There is a particular breed of college professor.
Most college professors aren’t bad folks, and they teach what they are paid to teach, the subject that the class is supposed to be about. Some are downright brilliant. Others are extremely good teachers. Some are simply competent. A few suck.
…and then you have the ones from an alternate universe.
I’ve had several since I returned to school. Ghod knows why they are allowed to teach.
It works like this: Let’s say, for example, we have a class called Viking Pottery. The catalog will describe it as “History and practice of Scandinavian pottery during the Viking period of history.”
Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
The professor will have a PhD. Only PhDs are allowed to be Alternate University Professors. People with masters’ degrees have to actually teach the subject.
Now: On the first day of class, you will get a syllabus. The syllabus will give an overview of the class, the books you need to buy, and a class schedule, explaining what you’ll be doing every day in class, right? Sounds good, yes?
In an ORDINARY class, the professor will lecture about Viking Pottery, usually more or less in line with the reading assignments out of the book or books about Viking Pottery. You will be doing the things on the schedule more or less on the days that they are scheduled. Tests will be on the days scheduled. Might be quizzes, too. Maybe a project or a paper to write, about Viking Pottery. Then, finally, a Final Exam. If you pass, you are now assumed to know about Viking Pottery.
…and now… we have the Alternate University.
You get a syllabus, complete with schedule, list of books required, and an overview, same as before.
…but the professor will soon begin to lecture about… say… Early English Basket-Weaving.
Huh?
The next day, you get a lecture about Aztec Parrot Breeding.
The reading assignments are straight out of the book, of course. You, being a good student, read the book about Viking Pottery. A good thing, too, because when the first test happens, it is straight out of the assigned chapters. Not a damn thing about English Basketweaving or Aztec Parrot Breeding.
As the semester drags on, it gets worse. The best examples of this kind of professor pretty much throw out the schedule after the second week of class, and there is no damn telling WHAT you’re going to be doing from day to day, or when you’re going to be doing it. Tests can and will be rescheduled, at the professor’s whim, with as little as 24 hours notice. Lectures can be about anything on ghod’s green earth, up to and including what his children did last night after supper.
A hallmark of this kind of professor is that he takes absences VERY seriously. He does NOT like the idea that you may be skipping his lectures simply because none of his pet material will be on the test. He is also VERY testy about the idea that you might not be LISTENING to him in class; don’t you DARE break out a magazine or whatever.
In short: Passing this class is proof positive … that you read and understood the BOOK. Your class time is essentially wasted.
…now here’s the kicker. If this idiot teaches in the EDUCATION department… teacher education… you get to grit your teeth and not say word one about him. You can barbecue him on his evaluation, but that’s about it. You see, at the college I attend, professors are supposed to be evaluating YOU, to determine your fitness for the teaching profession. If they don’t like you, you can get “green flagged.” A couple of those, they actually call you up before a committee to determine if you should be permitted to remain in the program.
…so you get to SMILE and pretend you LIKE hearing what his nephew got for Christmas last year, and what his kid did in school last month.
…and if you complain to the department about it, you’re taking your scholastic career in your hands.
Not only does the emperor have no clothes, but you can get executed for saying so…