bullshit though; quitting grad school was probably the best decision I ever made, personally.
|
|
#
?
Feb 7, 2015 23:22
|
|
|
Got a physics midterm this wednesday. Prof and lab prof are smart guys but cannot teach for poo poo. Mainly trying to keep afloat with tutors and prayers to a higher power. Jesus. Satan. Robin Williams. Hell, I'll be devout if I pass this class. Illidan was right. I am so not prepared. Buh-bye nice gpa. Glasgow Kiss has a new favorite as of 00:06 on Feb 10, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 00:03
|
|
|
Apparently when the dumbfucks in my school's administration mailed out my diploma, they forgot to include the actual, you know, diploma.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2015 00:36
|
|
|
My school is having a scandal over Indian poo poo. We're a school with formerly good Native-American student support programs that then got booted off to no-funding land. When the Director of those programs flatly told the BIA that no, they should not give our program money because the school is trying to rid themselves of those programs as quick as possible, the school did the only thing that it knows how to do - fire a popular tenured professor  .The response has been pure schadenfreude: protests, sit-ins, hilarious 'negotiations' where the president shows up to basically patronize the Indian students. Only one more year! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 08:27
|
|
|
LMAO I can't get away with not doing homework over reading week (spring break) this year. Taking my laptop to Mexico! 
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 08:39
|
|
|
I can't ever remember a spring break where there wasn't stuff due the day we came back. Then again, it never was a bother because I've never gone on a spring break vacation because I'm poor.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 20:08
|
|
|
A White Guy posted:My school is having a scandal over Indian poo poo. We're a school with formerly good Native-American student support programs that then got booted off to no-funding land. When the Director of those programs flatly told the BIA that no, they should not give our program money because the school is trying to rid themselves of those programs as quick as possible, the school did the only thing that it knows how to do - fire a popular tenured professor Humboldt State? Crazy shot in the dark but we had the exact same thing happen here. I guess i'll throw some content in here: The beginning of the school year we had incredible internet in our dorms. It was easily the fastest internet I've had. Then we had the Great Outage of Fall Semester and since then the internet has been so so crappy and intermittent. The dorms are otherwise modern and nice, but internet and phone reception is staggeringly bad for a college. buglord has a new favorite as of 20:27 on Feb 12, 2015 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 20:22
|
|
|
The school I go to has a quote that amounts to "you can study literally anything at this university!" on the front page of its website The school no longer has a music major and is actively destroying its artsy departments. There isn't a voice professor anymore so you can't learn to sing properly nor can you go through the theater department with a focus on musical theater. The art professor roster was shrunk so there are fewer art fields you can study now. The school also got rid of its proper art gallery and its curator so getting a proper art education is now more difficult. But you know, you can learn anything here! It also has a monumentally stupid three word slogan that effectively means nothing that is being plastered all over basically everything. Enrollment has been declining steadily and the school responded by making student housing and meal plans more expensive, mandating that students live on campus for two years, and actively destroying entire departments.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 20:32
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:The school I go to has a quote that amounts to "you can study literally anything at this university!" on the front page of its website The school no longer has a music major and is actively destroying its artsy departments. There isn't a voice professor anymore so you can't learn to sing properly nor can you go through the theater department with a focus on musical theater. The art professor roster was shrunk so there are fewer art fields you can study now. The school also got rid of its proper art gallery and its curator so getting a proper art education is now more difficult. It is staggering how much this also describes my alma mater, down to the meaningless three-word slogan.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2015 21:44
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:The school I go to has a quote that amounts to "you can study literally anything at this university!" on the front page of its website The school no longer has a music major and is actively destroying its artsy departments. There isn't a voice professor anymore so you can't learn to sing properly nor can you go through the theater department with a focus on musical theater. The art professor roster was shrunk so there are fewer art fields you can study now. The school also got rid of its proper art gallery and its curator so getting a proper art education is now more difficult. As someone studying a conjoint BA/BMus (in classical voice) this makes me feel very sad. You can study literally anything at this university! (As long as it's STEM or business, you know, the subjects that really matter)
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 00:16
|
|
|
How my professor thinks it's ok to make us buy a $150 text book in order for us to read over 150 pages a week to take a 10 point quizz I will never know. The real kicker is that you can take the quiz twice and it gives you the correct answers and doesn't change anything the second time. What the Christ prof...
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 00:22
|
|
|
moosecow333 posted:How my professor thinks it's ok to make us buy a $150 text book in order for us to read over 150 pages a week to take a 10 point quizz I will never know. The real kicker is that you can take the quiz twice and it gives you the correct answers and doesn't change anything the second time. Well, hey, at least you've got $7 to look forward to when you sell it back at the end of the semester.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 03:42
|
|
|
GOTTA STAY FAI posted:Well, hey, at least you've got $7 to look forward to when you sell it back at the end of the semester. I actually misspoke, it was $150 to rent, so I wouldn't get poo poo at the end. I'm actually really lucky since I chickened out from buying the book at the absolute last second (The cashier had to go put it back for me, sorry bro) gently caress the textbook industry.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 09:06
|
|
|
moosecow333 posted:I actually misspoke, it was $150 to rent, so I wouldn't get poo poo at the end. I'm actually really lucky since I chickened out from buying the book at the absolute last second (The cashier had to go put it back for me, sorry bro) gently caress the textbook industry. Every semester after I pay off my tuition with Financial Aid, loans, and saved up cash I think to myself "wow I actually have a few hundred dollars left in the bank!" and then the semester starts and I have to buy three online passcodes for homework and suddenly there goes all the money I saved  edit: looking forward to my Accounting internship senior year where the firms barf out $15,000 or more for your four months of work.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 17:01
|
|
|
I spent like $550 on required textbooks last semester, and got almost $200 back at buy back. On of my professors straight up said that the text book was horrible and that he doesn't like using it. The entire class groaned at that. Also, one of my books ended up being used less than 10 times. I got a 4.0, but still, gently caress the textbook industry. Complaint: I got 24.17/25 points on an all essay question midterm with no feedback. I feel stupid for asking about why I only got a 96%.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 19:15
|
|
|
 (Answers a specific Philosophy question with "blah-blah")Philosophy Professor: "Everything you said is great, I totally agree with you on that. . . very insightful!" (Answers the exact same question on the final exam with "blah-blah")Philosophy Professor: "What the gently caress is this backwards poo poo? How could you ever come up with something so stupid?" loving electives! You're supposed to be an easy credit that allows me to have Thursdays off!
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 19:29
|
|
|
Ah man, I never thought I'd feel smug about only spending $139 on rented books this semester. loving American education.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 20:13
|
|
|
don't buy textbooks
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 20:49
|
|
|
Cake Attack posted:don't buy textbooks Sometimes there isn't a choice. I finally got to experience Pearson for the first time this semester. ... gently caress Pearson.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 20:50
|
|
|
are online access components that common at other people's universities? i only ever had them for a handful of my first year courses, and some covered multiple courses (webassign)
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 20:52
|
|
|
It depends, I've only needed one so far as a Comp Sci student, but my girlfriend, who is in accounting, needs several every semester.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 20:55
|
|
|
I've had like two over the course of my life- I don't know about other majors, but History seems to have lucked out of this poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 21:41
|
|
|
I haven't had that poo poo since sophomore year. I haven't bought or rented a textbook since sophomore year actually. Still though. gently caress masteringphysics
|
|
#
?
Feb 13, 2015 22:47
|
|
|
Kavak posted:I've had like two over the course of my life- I don't know about other majors, but History seems to have lucked out of this poo poo. Yeah. I'm a history major, and while I do usually have to buy quite a few books, they're almost always decently priced (as in some of them are the kind you can buy on Amazon for the price of shipping) and they're usually books that I'll keep because they're well-written and useful outside of just the course. Only exceptions are sourcebooks and anthologies which are stupidly expensive, especially in light of the fact that they're stuff you can find elsewhere in full for free. Edit: oh yeah, and I thankfully haven't ran into the shitstorm of paid online access.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 02:45
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:I finally got to experience Pearson for the first time this semester. Pearson has talked my state higher ed institution into piloting a program where they, Pearson, provide canned, for credit, automated classes to the colleges in the system.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 04:00
|
|
|
Just found out my 305 hour work experience is mandatory unpaid! We're not allowed to take paid positions, but they can pay us afterwards if they liked how we did! They probably won't though! I'm one of 100 people in a brand new bachelor's degree that we switched into a year ago. They let us know this new rule now. Anyone who stayed in the old applied degree can totally take a paid position though. Funny how they left this little detail out when trying to woo us over.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 04:17
|
|
|
Lamech posted:Pearson has talked my state higher ed institution into piloting a program where they, Pearson, provide canned, for credit, automated classes to the colleges in the system. I'm morbidly curious how this works. Is it like mastering*subject here* on steroids, or.....?
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 04:34
|
|
|
The worst part about being an English major was having all the novels at the end of the semester and being unable to sell them back because "Oh we're not taking that next semester". I think I sold back two out of the dozens of books I had.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 04:38
|
|
|
Astrofig posted:I'm morbidly curious how this works. Is it like mastering*subject here* on steroids, or.....? Hey, University, why are you paying x millions of dollars for these flesh-ridden LIEbral professors to teach your <subject> 101 classes? We, Pearson, saviors of higher education can do exactly the same thing with out rooms, electricity, air conditioning, security, maintenance, health and benefit, cleaning crew, or upkeep costs, etc etc. Why don't you just out source your <subject> 101 classes to us? We'll handle it all for a less per student cost than you do currently. You can still claim these students for completion rates and such, heh, which will make the Regents happy, but you won't have to deal with all of those up-front costs. You'll end up saving money, and we can reach a wider audience on young Pearsoneers, or Voyagers in the Learn Process, as we like to call them! We'll pass your savings on to the student!
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 05:06
|
|
|
Picnic Princess posted:Just found out my 305 hour work experience is mandatory unpaid! We're not allowed to take paid positions, but they can pay us afterwards if they liked how we did! They probably won't though! You know that sound you're hearing? It's the sound of a recruiter, cackling madly somewhere while he shoves the dildo further up your slave behind.
|
|
#
?
Feb 14, 2015 21:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 21:38 |
|
|
dovetaile posted:The worst part about being an English major was having all the novels at the end of the semester and being unable to sell them back because "Oh we're not taking that next semester". I think I sold back two out of the dozens of books I had. Just today I went out to my local second-hand bookstore to get the Shakespeare plays I needed for an English paper this semester, since they don't care what edition we have as long as the text is complete. The most I spent on a book was  Not the same story though with the dumb music theory and aural workbooks that were compulsory to own for my music degree. $100 each, and they barely got used in class, or even have that many exercises set from them for homework. Thankfully, they were used for two years, and I'm planning on going into teaching so they'll stay useful later on. Same with all the plays and novels I'm collecting over the semesters - they ought to be helpful for teaching. Still, I have nothing but sympathy for people in maths and science constantly buying $100+ textbooks of very specific editions with little room to resell.
|
|
#
?
Feb 15, 2015 08:42
|
|