Monday, March 08, 2010

Venting...

Ok so I try to be really uplifting and try to see the good in everything when I am writing on this blog but sometimes I just need to get a good vent out!

Today it is about my English 102 class.
I. hate. it.
I have learned nothing this whole semester.
Let's just start out by telling you what he told us the first day of class... "So I'm pretty sure I didn't like taking this course in college, and I definitely don't like teaching it.... Oh and I grade on a curve so I can grade with some standard, and how I'd like." .. umm (looking around the class), say what?! (startled stare and squint) are you allowed to tell your students that? (completely confused look on my face)
Welp I guess so (red flag). and he did (super RED flag). and he has stuck to his word ever since.
Ok..... so we have 4 argument papers that we have to write this semester. This last paper was a definitional argument paper... didn't even know they existed.
(not even going to explain what it is because I can't)
All I know is that when I started writing the paper I had no clue what I was doing and when I finished the paper.. yup you guessed it, I still had no clue what I was supposed to be doing.
Oh wait, that's right
that's because he didn't teach us anything!
We look in our book and fill out these stupid worksheets that have nothing to do with
-learning how to research a topic,
-or how to write a works cited page,
-or how to even write the stupid paper.
While he sits on his bum the whole class and waits for us to finish our portion so we can share our answers with the rest of the class. Which we rarely ever actually do.
Ok so we asked him how this paper is supposed to be written and he gives us an outline. No teaching involved just a piece of paper with words on it that meant nothing to me. So... I tried my best to figure it out and follow the outline as best I could.
Welp... I got my paper back today and guess what I got.
Yup a whopping 69%.
That's...... a D.
I have NEVER gotten a D on a paper before.
My heart kinda dropped out my butt until he said.
"The highest grade in the class is a 72%"
Really buddy. . .
a 72?
Obviously somethin' isn't right here if out of 23 people the highest was a C-.
Oh oh oh and get this,
this was my favorite thing he said as he handed out a paper for us to read today.

"Please look at how this person sited their sources in their paper and on their works cited page, which I know we haven't really talked about. But look at hers and see how to do it because no one did it right." uhhh... say what again ..."which I know we haven't really talked about? ..."
How on earth are we supposed to actually 'do it' right if we didn't know how to 'do it' in the first place?!
uuuhhhgggggg
Well as my frustration grew we had to turn in another outline for another paper that I HOPE I can do right. It's a cause and effect argument paper which I think I am capable of writing.
But who knows with this guy.
It seriously freaks me out.
He sits down in front of the classroom and says, "I will read your outlines and if they don't work I will call you to the front of the classroom (and publicly humiliate you) and we can figure out how to fix it. Because your other papers needed. lots. of fixing."
So I sat patiently trying to "learn" how to write my works cited page and to cite things "correctly" in my actual essay.
Class ended and my name was never called.
he says, "If i didn't call your name then your topic must have been... fine."
fine?
Really? fine, with a pause?
This is why I can't write good papers, well one because I have no idea what I'm doing and because my topics are quote unquote "fine"
Yup that was my exciting class today.
I wanted to throw something at my balding, mono-toned, skinny little teacher.
But voted against it since then he reminded us of the
curve.
Which means that I actually got a
95% baby!

Thank you
to all the other students in the class who had absolutely NO idea what they were doin either!

Happy Monday!