The Dream is Over

Well, here it is Thursday, a mere two days after classes started, and I dropped Chem II, which will put me a year behind in applying and everything else.
Here’s the story:
First of all, he says that he hasn’t completed his dissertation, so he’s just ABD, but since he’s closer to a PhD than anyone else in the room, we should feel confortable addressing him as Dr. White.
Then he tells us that he “can’t teach anyone chemistry. That would require my being able to transport information from my brain to yours.” I thought to myself, “Whoa! I’m in the presence of greatness. This man is actually chemistry embodied.”
He went on to explain that he incorporated the “Chinese” model of education. Here is what that entails: He gave us a group of problems, and told us to work them. No lecture. No nothing. Collectively as students, we were all stunned. An hour later, he gave us the answers. Then gave us another set of problems. An hour later, he gave us the answers. He didn’t work them, he just called them out.
With my dyscalculia, the pace is just to great to teach myself chemistry. So, now, I’m screwed for a year. What a great year this has turned out to be.

That guy is a major loser. I'm sure you got your money back and I'd report his a$$.

This is unbelievable!! Ash, I hope you have taken this up with someone at the school. This kind of stuff should not be allowed to continue. mad.gif mad.gif
Keep your chin up man!! I’ve already had to delay one year myself and now it looks as though I won’t be able to finish my bachelors degree in time either. I’ll be applying to schools that don’t require it first while continuing to work on the BBA. If I don’t get accepted, well then I’ll have enough time to finish and apply to more schools the next year.
It’s only time buddy and at our age you know that it won’t seem near as long as it does now. Just look at it as more time to spend with your kids.
Feel free to contact me if you’d like to chat.
Your friend,
Geoff

Ash,
I have seen and helped many people work past what seemed like absolutely hopeless situations. Yours is not one of them!

A little ancient history that happens to be a good motivational story:
My grandfather's parents died in a train wreck when he was 4 years old. The state put him in an orphanage until he turned 18. When he got out he lived on the streets and ran with some unsavory characters. Eventually, he found a job, had some lucid moments, and decided that he would try to go to college. He struggled every step of the way. With no family to help, he worked to pay his way through college and, after graduating at the top of his class, a Boston medical school. Upon departing this life he left behind a family of thousands(his patients) and his eight children (six of them physicians).

YOU CAN DO IT!
Bill

Ash, you have my sympathy! There is nothing more frustrating than a teacher who can’t, or won’t mad.gif teach. I hope you find a way around or through this dilemma.
Nothing sucks like having to put things off again…
Good luck finding a way around this jerk! ph34r.gif

What a jerk! I echo the hope you reported that guy. Don't give up!

That SOB needs to be reported to the school! Do not take this lying down - take ownership in your education! Is this the same school that caused you so much grief previously? Maybe it's time to check out the 4-year school in Magnolia?
Best of luck & success to you!! Keep up the dream…a journey, by definition, has ups, downs, bumps and rough spots – see this for what it is…just another hurdle; one of many to come. See the bar, jump the bar and move onto the next one.

Ash, holy crap. I echo others who encourage you to make sure that you get your money back and try to bust that guy for pulling such sh!t.
Your dream is not over.
Deferred, maybe - or maybe some later event will show you that this side-step was, in hindsight, a good move. Right now it looks awful but in the grand scheme of things, it may turn out to have little or no significance.
You took ownership of the problem in one way, by quickly concluding that this class would not help you. So do NOT give that guy credit for ending your dream. You'll find a workaround, I know it.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.
And by the way, Dave. This is at Magnolia. I'd been driving over there for it.
I'm listening to Black Sabbath and drinking beer. It'll all look (blurry) better in the morning.

Ash are you drinking the right beer?
Here is what I would have done:
Gone over to the board and started yelling instructions at the top of my lungs on how to do these problems, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT CORRECT! Then when he tries to interrupt tell him softly (you switch tones in order to throw him off) “sir, please do not interrupt I am trying to teach Chem2. You are not.” Then start screaming instructions again. After 40 secs or so. Put down the chalk and start walking off in a very disjointed fashion, ala the Python “Silly Walks” Skit. As you leave, started talking to him and asking for more spam.
Then go and withdraw and complain loudly to anyone who will not run from you when you enter a room.

I recommend talking to the dean of the dept. Last quarter, we had a TERRIBLE physics prof, and enough people complained that the dept actually replaced him by the end of the second week of classes. I couldn't believe it! It really can happen.
Good luck!
Shannon

My Biochem prof was fired because we all went en masse to the Dean until he finally relented. Although he couldn't let her go until her contract ended…July 1. At least no one else would suffer under her horrendous teaching.
She was terrible. And I have neer complained about a prof before in my life.

Ash,
Ditto what they said!
Get proactive, get a few student colleagues together and get over to either the chairperson’s or the dean’s office pronto/PDQ/ASAP/toute suite/chop chop/etc. (And if you’ve taped a lecture, your meeting with whoever the academic authority is an appropriate time to hit the replay button)! wink.gif
Bad teaching is not acceptable and a good prof is actively AND interactively teaching the the material…
You’ve probably read about my first physics prof elsewhere on the forums, so I’ll spare you now. Just know that imporvements can be made and you can come back to earn an A!
Take care!

Hmmm…well, ignore the Magnolia comment then. I was hoping the instructor quality would go up at SAU vs the last place you had to endure. I would most assuredly approach the Dept Chair with this & strongly encourage your classmates to do the same.
Regarding beer & Sabbath - I always considered them more of a hard, whiskey-drinking affair. However, I would caution you against too much of the hard stuff. Never did anything but get me into trouble…lots ‘O’ hard liquor made my testosterone levels spike and my mouth run incessantly – lead to a few “spirited” discussions I might add!
What ever the case, enjoy your buzz & do not let this schmuck undermine your confidence or deter you from your goals. Oh, and the most wonderful hang-over relief I know of…well, the second best… is a fistful of ibuprofen, several jugs of gatorade (or some similar sports drink) and a large, greasy breakfast.

Ash,
You have to report that guy. Surely you’re not the only one in the class who would like to see him gone.
Don’t give up the dream…so maybe you retire a year later. wink.gif
And I can attest to Dave’s hangover cure…it’s the same remedy I’ve used for years. Of course it was always a greasy lunch since I could never get out of bed early enough for breakfast.

Here's the latest in this long, sordid ordeal.
I got over to the registrar's office before the drop paperwork went through, so I canceled the drop. THEN, I found a tutor here, who, although couldn't help me this weekend due to a prior engagement, will begin tutoring me on Monday every night for as long as I can afford. At $20/hour, I may have to break out some plastic.
The downside is that I'm majorly behind, and the result may be that I end up with a C because I missed a ten-point quiz on Thursday. Not good. Perhaps the adcoms will think a C is great for a summer class (not likely, I know).
I'm spending this weekend studying my arse off, and I've figured out a few things on my own.
Wish me luck.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement.

Ash, it's great that you've got a tutor and are working things out, but don't skip the complaining. Do it now, while there's still a semester to salvage, and before grades are given out. Explain the prof is deviating wildly from the syllabus and all of the other stuff. Complaints have much more credibility early in the semester. Do BOTH: study AND complain!

QUOTE (Ash-O-Rama @ Jul 10 2003, 12:53 PM)
Well, here it is Thursday, a mere two days after classes started, and I dropped Chem II, which will put me a year behind in applying and everything else.
Here's the story:
First of all, he says that he hasn't completed his dissertation, so he's just ABD, but since he's closer to a PhD than anyone else in the room, we should feel confortable addressing him as Dr. White.
Then he tells us that he "can't teach anyone chemistry. That would require my being able to transport information from my brain to yours." I thought to myself, "Whoa! I'm in the presence of greatness. This man is actually chemistry embodied."
He went on to explain that he incorporated the "Chinese" model of education. Here is what that entails: He gave us a group of problems, and told us to work them. No lecture. No nothing. Collectively as students, we were all stunned. An hour later, he gave us the answers. Then gave us another set of problems. An hour later, he gave us the answers. He didn't work them, he just called them out.
With my dyscalculia, the pace is just to great to teach myself chemistry. So, now, I'm screwed for a year. What a great year this has turned out to be.

Ash,
Another thing I'd recommend is to pick up a copy of the 5th edition of a textbook titled "Chemistry" by a fellow named Zumdahl. It's one of the finest textbooks I've ever seen - for any subject. I was still working when I enrolled for General Chemistry I in the fall of 2002, and was missing about two weeks of class a month for the first two and a half months of the semester. The book was such a high quality piece of work that I had no problem teaching myself the material for which I missed the lectures just by reading it (including the problems).
I'm not sure which text your professor uses, but there should be a law demanding that Chem profs everywhere teach from this text - it's that good. You could probably teach yourself all the General Chem you needed for the MCAT out of it without ever taking a course.