February 19, 2003

Test Battery 1

The Cynic Will Exact Vengeance Upon: Profs Who Test and Don't Teach

Here we go again... another lovely block of tests for the student body. The same thing as every semester: there's a nice two-week block every month or so where EVERYONE wants to give a test. At least this year I don't have 4 or 5 professors that want to give tests on the same day. Instead I had two Hummel tests last week (wouldn't have been too bad if I hadn't lummoxed things on my own) and then a happy lineup of I&M on Tuesday, Eng. Graphics on Wednesday, Computer Architecture on Thursday, and Circuits 2 on Friday. Sounds like fun to you? Me too...

The best part about taking 18 hours is that you're sure to have at least one professor that doesn't teach much of anything that you're tested over. I&M is a joke and a waste of my time, and anyone who's had Dr. Anazia knows exactly how much I'm getting out of those lectures. As if it wasn't bad enough that he wastes my time every week, the test covered stuff that I'd never seen in a lecture and had a hard time finding at all in the book. Our special blue book of death where if you don't need it, you'll have 3 or 4 pages devoted to solving the equations related to it and if you need to know it, there will be vague references with no equations at all. And while we're on the subject of Anazia (who I pray won't be coming back, as per the rumors) let's not forget the fact that the man is prone to errors in his grading and making of tests. And that wouldn't be so bad, we're all human and I CERTAINLY don't make 100's or even A's on every test... but he won't ever admit he's wrong. We spent 5 minutes in a lab arguing with him that a piece of equipment was broken and that we couldn't get the results he wanted with it... but the man wouldn't budge. He kept trying to explain how to use the piece of equipment, arrogantly assuming that we were just morons and hadn't read... of course, the equipment that he'd tested could never have broken. If you really want to test reading, that's fine. I just want some written expectations and a bit of review in class as to what's going to be tested over. Is it honestly that hard to just communicate with your students, dammit? We're paying for this nonsense.

Anyways... back on track. The fact of the matter is that if you're going to test something, you need to at least pretend to teach it. If you're going to make us show up for this shit, remember... we're paying your salary, and we're paying you to teach us. It does me absolutely no good to sit in a class and learn nothing and be tested over stuff that I wasn't taught. NO GOOD AT ALL!!!! This means you, Dr. King and your Computer Architecture test that's over the reading and over almost none of the 3 hours a week for the past month that you've been wasting my time at 8 AM in the morning. Am I paying $12k a year for this? You've got to be kidding me.

And if they bring Anazia back... there's going to be HELL to pay somewhere!

Posted by Vengeful Cynic at February 19, 2003 07:13 AM