Boiled Frustration
04-1 will be finished in a week. For those who do not know, 04-1 is Pitt's official designation for the first semester of the 2004 school year. It started on August 25, 2003 and officially ended on December 5, 2003, and while finals run all the way up to December 13, 2003, this is still more than two weeks shy of the year 2004. I would question why they mark a semester as being a part of 2004 when it does not even run into the year, but that is not the issue at hand.
At this point, I am figuring that I will probably fail 04-1. Allow me to elaborate by discussing each class, going from best to worst.
Political Science 1261 - American Public Policy (3 credits)
Without a doubt, this has been my favorite class all semester, and even if this had been one of my better semesters, it would still rank pretty high. Most of it has to deal with Professor Robert L. Donaldson. It is blatantly obvious that he quite liberal, but he always gives an adequate explanation for most sides of any issue, the issues themselves ranging from environmental pollution control to criminal justice system to poverty.
I can remember looking at him sideways on the first day of class. He always has this coughing fit going on; no matter what the day is, the subject matter, or what suite he wears, he always coughs at least once every five to ten seconds. He may be in the middle of explaining a tax cut or anything else, and he will cough almost randomly. At first, it was mildly annoying, but after a week's worth of class, I barely noticed it. Anyways, I think it was in the second week of class that I noticed just how damn smart Professor Donaldson is. Without looking at any notes, he can lecture without any signs of slowing down and can answer questions from students with a frightening amount of detail. However, he does know his limits; I find it admirable that a college professor has the guts to say "I don't know" every once in a while when they really do not know how to respond or even have the proper answer.
I admit that I blew off the first paper that was due, but I intend on working my ass off to write the second and make-up paper as best as possible. I owe it to him to make sure that I complete the assignments.
Music 0311 - Introduction to World Music (3 credits)
Perhaps I was a bit harsh with this class. With a bit of studying, I might have had a chance at a D, but Professor Amelia Teresa Maciszewski decided to treat an introduction class like a full-blown "this is my major" class. I mean, I loved sitting and listening to her jam on her sitar, but sitting in class and recitation attempting to learn all of these Indian and Eastern European terms was way too much.
I had been told that the class was going to be relatively easy, but instead, I just got fed up with the class and never went back to it after the first week in November. Yes, I realize that is a bad move, but it was either lose my financial aid or take a bad grade. I have not shown up for the class in weeks, and the chances of me going to the final are slim. Another thing is that we were supposed to do a group project; I gave everyone else in my group my e-mail address, and I only ever received two e-mails about the project and that was regarding the initial paper. I kept going to class, but my group essentially forgot me; I even talked to someone in my group, and he acted like he had never seen me before. So I gave up.
History 0678/Jewish Studies 0283 - U.S. and the Holocaust (3 credits)
Without a shred of doubt in my mind, Dr. Barbara Burstin is one of the worst professors I have ever had in all of my years of attending public schools. Seeing as how that is roughly fifteen years of my life, I think that is saying something right there; that out of all of the dozens of teachers and professors I have ever had, she ranks near the bottom. And on top of that, I cannot really think of very many other people who were truly that bad.
I liked the idea of a class focusing on the Holocaust and the factors behind it (A combination of ethnocentrism and racism). However, the part that I did not like was how the professor focused solely at the Jewish aspect of the entire event. It just so happens that she is also the chairperson of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Squirrel Hill (A district of Pittsburgh), and without even asking her, I can tell just by the way she acts and dresses that she is Jewish. I am not trying to stereotype or typecast her, but judging by her mannerisms, I just know that she is Jewish. Now, I have no problem with her being Jewish at all; in fact, my father was Jewish by religion (And is Jewish by blood, if you wish to think of it that way). My big beef with her teaching style was how the specific focus on only the Jewish aspect of the Holocaust included some six million people who were killed... but then she never mentioned a single word as far as the other six million non-Jews who were killed as a part of the event.
Okay, I take part of that back. In one class during the first week, she was ranting on and on about how the Germans killed six million people in the Holocaust. I raised my hand and objected; "But there were another six million people who were not Jewish but were a part of the Holocaust, and they ranged from gypsies to cripples" I said. I forget her exact response, but she basically blew them off, and this pissed me off to no end.
I remember "accidentally" (I say "accidentally", but it was more like "the goddamn door was locked and no one would let me in") skipped one of the classes, and I did not know that there was a quiz being done at the time. I came to the next class and they were going over all of the answers for the quiz. As she went around the room to every student trying to get us to say the proper answers, she came to me and was befuddled; she had thought that I had dropped the class and she had taken me off of the roster. I proceeded to answer the question correctly, and she seemed amazed that I knew the answer when I had already been to every class and diligently taking notes. For the next quiz, I made sure that I was there. However, I only got halfway through it when she asked that everyone turn in their quiz. I got the quiz back and she bitched me out for not completing it; I ended up with a 47% on it, so by extrapolation, I would have received a 94% on it had she given me the chance to finish the other half.
Suffice to say, I unofficially dropped this class soon afterwards. I just could not handle all of the bullshit.
Japanese 0001 - First Year Japanese 1 (5 credits)
Until three weeks before the end of the semester, this class was going well. I mean, I had already spoken to Takabatake-sensei in early September about possible conflicts resulting from my speech impediment and the fact that 40% of my grade was based upon oral performance (Fluency, pronunciation, proper grammar, et cetera) in Act Class (Our recitations, which were done five times a week) and an additional 20% of my grade based upon two oral interview exams (The midterm and the final). She said that they would love to have me in the class and would attempt to accommodate for my stutter, but that my grade would still suffer. I told her then that I had no problem with it.
However, I later had a problem with it. This came when the other professor (Yes, two professors for one class, but the class was quite large, and we even had four teacher's assistants who were Japanese), Mills-sensei, had a meeting with me some three weeks before the end of the semester. In short, he told me that he would be "nice" and give me a D for my grade; that way, I could get half of my foreign language requirement, all five credits, and still be considered a full-time student by the Financial Aid people. This had a detrimental effect upon me; before I knew it, I stopped caring about the class entirely. If I had no control over my own grade, if I could not fight for my grade, then I felt that there was no point to the class at all. Before, I knew that I was in the shitter, but I still had some control over my grade despite the fact that I knew I would not get very far in the course. After, I was stuck with a mediocre grade no matter how much effort I put into the course.
A bad move on my part: I skipped two more recitation classes than was allowed. While I was told that I receive a D, he had not told me that I had to keep attending class, stutter like a fucking idiot for everyone, and take all of the quizzes. All I know at this point is that if I do not get my D, I am taking this matter to the dean and pointing out that the professors were only trying to pass off any liability on their part when it is their fault that they did not tell me much earlier that I would fail. Throwing in the fact that they refused to accommodate my stutter by basing my grade solely on written work, I would hope to point out that the professors were negligent to a certain extent. And if that gets me nowhere, perhaps I will take it to court. We shall see.
So yes, this semester has been royally fucked. I know I am going to pick things up next semester, but for now, all I know is that I am in some deep shit. At least my life is never truly boring.
At this point, I am figuring that I will probably fail 04-1. Allow me to elaborate by discussing each class, going from best to worst.
Political Science 1261 - American Public Policy (3 credits)
Without a doubt, this has been my favorite class all semester, and even if this had been one of my better semesters, it would still rank pretty high. Most of it has to deal with Professor Robert L. Donaldson. It is blatantly obvious that he quite liberal, but he always gives an adequate explanation for most sides of any issue, the issues themselves ranging from environmental pollution control to criminal justice system to poverty.
I can remember looking at him sideways on the first day of class. He always has this coughing fit going on; no matter what the day is, the subject matter, or what suite he wears, he always coughs at least once every five to ten seconds. He may be in the middle of explaining a tax cut or anything else, and he will cough almost randomly. At first, it was mildly annoying, but after a week's worth of class, I barely noticed it. Anyways, I think it was in the second week of class that I noticed just how damn smart Professor Donaldson is. Without looking at any notes, he can lecture without any signs of slowing down and can answer questions from students with a frightening amount of detail. However, he does know his limits; I find it admirable that a college professor has the guts to say "I don't know" every once in a while when they really do not know how to respond or even have the proper answer.
I admit that I blew off the first paper that was due, but I intend on working my ass off to write the second and make-up paper as best as possible. I owe it to him to make sure that I complete the assignments.
Music 0311 - Introduction to World Music (3 credits)
Perhaps I was a bit harsh with this class. With a bit of studying, I might have had a chance at a D, but Professor Amelia Teresa Maciszewski decided to treat an introduction class like a full-blown "this is my major" class. I mean, I loved sitting and listening to her jam on her sitar, but sitting in class and recitation attempting to learn all of these Indian and Eastern European terms was way too much.
I had been told that the class was going to be relatively easy, but instead, I just got fed up with the class and never went back to it after the first week in November. Yes, I realize that is a bad move, but it was either lose my financial aid or take a bad grade. I have not shown up for the class in weeks, and the chances of me going to the final are slim. Another thing is that we were supposed to do a group project; I gave everyone else in my group my e-mail address, and I only ever received two e-mails about the project and that was regarding the initial paper. I kept going to class, but my group essentially forgot me; I even talked to someone in my group, and he acted like he had never seen me before. So I gave up.
History 0678/Jewish Studies 0283 - U.S. and the Holocaust (3 credits)
Without a shred of doubt in my mind, Dr. Barbara Burstin is one of the worst professors I have ever had in all of my years of attending public schools. Seeing as how that is roughly fifteen years of my life, I think that is saying something right there; that out of all of the dozens of teachers and professors I have ever had, she ranks near the bottom. And on top of that, I cannot really think of very many other people who were truly that bad.
I liked the idea of a class focusing on the Holocaust and the factors behind it (A combination of ethnocentrism and racism). However, the part that I did not like was how the professor focused solely at the Jewish aspect of the entire event. It just so happens that she is also the chairperson of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Squirrel Hill (A district of Pittsburgh), and without even asking her, I can tell just by the way she acts and dresses that she is Jewish. I am not trying to stereotype or typecast her, but judging by her mannerisms, I just know that she is Jewish. Now, I have no problem with her being Jewish at all; in fact, my father was Jewish by religion (And is Jewish by blood, if you wish to think of it that way). My big beef with her teaching style was how the specific focus on only the Jewish aspect of the Holocaust included some six million people who were killed... but then she never mentioned a single word as far as the other six million non-Jews who were killed as a part of the event.
Okay, I take part of that back. In one class during the first week, she was ranting on and on about how the Germans killed six million people in the Holocaust. I raised my hand and objected; "But there were another six million people who were not Jewish but were a part of the Holocaust, and they ranged from gypsies to cripples" I said. I forget her exact response, but she basically blew them off, and this pissed me off to no end.
I remember "accidentally" (I say "accidentally", but it was more like "the goddamn door was locked and no one would let me in") skipped one of the classes, and I did not know that there was a quiz being done at the time. I came to the next class and they were going over all of the answers for the quiz. As she went around the room to every student trying to get us to say the proper answers, she came to me and was befuddled; she had thought that I had dropped the class and she had taken me off of the roster. I proceeded to answer the question correctly, and she seemed amazed that I knew the answer when I had already been to every class and diligently taking notes. For the next quiz, I made sure that I was there. However, I only got halfway through it when she asked that everyone turn in their quiz. I got the quiz back and she bitched me out for not completing it; I ended up with a 47% on it, so by extrapolation, I would have received a 94% on it had she given me the chance to finish the other half.
Suffice to say, I unofficially dropped this class soon afterwards. I just could not handle all of the bullshit.
Japanese 0001 - First Year Japanese 1 (5 credits)
Until three weeks before the end of the semester, this class was going well. I mean, I had already spoken to Takabatake-sensei in early September about possible conflicts resulting from my speech impediment and the fact that 40% of my grade was based upon oral performance (Fluency, pronunciation, proper grammar, et cetera) in Act Class (Our recitations, which were done five times a week) and an additional 20% of my grade based upon two oral interview exams (The midterm and the final). She said that they would love to have me in the class and would attempt to accommodate for my stutter, but that my grade would still suffer. I told her then that I had no problem with it.
However, I later had a problem with it. This came when the other professor (Yes, two professors for one class, but the class was quite large, and we even had four teacher's assistants who were Japanese), Mills-sensei, had a meeting with me some three weeks before the end of the semester. In short, he told me that he would be "nice" and give me a D for my grade; that way, I could get half of my foreign language requirement, all five credits, and still be considered a full-time student by the Financial Aid people. This had a detrimental effect upon me; before I knew it, I stopped caring about the class entirely. If I had no control over my own grade, if I could not fight for my grade, then I felt that there was no point to the class at all. Before, I knew that I was in the shitter, but I still had some control over my grade despite the fact that I knew I would not get very far in the course. After, I was stuck with a mediocre grade no matter how much effort I put into the course.
A bad move on my part: I skipped two more recitation classes than was allowed. While I was told that I receive a D, he had not told me that I had to keep attending class, stutter like a fucking idiot for everyone, and take all of the quizzes. All I know at this point is that if I do not get my D, I am taking this matter to the dean and pointing out that the professors were only trying to pass off any liability on their part when it is their fault that they did not tell me much earlier that I would fail. Throwing in the fact that they refused to accommodate my stutter by basing my grade solely on written work, I would hope to point out that the professors were negligent to a certain extent. And if that gets me nowhere, perhaps I will take it to court. We shall see.
So yes, this semester has been royally fucked. I know I am going to pick things up next semester, but for now, all I know is that I am in some deep shit. At least my life is never truly boring.
posted by Eric Joseph at 3:32 PM
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