Too much edumacation

[kimberkit]

The final exam was brutal, and I have never ever had to take a test that made me think so much, but physics is over. I am dwelling on my mistakes, as usual, but I think that I locked down enough of my grade beforehand that if I didn't fuck up too badly, I'll still have worked hard enough that I may get an A anyway. I hope I never have to take another class that is so non-intuitive for me, and I certainly will never be good at physics, but the side of me that is interested in grades while applying for school for next year feels okay.

--

In other news, I looked up "John Dibartolo" (Polytechnic/NYU) on ratemyprofessors.com and he scored a 4.1 out of 5 in overall quality, which is a grade I'd probably say is on the low side -- this semester, he put in twice as much work as he had to, when the TA turned out to be useless. He did all the grading for homework twice a week, plus taking all the questions that should have gone to her, and he held an extra review session that I'm sure he wasn't being paid for.

... Then I looked up some of my Williams professors. They earned an average rating of 3 out of five. I paused to consider that, and realized that that rating is probably fair -- they did far less work than this one underpaid physics professor (a subject I don't even like) did this summer, and they were less good about office hours than he was.

Oy. I feel cheated out of my $200,000 education.

ETA: Yes, yes, I know that Williams also furnished me with some amazingly smart friends and my brilliant, wonderful husband (and that if I'd been a different person, it also would have been some networking for X job). It provided me with fun and time to grow up a lot. But it is a wee bit depressing to realize an NYU guy is just flat out better than most of the professors I took classes with, making the education part of my education a little less shiny.

Comments

(frozen)

[g-me.livejournal.com]

Williams may care slightly more about their professors research records, even though they're a teaching college, than NYU does for summer professor. So your physics guy may be a great teacher (good for you) but a less good researcher (bad for a place like Williams). If you think about the people who get denied tenure at williams, it's because of their research - there are always a million student petitions about how great a teacher they were. Now, don't get me wrong, Williams hires great teachers - way better than places like Harvard, etc., for undergrads. But still maybe not always the best best teachers.

Just a thought.

Could also just be luck of the draw.

(frozen)

[kimberkit.livejournal.com]

That is an interesting thought -- I never considered the research angle on it before, somehow. When I think about it more, it really is kind of amazing what we demand of these professors -- not only do they have to be brilliant researchers who make strides in improving the whole field, but they also have to be good teachers in addition, and it's very few people who can pull off both of those skills at once. It is actually quite amazing we get even good teachers, rather than brilliant researchers who are plain awkward.

But it could also be luck of the draw, as you said, or a combination of times (there is more information on the internet and otherwise for people who were coming in after the class of '04, plus the "improvements" to the college itself after I left) and just me having gotten older. I am a better student now than I was at Williams -- I was intimidated often at Williams, and didn't speak up in class a lot. I did go to office hours, but I didn't always say a lot then, either, other than to ask my one question and then run away. I don't care about asking "stupid questions" now, and because professors are human, they notice the change in assertiveness and may treat an assertive student differently than they do a more deferential one.