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capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
You're exactly right. The professor is serving his students by sharing his knowledge, not by forcing his will on petty things upon them.

Exactly. I loved the majority of my professors, but occasionally you come across one that has that elitest attitude, and they think they are gods gift to society.
 

yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
Exactly. I loved the majority of my professors, but occasionally you come across one that has that elitest attitude, and they think they are gods gift to society.

That's because the system allows them. When an engineering student is forced to take (and pay for) "mandatory" classes such as US Government, British Literature and theater then things get out of control quite quickly.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,886
8,056
That's because the system allows them. When an engineering student is forced to take (and pay for) "mandatory" classes such as US Government, British Literature and theater then things get out of control quite quickly.

Didn't you check your college curriculum requirements before attending? I happen to think it's a good idea for engineers to have an appreciation for humanities and social sciences, but if you disagree with that point of view, aren't there schools where you can just take engineering courses?
 

yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
Didn't you check your college curriculum requirements before attending? I happen to think it's a good idea for engineers to have an appreciation for humanities and social sciences, but if you disagree with that point of view, aren't there schools where you can just take engineering courses?

The reason I am saying it is that by age 18 (after going K-12), when you're ready to vote and die for your country, you should have had already enough basic social sciences and humanities hours on your shoulders.
I attended those classes in college, they're mostly a repeat of what was done in high school. There's no use for them. I also expect someone with a Bachelor/Master degree to be curious enough to investigate fields outside of the line of work. I am not saying that engineering students shouldn't be encouraged in attending classes in completely unrelated fields, but forcing it to them is just a way to make more $$$ at the price of better specialization.
 

dogslobber

macrumors 601
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
You're exactly right. The professor is serving his students by sharing his knowledge, not by forcing his will on petty things upon them.

You're a student and do as you're told with flexibility within the boundaries set by the professor. Most professors have more important things to do than waste time on some kid who got all the attention at high school and thinks they're still special at college. There are too many students so stop this pretentious nonsense and do as your professor says. If professor says no recording then accept it. If you can't accept it then leave the class and don't come back.
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Exactly. I loved the majority of my professors, but occasionally you come across one that has that elitest attitude, and they think they are gods gift to society.

They're usually not. It's more to do with the attitude problem in the student. You see it constantly.
[doublepost=1458152710][/doublepost]
That's because the system allows them. When an engineering student is forced to take (and pay for) "mandatory" classes such as US Government, British Literature and theater then things get out of control quite quickly.

It's called a well-rounded education.
 
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yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
You're a student and do as you're told with flexibility within the boundaries set by the professor. Most professors have more important things to do than waste time on some kid who got all the attention at high school and thinks they're still special at college.


You're talking about someone taking notes on an iPad Pro instead of paper in order to improve his study efficiency; it is way different than someone playing Crossy Roads while you teach.

If professor says no recording then accept it. If you can't accept it then leave the class and don't come back.

So, what's wrong if a student records your class? I am seriously asking, not trolling. I would like to record your class so that I can play it back in the car instead of listening to a song by the Beatles for the 100th time. What's wrong with that? You, as a teacher, wouldn't know the difference.

It's called a well-rounded education.

well-rounded education starts earlier. At 18-20-25 you better have a well rounded education by yourself, and learn how to keep it. College and University are for specialization and workplace preparation. If by 18 you don't know the US system you won't learn it thanks to a college class that is forced upon you. Granted, class availability should always be good and if an engineering student feels compelled to learn some music theory then he should be free to do so.

If professor says no recording then accept it. If you can't accept it then leave the class and don't come back.

You forget one important detail. You are their servant, not the opposite. They pay you for a service, you provide the service efficiently. Babysitting is not part of such service agreement.
 
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Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,886
8,056
I attended those classes in college, they're mostly a repeat of what was done in high school.

I am sorry to hear your college didn't offer high quality non-science courses. My college courses all went into subjects in much greater depth than I got in high school.
 

dogslobber

macrumors 601
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
You're talking about someone taking notes on an iPad Pro instead of paper in order to improve his study efficiency; it is way different than someone playing Crossy Roads while you teach.

So, what's wrong if a student records your class? I am seriously asking, not trolling. I would like to record your class so that I can play it back in the car instead of listening to a song by the Beatles for the 100th time. What's wrong with that? You, as a teacher, wouldn't know the difference.

I've mentioned previously that it's annoying to people around you. You're arguing that prof has to provide a reason to you why something is allowed or not. The answer to that is no they don't. This is my point about accepting it and moving on. Prof either says okay or not and that's the end of it. Your perception of the impact is neither here nor there. In the working world, if a supervisor tells you some rule or whatever and you try to debate/discuss then be prepared for short shrift. I'm not sure you fully understand the point yet.

well-rounded education starts earlier. At 18-20-25 you better have a well rounded education by yourself, and learn how to keep it. College and University are for specialization and workplace preparation. If by 18 you don't know the US system you won't learn it thanks to a college class that is forced upon you. Granted, class availability should always be good and if an engineering student feels compelled to learn some music theory then he should be free to do so.

Any engineering school that doesn't provide you with well-rounded education is short changing you. They have no idea the level of quality or otherwise that your high school provides to their students. The whole point of Calculus 101 or 201 or whatever you might consider a waste of time is for several reasons, such as, a refresher course, a leveler course for different high school methods which teach topics different ways, or just to weed out the underachievers.

There are too many high schools nowadays that use grade inflation to the detriment of their students, or allow poor teachers to hide within the confines of school walls, or just are in places which corrupt the minds of kids (e.g. Texas). You have to get core subjects before specialization.

Equally, if you find repeating classes a drudgery then that's also a heads up that your attitude stinks if you don't excel in areas you claim proficiency. Life is full of drudgery so better you get the opportunity to right your attitude in education still.

You forget one important detail. You are their servant, not the opposite. They pay you for a service, you provide the service efficiently. Babysitting is not part of such service agreement.

No, professors don't serve you at all. You're totally wrong there and until you grasp that a student is just a statistic then you won't get it.
 

yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
I've mentioned previously that it's annoying to people around you.

HAve you asked the other students? Have you tried to tell the students that want to use an electronic device to stay on a particular side of the class?

You're arguing that prof has to provide a reason to you why something is allowed or not.

That's not what I am arguing at all.

Prof either says okay or not and that's the end of it.

My ass is the end of it. You are not the dictator of your class. The end of it is when the legal system says so. The rest? Just your political BS that makes you feel important.

In the working world, if a supervisor tells you some rule or whatever and you try to debate/discuss then be prepared for short shrift. I'm not sure you fully understand the point yet.

Have you ever worked in a professional environment outside of school?

No, professors don't serve you at all. You're totally wrong there and until you grasp that a student is just a statistic then you won't get it.

A student is what pays for your salary. Write on your syllabus that they're just statistics, let's see how the dean reacts.
 
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upritbass

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2015
122
138
Vegas!
No, professors don't serve you at all. You're totally wrong there and until you grasp that a student is just a statistic then you won't get it.
I really, truly, honestly hope that you are scamming us.

If you are serious, I really, truly, honestly hope that you are not a professor.

If you are a professor, please let us know at which university you teach so that the current and prospective students can be forewarned.
 

capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
I've mentioned previously that it's annoying to people around you. You're arguing that prof has to provide a reason to you why something is allowed or not. The answer to that is no they don't. This is my point about accepting it and moving on. Prof either says okay or not and that's the end of it. Your perception of the impact is neither here nor there. In the working world, if a supervisor tells you some rule or whatever and you try to debate/discuss then be prepared for short shrift. I'm not sure you fully understand the point yet.

And in this you've proved my point that it's all about power and control. You are there for me to learn. If I tell you that the most effective way for me to learn is to record your lectures, then listen to them on repeat, then there are only two reasons why you would block them. 1)you say things that you shouldn't say during lectures, or 2) you feel the need to have full control and in doing so, are knowingly blocking the most effective way for me to learn.

You've all but admitted that you don't need reasons to impede your students (I mean statistics) learning other than you want to control them. I get it. You are preparing us for life, blah blah blah. The difference is, as a boss, I do everything I can to ensure that my employees succeed. If they tell me something works for them, and it's within company guidelines, they get it. I would never deny them the ability to use a tool that I know helps them succeed.

Computers, iPads, etc are more than within the guidelines of every university. Hell, half the people I work with got their masters degrees online.

just because you don't like them doesn't mean that you should have the right to ban them. I'd promptly drop your class the second I learned of your electronics ban. I would then find a professor that actually cares about enhancing my learning experience. God knows we pay enough.
 

dogslobber

macrumors 601
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
You've all but admitted that you don't need reasons to impede your students (I mean statistics) learning other than you want to control them. I get it. You are preparing us for life, blah blah blah. The difference is, as a boss, I do everything I can to ensure that my employees succeed. If they tell me something works for them, and it's within company guidelines, they get it. I would never deny them the ability to use a tool that I know helps them succeed.

Professors are not employers nor are they bosses. They are usually judged by what they publish not by the level of pandering to students who think they're too important. 200 students in a lecture hall means an individual student is a statistic. That's the reality. If you as a manager are able to care for each employee's whim then good for you as that's your role and you don't have 200 direct reports or you'd divorce yourself from the grind through layers of management.

Computers, iPads, etc are more than within the guidelines of every university. Hell, half the people I work with got their masters degrees online.

Online degree are worthless. Employers don't look at them so don't waste you money.

just because you don't like them doesn't mean that you should have the right to ban them. I'd promptly drop your class the second I learned of your electronics ban. I would then find a professor that actually cares about enhancing my learning experience. God knows we pay enough.

My class. My rules. That's what it comes down to. And no, you don't pay enough because it usually comes with subsidies so your typical student isn't even out of pocket for it.
 

capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
Online degree are worthless. Employers don't look at them so don't waste you money.

Keep telling yourself that. I guess it's my imagination that my wife just completed her masters online through LSU, and got a substantial promotion because of it.



My class. My rules. That's what it comes down to. And no, you don't pay enough because it usually comes with subsidies so your typical student isn't even out of pocket for it.

Again you are completely void of all reality. Average student loan debt among my closest friends is 30,000 plus. But if that's not enough, how much is?
 

yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
Professors are not employers nor are they bosses. They are usually judged by what they publish not by the level of pandering to students who think they're too important. 200 students in a lecture hall means an individual student is a statistic. That's the reality. If you as a manager are able to care for each employee's whim then good for you as that's your role and you don't have 200 direct reports or you'd divorce yourself from the grind through layers of management.

My guess is that you never worked in a real work environment, and you're used to spend your days reading and writing your stuff. You probably see teaching as a burden. Bottom line? You never really worked. You believe that caring means having a direct relationship with everyone. That's not the case, if you ever worked. Caring means being able to understand the general issues, trying to broaden as much as possible. It also means that if the situation arises you either tackle it directly or you have put in place a system that takes care of it. 200 people... Big deal. I help handle 365,436 people as by census, with 250 in my department and a couple thousand in the organization. If any of the 365,436 people call with a problem, we try to solve it. Directly. You can't handle a person with an iPad, you would never survive in the real world.

Online degree are worthless. Employers don't look at them so don't waste you money.

If by online degrees you mean by online only organizations, you might be right. But many high level universities provide online degrees programs. I think even Stanford and Yale. Guess what? Degrees don't say "online". My newly appointed director got her MS online, and she got promoted as director of her department making probably twice as much as you do.

And no, you don't pay enough because it usually comes with subsidies so your typical student isn't even out of pocket for it.

Subsidies are often paid by the federal/state/municipal government. Meaning? It's taxpayer's money. No taxpayer decided that you are the boss, you're merely in charge of teaching stuff to the students, and if you receive federal money you have to abide by their rules. And guess what? The old "lecture" is going out of style, finally, as it is only a leftover from the Middle Ages and universities such as Pisa's.

I truly hope that you're not as horrible as an individual as you're as a teacher.
 

TechZeke

macrumors 68020
Jul 29, 2012
2,465
2,311
Dallas, TX
Too many crap professors in STEM, overall. I'm a civil Engineering major at a university with a highly respected engineering program. My university takes quarterly surveys at the end of each class, but it's not like they fire widely known poor professors.

One thing I notice is that Engineering professors who actually work in the field along with teaching are far more useful with learning. They know what's BS and what's important in the real world. They also have realistic expectations. I'd say a good portion of the math professors are useless, though.

Professors stuck purely in theory research usually have BS requirements, like not being able to use a graphic calculator for flexibility coefficient matrices in structural engineering. Her goal is for us to "know how the computer software does calculations" but we're talking about systems of equations here. My Linear Algebra teacher actually encouraged and showed us how to use Graphing calculators. I'm not even sure why I paid $120 for the fancy graphing calculator since half the professors won't let you use the damn thing. Not saying the theory part doesn't matter in engineering, but it's really ridiculous having half the professors banning useful tools like graphing calculators while the other half encourages using it.

With that said, my GeoTech Engineering teacher let us use our iPads with the PDF version of the book for our Midterm. He seems to understand that people are migrating to tablets. Let's be honest here, it's not like Google is going to help you finish an actual Engineering final in a hurry, so it's not like there's actually any motivation to cheat having the laptop or tablet out. If you need Google at that point, you've failed anyway.
 
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Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Feb 4, 2008
5,682
277
if I'm paying ungodly sums of money for a college education, I should be able to write my notes on a 70 inch flatscreen tv if that's what I preferred. The tools I use to learn shouldn't be able to be dictated by some professor who still thinks writing on stone is the way to go. As long as I'm doing work pertaining to the lecture, it's not a distraction for others anymore than the girl with the flower pen and purple hair, or the guy who constantly clicks his ink pen throughout the lecture.

Handwriting notes on a tablet, or typing them on a laptop shouldn't matter to the professor. It's all about control, and trying to cling to a simpler time in life.

As for the recording...You really can't control who records you. I always recorded my professors lectures. It's not about being lazy. I learned by playing the lecture over and over again while studying my notes. It was the best method for me, and no professor was going to change that. Ban recording? No problem. I'll have a recorder in my backpack pocket and sit in the front.

$10,000 plus a semester, damn right I'm taking digital notes and recording everything.

For reals. Just tuition is getting me for upward of $5,000 this semester because my classes were 7 hours total instead of 6. I can't take any more than this and retain sanity with a full-time job. So it's $5,000 just for two classes. Then as a grown-ass man someone wants to tell me how to take notes and whatever? I get trying to rein in those young farts, especially in the intro classes when I have seen them using something like iMessage to text during class. How to solve this: either don't care as long as they aren't distractive or put cameras up in the back of the classroom. I type 80 wpm and and easier able to save digital notes instead of keeping up with paper like it's 1985.

Writing by hand does help memorization. But that's my deal. I'd rather get the notes written quickly than cramp up writing them by hand. Also, PUT YOUR F@#%ING POWERPOINT SLIDES ONLINE EVERY DAMN TIME BECAUSE I GOT **** GOING ON AND SORRY THAT I DON'T MAKE EVERY CLASS. ALSO I DON'T WANT TO WRITE EVERY DETAILED PICTURE BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE STUPID IN 2016 AND YOU GO TOO QUICKLY.
 

capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
PUT YOUR F@#%ING POWERPOINT SLIDES ONLINE EVERY DAMN TIME BECAUSE I GOT **** GOING ON AND SORRY THAT I DON'T MAKE EVERY CLASS. ALSO I DON'T WANT TO WRITE EVERY DETAILED PICTURE BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE STUPID IN 2016 AND YOU GO TOO QUICKLY.

Agreed. We live in a digital world. Every other job requires that the employees adapt to new things, except of course, tenured professors. They can do whatever they want and are protected. It's ridiculous.

As you said, the fact that a grown man is telling you that you can't take notes the way YOU choose, even though you are paying UNGODLY SUMS OF MONEY is unacceptable.

Professors with electronics bans should be challenged by every student. I've never stayed in a class that had that policy, and neither should other students.
 

Fozziebear71

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2014
639
1,662
I have a cousin who is a founding partner in a very successful accounting firm who sits on the board at the business school where we both graduated from. Dogslobber is the perfect example of what she refers to as "college professors who sit in their ivory towers who have no idea what it's like in the real world". I went back to school later in life and achieved an accounting and a finance degree and never encountered a professor such as him. I truly hope he is just trolling.
 
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capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
I truly hope he is just trolling.

He's probably not trolling. My last semester, I had one just like him. He began the first day by bitching about how our generation doesn't earn anything, wants it handed to them on a silver platter, we didn't have technology when I was in college and we were smarter, blah blah blah. I walked out ten minutes into the first class and learned that about 25 percent of those who enrolled in the class actually stayed for more than two classroom lectures.

I've had many great professors. Some of them were tough, and they required you to work hard for the grades. The difference in them and others is, their main goal was to educate you, and they allowed an environment that was best for their students to achieve that education. All of this "my classroom, my rules" is nothing more than a power trip.

If I were a professor, I wouldn't care if I had a student take notes on a drawing easel if that meant they learned the material and retained it better that way. Electronics are not a distraction. You should be looking up at the professor anyway. If my iPad or laptop is such a distraction for you that you can't focus on the professor, you need medicine, not a ban on a device that I use as a learning tool.
 

nefan65

macrumors 65816
Apr 15, 2009
1,354
15
Online degree are worthless. Employers don't look at them so don't waste you money.

Ha. I'll jump in on this one. I have my BS in C/S, and did via the traditional route due to my age [Online stuff wasn't around when I got my degree]. Unless you're applying to a Fortune X company, NO ONE cares where you got your degree. Most all of the local uni's in my area offer online degrees, and they say you have your B.S./MSTRS from University of X. Same as if you went to class on campus.

Sounds like you're worried about job security?
 

yaxomoxay

macrumors 604
Mar 3, 2010
7,439
34,276
Texas
Ha. I'll jump in on this one. I have my BS in C/S, and did via the traditional route due to my age [Online stuff wasn't around when I got my degree]. Unless you're applying to a Fortune X company, NO ONE cares where you got your degree. Most all of the local uni's in my area offer online degrees, and they say you have your B.S./MSTRS from University of X. Same as if you went to class on campus.

Sounds like you're worried about job security?

Plus it depends a lot on the circumstances. In general terms, I'd rather have someone who earned his degree online while he was busting his ass at work (gaining real world experience) than someone who coasted at a good brick and mortar university for six years.
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He began the first day by bitching about how our generation doesn't earn anything, wants it handed to them on a silver platter, we didn't have technology when I was in college and we were smarter, blah blah blah.

The fun part of it is that they complain about younger generations, then they say that they don't set the example to students because they're "just statistics".
 
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dogslobber

macrumors 601
Oct 19, 2014
4,670
7,809
Apple Campus, Cupertino CA
Keep telling yourself that. I guess it's my imagination that my wife just completed her masters online through LSU, and got a substantial promotion because of it.

I've done online classes before. They're a joke as they can't foster class interaction. You might be able to get away with them for one dimensional course such as stats 101 that don't need any major interaction but to claim a DEGREE is done online means it's not a real degree. That probably hurts those who have been duped into paying for them but it has to be said. FWIW, there's a difference between being in a job interview where they say "tell me about your degree" and you mention it's done "online" than you boss encouraging you as those are different situations. In truth, I'd rather have an arts degree than an online "degree" of any type.
 
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