Ignorant Instructors...

[Neos Dionysos]

Had to vent... kinda pissed...

 

Ok, so I have a Political Science class... it's topic being the effect modern weapons has had on current world politics, so like nukes etc. Of course to start us off he wishes to discuss military weaponry at the dawn of the gunpowder revolution... fine... ok... no problem. The instructor even tells us he starts there because he has NO clue about anything from the ancient world... he even called Roman legions... "Roman Leagues"... so... I'm cool with that... it's not his area... no problem, but I have issues and become frustrated and insulted when in his lectures he USES ancient warfare and weaponry in terms of comparison... while he can do this and should he uses no evidence or completely omits key items or facts that would negate his arguement.

 

Maybe I am being picky, but when an instructor fails to acknowldge that catabults, ballista's, trebuchets and siege towers even EXISTED... I tend to be frustrated and insulted...

 

So... has anyone ever come across a similar experience in a class regarding any topic or subject?

 

 

Also, for shits and giggles, in a small lecture class the most embarresing thing to do is to fall asleep and then proceed to snore VERY loudly to the point the professor has to stop and wait for the student to cease or wake up... easily the highlight of my day to see this and laugh my ass off.

[Lost_Warrior]

I have a similar problem with my vocabulary book...it tends to contain "practice sentences" that are ignorant and in some way offensive...

 

example: "superstitious Roman emporers would consult necromancers or other dabblers in the black arts." that was actually in my vocab book. Maybe not exactly (as I'm trying to remember it now at home without said book) but basically with the same meaning.

 

also this one: "all Americans abhor slavery in all it's forms." is a false statement and simply offensive to anyone who DOESN'T "abhor slavery in all it's forms" (provided they are american)

Edited January 17, 2006 by Lost_Warrior

[Ursus]

Hmmm. My main problem with my professors is that so many of them derided the socio-economic system that gave them their cushy, cloistered lives in the first place. Oh well.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Hmmm. My main problem with my professors is that so many of them derided the socio-economic system that gave them their cushy, cloistered lives in the first place. Oh well.

 

My sentiments exactly. Only I ALSO can't stand the non-academic world where professionals deride the intellectuals off of whose discoveries they're making a buck.

 

In my opinon the world would be much a better place if the love of profit and the free market were to be united with the love of learning and intellectual freedom.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Thing that gets me most about some professors is academic arrogance. I guess the need to be smart and get grant money to carry on sometimes develops too competitive a take on scholarship, when it should always be a cooperative effort.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Thing that gets me most about some professors is academic arrogance. I guess the need to be smart and get grant money to carry on sometimes develops too competitive a take on scholarship, when it should always be a cooperative effort.

 

I like the competition--keeps everyone sharp, learning, and is a helluva a lot better than the old Old Boys' Club that academia used to be. I hate that crap.

[Sextus Roscius]

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA! That would be my Social Studies teacher. He COMPLETELY fails to accept that people were incredibly smart 2000 years ago. He thinks warfare was barbaric and fails to recognize all the strategy behind it. He also HATES the idea of imperialism with a passion, being what I can only describe as a Ganhiaphile or a Satyagrahaist. He also uses things from the anceint world, but since nobody(besides me) has an idea of what he is refering to, it leaves them with acompletely wrong impression of Rome.

[Neos Dionysos]

Thing that gets me most about some professors is academic arrogance. I guess the need to be smart and get grant money to carry on sometimes develops too competitive a take on scholarship, when it should always be a cooperative effort.

 

I like the competition--keeps everyone sharp, learning, and is a helluva a lot better than the old Old Boys' Club that academia used to be. I hate that crap.

 

Not when someone is so deticated to an idea or theory that when evidence comes to light that completely negates thier work they deny it exisits or destroys it. A perfect example is the British Archeologist who discovered Minoain Linaer A and B...

 

He changed the order in which he found them in order to reinforce his own theory and life's belief rather than admit something is different and he is wrong. For years he was thought to be right... only when after his death they looked through his dig jounrals did they find his horror as he wrote that he found evidence that destroyed his thoery.

 

Though perhaps this is the 'Old Boy's Club' you speak of?

[M. Porcius Cato]

I like the competition--keeps everyone sharp, learning, and is a helluva a lot better than the old Old Boys' Club that academia used to be. I hate that crap.

Not when someone is so deticated to an idea or theory that when evidence comes to light that completely negates thier work they deny it exisits or destroys it. A perfect example is the British Archeologist who discovered Minoain Linaer A and B... ...

Though perhaps this is the 'Old Boy's Club' you speak of?

Exactly--the problem in this case was not the competitiveness of the professor putting forward a lousy theory, but instead both his dishonesty and the old boys' club that turned a blind eye to that kind of behavior.

 

What's nice about a ferociously competitive system is that it engenders the opposite of Gresham's Law. That is, good ideas drive bad ones out of circulation.

[Favonius Cornelius]

I'm having a hard time understanding what your 'old boys club' refers to exactly? Do you mean established scholars loosing touch with true scientific approach?

[Tobias]

Hmm, well, once i had a person (whom i knew had very little proper knowledge on the subject) proceed to lecture me in great detail exactly how Julius Caesar conquered Asterix and the Gauls

[Ursus]

In my opinon the world would be much a better place if the love of profit and the free market were to be united with the love of learning and intellectual freedom.

 

 

Either that, or if they really want to enshrine the quasi-socialist ideals they encourage in others, they can agree to live on a much lower standing of living (i.e., no unecessary comforts). Then tuition could be reduced and more students could afford university. And maybe I could get a refund on the money I already shelled in.

[M. Porcius Cato]

I'm having a hard time understanding what your 'old boys club' refers to exactly? Do you mean established scholars losing touch with true scientific approach?

Among other things. Also, being lazy, forgiving the errors of their friends while sniping at the errors of others, being closed to outsiders, taking letters of reference from friends more seriously than objective test scores when evaluating students, and so on. All this is mostly a thing of the past (find the oldest and most pompous professor you can and ask him about the good old days sometime), but at bad universities it's still very much the norm.

 

In my opinon the world would be much a better place if the love of profit and the free market were to be united with the love of learning and intellectual freedom.

Either that, or if they really want to enshrine the quasi-socialist ideals they encourage in others, they can agree to live on a much lower standing of living (i.e., no unecessary comforts). Then tuition could be reduced and more students could afford university. And maybe I could get a refund on the money I already shelled in.

 

Horrors! As a capitalist, I'd prefer we *double* tutition and soak the market for everything it's worth. You've got to admire that Ursus, right?

[Ursus]

Only if you get what you pay for. These days American colleges seem to be more centers of socio-political indoctrination than education per se. I had quite a few worthless classes along these lines. I'd like a refund, please.

 

I've become fairly cynical about higher education. In my company if one has a college degree, one is considered management material and is promoted faster than those without a four year degree. But no one really cares where you went to school, what you studied, or what your grade point average is. I've gotten further on work ethic and personality.

 

My advice to the youngins on the thread: unless you plan to attend graduate school, don't take higher education incredibly seriously. In the real world, how one presents oneself to one's superiors matters more than one's academic credentials per se.

[Primus Pilus]

My advice to the youngins on the thread: unless you plan to attend graduate school, don't take higher education incredibly seriously. In the real world, how one presents oneself to one's superiors matters more than one's academic credentials per se.

 

I agree with the sentiment... but getting that piece of paper, no matter where you got it, or with what level of achievement (ie GPA and such) is sometimes a necessity to even get one in the door for an interview.

 

Interestingly as a related aside and not intended to be a social commentary but simply a truthful observation... My grandfather worked as an engineer for Briggs automotive then Chrysler for some 40 odd years, beginning in the fledgling days of the auto industry here in Detroit. He did so all without even a high school (secondary school) diploma. I would never have called my grandfather a scholarly type of person, but his skill and expertise in his field was exemplary. When WWII came, he was one of many automotive engineers who were 'enlisted' to design such military vehicles as the F-4U Corsair 'widowmaker' rather than serve in the combat ranks. Throughout his career he could compete, contribute and advance in the employment market place despite his noted lack of a 'school education'. In his time that sort of education beyond the practical experience simply would have been frivolous for him.

 

Today most 'white collar' careers are dependent upon one's education, and promotion within these fields is nigh impossible without competitive educational achievement. Had my grandfather been born today and followed the same educational path, he probably would've been standing in line at a soup kitchen. This would not be because he didn't have the same potential ability, but simply because he lacked the necessary competitive advantages to give himself a chance. This isn't right or wrong. It simply is the way it is. If one wants to be competitive today, they can't rely simply upon their natural abilities but must apply themselves to gain those advantages. Just an interesting evolution.