Is Everything Always the Students Fault?

Student Lounge College Life
1

I have an Algebra professor who basically has the titular philosophy, everything is on the student, be distracted and you fail, pay attention and you pass. I fear however I am quickly becoming an anomaly to this, as I don’t really have a social life (I go to community college and commute to and fro, I don’t go out drinking or partying, my family lives 4000 miles away) but I still find myself staying up until 4am just trying to get the sheer amount of work we have done.

He keeps saying if we have any problems, come and talk to him, but lets just say he’s not the most… appealing guy you would want to talk to, huge chip on his shoulder and very judgmental. At the start of the semester he told everyone if you have kids don’t bother coming to class, since nothing can be a distraction and nothing is more important than school. I’m not sure he realizes not all of us get handouts from the government and some of us have to work if we want to stay there. Now I recently did some calculations and figured out I spend roughly 18 hours at work and 11 hours at school a week, the rest is mostly homework time but even then I find it to not be enough. I try to plan my week out, inputting dates and stuff on my calendar on my phone and work hours so not only I can see but my parents too,

I feel like the only way I can resolve this is talking to him, but I don’t think I can without going into a blind rage. He’s very much one of those passive aggressive types. For example when I expressed interest in re-taking a quiz, I asked if the quiz would be the same one we took in class, or if it would be a different one with similar problems. He responded “Well I guess you’ll just have to find out,” and laughed, to which I informed him I was going to need a straight answer, to which he told me it would be the latter. Another thing that also downright infuriated me was him, calling me out in the middle of a lecture, demanding to know what I was doing on my laptop. Now I know how I learn, by making connections to things, and in math this is the hardest to do since if the knowledge isn’t already there you are pretty much screwed, so I was getting up the powerpoint on the overhead projector on my laptop so I could see it better. I wouldn’t of minded if he pulled me aside after class or came up and talked to me to ask what I was doing as we did our work, but to call me out, by name, in the middle of a lecture?! Seriously?!

I am at a loss for what to do, I truly am, any suggestions would be appreciated, as it stands I have a 66% despite having not missed one assignment or class.

2

Having read some discussion forums for professors, I can give you some feedback on where the professor is coming from.

Professors have a certain amount of material they have to cover in a course. There is an expectation of what you should know coming out of a college algebra class. So they have lectures, and then test you on the material to show that you know it. It doesn’t matter if you “try hard” or you are enrolled in a class, you have to show mastery of the material.

The first way to succeed in a class is to attend the class. He has seen many students fail because they did not attend class. He has had them come at the end of the semester and ask “what can i do to pass” and he is thinking to himself "if you would come to class, read the chapters, do the homework, you would probably get a C’.
Yes it is true that many CC students have other things going on…but if you don’t have enough time to attend class then perhaps this is not the semester to take the class.

Re: the laptop. He has also seen kids physically in class and not paying attention. These students probably don’t do well. So in case you are surfing FB, he wants to make sure you are paying attention.He calls you out because for some kids, they need that peer pressure (like if everyone was seeing you on FB you might feel embarrassed).

So in other words, he has seen many many CC students and he knows are are effective strategies for learning and which aren’t. In general, attending classes and not being distracted by the internet are good strategies.

You, on the other hand, know your own personal motivations. You know you are attending and you know you are just using your PC to see better. But he doesn’t.

Re: Quizzes It is nice that he lets you retake them, because he is trying to let you master the material. This is good. As to what is on a quiz? Students always want to know exactly what is on a quiz.

This will be hard, but I really really would go to his office hours and talk to him. I know you think he is mean, but hopefully you can talk to him as a person and see how it goes.

Say something like "I feel like I have gotten off to a bad start with you in this class. I am attending every class, and the time I was using my computer was to be able to see the powerpoint better. I know you have seem many students that are not putting in effor, but I am studying and sometimes am up to 4am trying to do my homework. I see that i am having trouble with graphs…could we go over this problem so you can see if I am approaching it right?

also see if you can get a tutor for math or watch free videos on pre-calculus/college algebra on Khan Academy on the internet.

See this for more ideas
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1920853-college-is-a-step-up-from-hs-16-tips-on-doing-well-in-college.html

3

It is in a way . . . Everyone is always posturing themselves to be positioned in the role of a victim. The world is tired of this and it will usually get you no where. Recently, after auditioning at a state university I was told, “Go home and learn how to play.” A few days later I received the formal rejection letter. But I know I played well and I refuse to be a victim. It was my interpretation of the music the judge didn’t like, and he was just a jerk.

I then played the same audition material three days later for a prestigious, very exclusive private university and was awarded a $50K/yr music scholarship. This will yield an educational experience far, far above the what the state school would have provided.

Remember, use Rate My Professor when picking classes and . . .

Hang in there. Illegitimi non carborundum ----> “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”.

4

@BennyBop “But I know I played well and I refuse to be a victim. It was my interpretation of the music the judge didn’t like, and he was just a jerk”

I don’t see how this made you think you were not a victim. You decided the judge was a jerk instead of considering that it could’ve been your fault at all. Congrats on the scholarship, but you kinda had the same victim mentality you were condemning, even if you didn’t give up.

5

Algebra isn’t a niche subject. There are tons of websites where you can find help and explanations. If you don’t like going to see him, try those. Algebra is honestly a middle school subject for many students. The material is a step up from elementary school math, but not a huge step. Don’t blame your prof if you aren’t doing well.

6

There are college level algebra courses- number theory, etc. They are not easy!