I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m taking an Intro to Computer Science course, as part of my plan to eventually get a degree. Now, I knew that I’d have to pay some dues and take some courses well below my level, but I figured I’d have to learn SOMETHING along the way.
So, we’re doing Python in class. The book we are using is pretty cool, though I read it cover to cover before the first course started, and got hooked on Python and now have about 3-4 other books on the subject. Good stuff.
Now, if only my professor knew anything about Python, or even about programming or computers, it might not be so painful to sit through the course. For example, one day he pulls out a book and writes a private Java class method on the board. He tells us to type it in and get it to run. I point out that it is not Python. This comes as a surprise to him, but he looks it over and says, “Well that’s OK, it should still run anyway.” If you know anything about Python’s syntax, or anything about anything really, you should have a pretty good idea that you can’t just rip a method out of a Java class and compile it as a Python program. But I had to really push this point home to him before he conceded. Lots of examples of stuff like this throughout the course. I’m sure my blood pressure was sky high after every class.
Anyway, we had our mid-term a few weeks ago and last week we reviewed it. I got a 92, which was ridiculous, since I know everything about the stuff he asked about. There were two questions which were worded in such a way that I had no idea what he wanted. Example:
True/False: The value of a password is _____.
Huh??? (The correct answer was “secret”. hmmmm….ok.)
Another one:
True/False: A local variable can be modified as global.
I’m not sure what that means. I said false and added a long winded explanation, but still the answer he wanted was true.
Two others he was just completely wrong about:
True/False: Errors found early in the programming process are more expensive to fix than errors found later in the process.
Obviously false. Everyone in the question answered it false. He insisted it was true, though what he was saying was correct, he wasn’t reading his own question correctly. Finally after about five minutes of arguing, he saw his error, and agreed to give everyone credit for that.
Oh, somewhere along the discussion of the midterm answers, someone asked him about .NET. He’d NEVER HEARD OF IT!!! OK, I don’t mean to say he has to have specific expertise or experience in it, but he had no idea what .NET was. He started explaining about domains: .net, .org, .com. I finally explained to him what it was. But he still didn’t get it. He still thought it was a domain name. I mean how can you be a computer science professor and not have at least heard of .NET???
OK, final question:
Is Python case-sensitive?
Answer: Yes.
Answer given by every student in the class: Yes.
He marked us all wrong. We all protested. He insisted that Python was NOT case-sensitive. A student fired up Python and demonstrated it. He looked and saw but still didn’t believe it. He said, “That can’t be. Python was designed to be a very simple language. There is no way they would have made it case-sensitive.”
I started to get really pissed. I said, “It IS case-sensitive. PERIOD. That is the answer. It is!”
He chuckled a bit and said he was pretty sure it wasn’t. That’s when I really lost it.
“DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PYTHON??? HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN A SINGLE PROGRAM IN PYTHON?”
He chuckled again and said, yes, of course he had.
“I don’t think you have. If you ever touched it, you’d know that it is case-sensitive! You’re supposed to be teaching us, but you don’t know the first thing about the language. Everyone in the class knows more than you. This is ridiculous!”
He gave in and gave us all credit for that question. I got a 98 on my midterm. Probably could have argued the last two questions, but I took my victory and went home with a smile on my face that day.
ahh, this is the best! You did what we all wish we would of done.
Funny story! I had a similar experience. Back in 97 I took an entry level computer science class figuring that I would get my degree. I had already been programming for a few years at that point. The professor came in on the first day and couldn’t even turn on the PC! Needless to say, when he actually had to compile a Java app (this was Java 1.1 and the first year they taught Java) he pretty much had to have the class walk him through it 🙂
That would piss me off as well. It’s bad enough you can’t test out of certain classes when you have prior knowledge of the information. It’s even worse, when you have a pay your own money to be taught by someone with limited or no experience in what they are teaching. If I were you I would take your questions to the Dean of the department and let them know that the gig is up. They have an unqualified staff member trying to teach a course they have no idea about. Just imagine how the true novices are going to pay later when they realize that what there were being taught was amateur at best and there are going to have to relearn it the proper way which is hard because you have to unlearn all the wrong stuff.
Great story. I also had a similar experience when taking an intro to C++ course my sophomore year (I went to design school). The professor’s lack of Comp Sci knowledge was only trumped by her lack of a command of the English language. We had recently switched to a +/- grading system, and I had to point out to her that regular grades (A, B, C, etc) still existed and that things like B+ were just additional options… wow. The final straw though was the day I asked a question probably 10 times without getting her to answer it. She kept explaining a totally different aspect of what we were doing. An aspect I completely understood. I finally just walked out of class as she continued her misguided explanation.
Michael, I totally agree. For me, it is just unbelievably annoying. But there are other students who actually paid to learn something. I feel really bad for them. I’m definitely going to report him.
I once had a really similar experience in an English class. They don’t tend to like it when you can prove them wrong straight out of the book the quiz was based on. 😉
hehehe unlucky story Keith
I had to belive that isn’t only here that happens theses problems, Here in Brazil it’s samething, I get ouf of past year due to that, I paid a really good ammount of money to take my degree for nothing. So I know that it was injurect to my decision but it was funny to me.
Happened same problem, a teacher said that we never learn programming and even don’t necessery learn an alternative language we just will need C++. I laugh a lot. So that’s quite things happen.
I encorage you to continue hehe forget it and forgive him to that. That’s happen.
Cheeers
Scary isn’t it? I’m in a similar situation – eventually it gets to you and you lose motivation to continue with the course.
Makes one wonder how such people become high paid teachers at the school or university! There’s something wrong with the system!
Why do you need that degree at all? There are so many things where you can use the knowledge you already have. Maybe you are just wasting your time?
You know, it was just a thing where I thought it would be nice to have a degree. But as Jon B said, stuff like this really destroys your motivation. On the other hand though, the math classes I’ve been taking have been really great. I’ve even learned quite a bit in the writing classes. It is a community college, which I chose because it’s convenient – right down the street from me – and cheap. I guess you get what you pay for.
Where I teach, we let students challenge a course. That is, you demonstrate that you already know the material and you’re done. Why make people go through something they don’t need?
Check to see if there’s something similar where you are. It will keep your blood pressure from exploding.
Yeah, I considered that, but then I saw it was Python and I was really interested in that, so I took it. About half way through, I realized how bad it was and spoke to an advisor. He advised me to stick it out. Now I just have a couple more classes then the final, so I’ll grit my teeth and get through.
Education != Learning. It’s more like cattle-driving than anything.
Hope things fare better for you in later CS courses, should you decide to stick with the degree path. I had similar problems and I dropped CS entirely in the most dramatic way possible, by calling all my classmates cheaters and writing an angry letter to the department head about irresponsibility/neglect toward students.
Do the world a favor, put a note in his file.