#2
30 January 2007 at 12:28 pm

I don�t know what I was thinking when I signed up for classes this quarter. It�s my last quarter; I�ve fulfilled all the requirements for G.E.s and for my major except for one. Yet, I still signed up for two English classes and a notoriously difficult history class. I took the English classes (environmental literature and women and representation) because I thought I would enjoy them. I chose the history class (American immigration) because I thought it would be interesting in light of the debates going on today. Ha, that�s all bullshit: I signed up for all these classes because they fit with my schedule and meant that I would be able to sleep in and spend as little time on campus as possible. Anyway, it�s kind of a blah last quarter of school.

My environmental English class is taught by one of my favorite professors, not because of what she has to say, but because of how she says it. She uses powerpoint slides, slyly tells us what to expect for the exam, puts notes online, and is amazing at inciting discussion for subjects that people may not necessarily be interested in. She doesn�t ask leading questions; she loves when students disagree with her; she won�t let the discussion slide off into a tangent about, like, table salt, thus resulting in falling behind in the lectures. However, I could give two shits about the subject matter (see picture below*).

My women and representation class is everything I hate about college. The teacher is an egomaniacal masterpiece. She assigned us presentations for each class period, and habitually interrupts the presentations to give her own thoughts on the subject. Yes, we know you know what you�re talking about; that�s why you�re a professor. How about letting us let you know we know what we talk about, since we�re the ones being judged here? During my presentation, I read a passage, started to talk about it, and she interrupted me and said, �Yes, I was going to talk about that passage, too,� and that was the end of me talking. She bogarted my presentation! It�s hard enough for me to say anything in class, but when I�m prepared and have some valid points to make? Fuck you, lady. For our first paper, I looked at the prompt after class and realized she had written the entire thing for us during her lecture. This might be a nice thing, if it weren�t for the fact that she wants us to regurgitate everything she just said to reaffirm her intelligence, and I happen to disagree with not only everything she said, but the fact that we�re even reading this shit. Oh, and for our paper? We�re not allowed to cite passages, it�s just supposed to be our own opinions. That�s great, except I can�t very well disagree with something if I can�t quote it since otherwise, I�m just talking out my ass without evidence.

The history of American immigration is kind of a middle ground. I like the teacher; I hate her teaching style. I like the subject matter; I hate the way it�s presented. She uses overheads (OVERHEADS WTF) to show pictures, but recites definitions that are going to be on the exam too quickly for anyone to write them down. Last class, at least five different people asked her to repeat definitions, three of which were for the same definition � �Could you repeat that please?� �Could you repeat just the first part?� �Could you repeat the last part?� Even if you�re going to use overheads (god), it is that hard to type up the pertinent definitions so we know exactly what to regurgitate on our exams? kthx.

Eight more weeks. Fourteen more days of classes. Three more midterms. Three more papers. One more final. Holy flying fuck, am I over it.


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About me
Hi. Morgan, 27, of Santa Barbara, CA. I am a hypocritical admirer of rhetoric (when it is my own) and an observer of literary trends. A secret: I don't take anything very seriously, and that includes myself.