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

[swagmonkey.livejournal.com]

I think it's a little unfair to attach any sort of rating, even an average, to "Williams professors". I've had some mediocre and unexciting teachers at Williams, but I've also had some fabulous ones. If you were talking about a particular person, it would hold more meaning for me.

[kimberkit.livejournal.com]

*annoyed* Read more carefully. I said MY Williams professors. MY education. You, having had access to more information, and it being a different time, probably had a whole different experience. There is a whole generational gap between my time and yours, even though it was just a few years -- the sciences were beefed up with the new buildings, different people got tenure, and Facebook was invented. Cluster housing was enforced.

The next time you feel the urge to "helpfully" point out someone's perceived shortcomings (1) Check to make sure the person means what you think they mean. Rereading helps. (2) Consider: does the person know you well enough that they are likely to change some little thing for you? Because if not, you are probably wasting your breath and coming across like a socially clueless troll (3) Pause to think: Am I actually being helpful? Can I live without having said what I think I need to say? (4) If you've done all that and can't contain yourself, be rude privately, over email.