I’m the little nerd who “accidentally” sticks her foot a little too far into the aisle at the critical moment, tripping the instructor while appearing to be deeply and earnestly absorbed in his teachings on jesus horses.
Ok, some ground rules! Very important in this discussion of the biological and ecological sciences. . .
Absolutely no hatin’ on Jan Breughel!
Thank you,
Dr Capybara, art historian
Well, you couldn’t even catch a roadrunner, and i have never heard them described as great.
You’ve never seen the cartoon where he breaks down exactly why he wants to catch the roadrunner and what the various parts taste like?
I’ve had eccentric, egomaniacal professors in my time, but this… I am speechless.
Take this shit to the Dean and be done. I wouldn’t dial down one iota of that “snark”–it will serve as a blessed reality check to Professor Eden McNutty.
That said, I like Brueghel’s works…
The Bruegels are an interesting bunch: most were painters of various skill, and they all called themselves either The Younger or The Older–check out the Wikipedia links. (oh, ok-there were only 4 that did the younger/elder thingy. Still, makes a good story).
As a bio class, this might instruct you well on art history. 
Any update from yesterday’s class?
Well, in less than a year…
Eh…it wasn’t as bad, but it wasn’t good.
The highlights: We got a syllabus! Or rather, we got a packet (3 sheets) of paper with the words “Class Syllabus” on them. Also on them were a copy of the course description from the catalog and the Laboratory Safety Rules. What were noticeably NOT on them were any dates of quizzes or tests, information about grading (other than the grading scale - nothing about how many points each quiz or test was to be, nor how many of them) and no information about what topics are to be covered what days. Oh, also no name of instructor or contact information.
At least it gave us a few laughs at the Dopefest.
The lowlights: he’s constitutionally incapable of admitting when he makes a mistake, and he makes lots of them. The most egregious was probably when he said that one of the peculiar characteristics of water was its high specific heat, and that having a high specific heat means it has a high boiling point. 
I said I didn’t think that was quite right, and that while water might have both a high specific heat and a relatively high boiling point, the two didn’t mean the same thing - specific heat refers to how much energy it takes to change the temperature from any degree to one additional degree, and boiling point is the point at which, y’know, it boils and changes state. So he tells me I’m wrong, and then “re-explains” his point, but alters it so that in the end he’s saying what I just said, and then asks me if I understand it now. Um, yeah, I understand it just fine. I understood it when I explained it to you, dumbass! So frustrating.
But the Creationism stuff was fairly quiet, probably because we were mostly covering chemistry today. There were a couple of “designed” comments, and I jotted them down in my log just to be a bitch, but honestly they were back in the realm of possibly being metaphors.
I’m going to be out of class next week, so I won’t find out what he thought of my “essay” until the 16th.
Any way to tape him, and keep the tapes to be able to back you up should you need them? (Plus they’d give all your science loving friends laughing fits mixed in with shudders of horror.)
Is there an ombudsman or similar? Seriously, what recourse do you have? I can’t think of any nursing instructor/professor who would condone or approve of such teachings…
Hey! There’s no reason for personal attacks.
Still doesn’t smell like a syllabus to me. What is the school’s policy about what’s on a syllabus?
Oh, I agree, that’s not a syllabus by anyone’s reasonable definition, nor did any of the college-educated Dopers who saw it first hand, nor my husband the college instructor think it was a syllabus.
I think you’re right that the lack of, now incomplete, syllabus and lack of organization are the things to bring to the attention of the department. While the Creationist stuff is great to rant about, in all honesty I have only my impressions (and the circumstantial evidence of choosing a Garden of Eden painting) to back that up. I may deal with that later, but he needs more rope to hang himself *unambiguously *on that nail.
At the moment, I’m thinking of sending an email to the head of the biology department:
What do you think? Too long, didn’t read, right? sigh I *really *want to do this by email - personal and phone meetings give me the willies.
I dunno. I thought it was a good letter, but I don’t have much experience with this sort of thing. Out of curiousity, have you checked to see what sort of rating he has on Ratemyprofessors?
I have, and he’s not there.
Speaking as a college professor and former department chair, I think this letter strikes the appropriate tone. It is informative without being overly accusatory or complaining; it is not hostile, and seeks an improvement of the current situation rather than some punitive action against the professor. Other profs. might chime in, but I think it is a very good letter, and I would send it.
Thank you very much for your input. I’ll hang on for a little bit to see if anyone else has 2 cents to donate, but your post makes me feel like I’m not being entirely unreasonable.
(It’s very odd posting to this thread and the “whiny college students” thread more or less simultaneously. I so do NOT want to be one of those whiners, but I don’t want to be a total doormat, either! Sometimes “whining” is, in fact, appropriate. 
)
Bio prof here- and I supervise adjunct lecturers, so I get letters of concern on occasion.
I thought your email was very respectful and raised reasonable concerns. The only part I felt was a little superfluous was the section on the disorganized lecture slides, if only because sometimes profs may be going in a direction the student may not yet clearly understand. (Not that I think that is what’s going on here, mind you!). However, if you wanted to leave that section in, it would be fine as well.
You have enough with the delayed syllabus, inappropriate content of the syllabus, slef admission of disorganization and poorly designed assignments. The chair should be able to read through the lines with the “Garden of Eden” assignment! Good luck!
If I were writing your letter, I’d throw in an extra paragraph about how the 6 hour class meeting once a week makes each individual class period that much more important.
Although the Creationist stuff may drive you buggy, and from your description doesn’t sound all that professional, I really don’t think that one should have to believe in Evolution to be an effective teacher of Evolution. Also, I have major issues with the idea that Evolution is somehow the Cornerstone of Modern Biology. (OK, as summed up by me, this may resemble a strawman. So be it.)
But while I sympathize with the first time teaching this course complaint, and recognize that syllabuses often change during the semster, I do think that your concern about enough material being covered, approximate test dates and his techniques for interacting with students in the classroom, are issues which should be addressed.