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Rant on some teachers/professors

I find it ridiculous that some teachers and professors are so incredibly [i]bent[/i] on making you fail that they would put questions that have less to do with your understanding of the material and more to do with your ability to memorize random facts that have nothing to do with the core concepts in a class.

For example, one of my professors asked a question on a midterm exam that asked us to specify which choice was false. It displayed information about three companies we [i]briefly[/i] (and when I say briefly, I mean very briefly, maybe a 3 minute discussion at most). Things like "this company makes orange, apple, grape, and pineapple juice." and "this company made $xxx million in revenue this year."

The answer? The company made orange, apple, and pineapple, but not grape. This is a marketing class. Why the hell do I care about a specific company that no one has ever heard of, and why do I care about what they make? I want to learn about supply chain and how to determine prices, how to change promotion methods, etc.

And teachers who ask you to differentiate between unimaginably similar definitions.
Definition of "selective marketing" : marketing to a few distributors in the area.
Definition of "exclusive marketing" : marketing to one or a few distributors in the area.
These definition of exclusive marketing was taken out of both the book and the lecture slides. The definition of selective marketing was on neither the book nor the lecture slides, but mentioned in class. On the exam, the question asked which one was marketing to a "just a few distributors in the area." I chose exclusive marketing, because it's from both the lectures and the book. Yet the answer is selective marketing?

Some professors even take a concept that's so incredibly obvious, and give them a definition and term. Like example, in my other class, people who are able to age without minimal diseases and a healthy lifestyle are called "successful agers." Why even give this a specific definition? Why even make it a definition?

Absolutely ridiculous. Teachers and professors who act like this should really be re-evaluated. If they're trying to test us based on whether we can memorize the nitty gritty facts that won't help us whatsoever in the long run, then they shouldn't test us at all.

November 12, 2012

6 Comments • Newest first

fun2killu

@WorkOfArt: I've had professors do this before. Of course it was annoying, but I didn't take it personally. It made me pay attention to the little details.

but i do agree, having an excessive amount of useless questions is harmful.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited
Amuro

[quote=fun2killu]You never know when you will need to know that fact.

I believe anything the professor said or is in the book is fair game.[/quote]
I disagree. An evaluation's main goal should be to test your understanding on fundamental concepts. The key topics I'm learning in transportation right now, for example, are all relevant and applicable to the field. The professor assigns readings, and there's a lot of trivial information that he doesn't discuss at all in class, and that would never show up on an evaluation unless the professor was bent on trying to make us be unsuccessful. Higher education, to me, isn't about memorizing every little detail for the sake of covering all my bases for an exam - it's about acquiring a concise collection of knowledge that could prove beneficial later on in my specialized career.

One or two little trick questions is understandable if they want to control the average (I also disagree with the idea of fabricating bell curves, but whatever). Basing a significant portion of an evaluation on petty things isn't fine.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited
WorkOfArt

[quote=fun2killu]You never know when you will need to know that fact.

I believe anything the professor said or is in the book is fair game.[/quote]

Perhaps you've never experienced this before. Of course, I take notes on nearly every important aspect that the professor says, and my notes for an hour long class exceeds 3 typed pages. But when it comes to the point where we need to know specifics that do not teach you the material, it becomes ridiculous. We're not in class to get good grades. We come to college in order to receive a well-focused education that will help us with our futures and increase our understanding. I don't care what kinds of juice this company sells. Maybe someone in the class could use this information in the future, but I sure as hell can guarantee that most people won't even care.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited
fun2killu

You never know when you will need to know that fact.

I believe anything the professor said or is in the book is fair game.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited
Amuro

I just did a mid-term like this a week ago. Ideally, tenure in college should be based on research [i]and[/i] the ability to teach and evaluate reasonably.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited
gvjko

...I agree with what your saying.

Reply November 12, 2012 - edited