I have emailed one of them before and said I was frustrated with him. I was quite respectful and careful not to offend. I got back a couple lines that conceded nothing and basically said that what I thought didn't matter.
Whatever, I'm happy to try again, I think it's a good idea. If he doesn't take me seriously then that's something I can tell the dean. If he does, no problems.
This makes sense to me. I'm definitely still in the indignation and anger part of the process, but I can appreciate that this is just a nice chance to develop some new tools. I can figure out whether I have any clout, use it if I do and then just move on.
There were two, and they were 'bad' in different ways. Neither had any talent for teaching, both were unwilling to lift a finger to help outside of class. One was a typical powerpoint jockey, and consistently had incorrect statements on his slides. Anything from popular misquotes (Bill Gates saying no one will need more than 64 mb of memory) to downright misinformation. Brutal grammatical errors and typos in EVERYTHING he wrote. Gee, it's almost like he didn't care. Though it's less relevant, I found both obnoxiously holier-than-thou; very much the condescending academics.
Anyway, I just want to know where to direct my complaint. What's the most effective way to be heard?
> both were unwilling to lift a finger to help outside of class.
> I found both obnoxiously holier-than-thou; very much the condescending academics.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I would urge you to be slower to judgement.
I have developed at least a little bit of a reputation for being unapproachable and reluctant to help students. Which I find very unfortunate, because I am quite happy to help students and indeed wish more would seek help.
In my case I suspect there are two factors at work.
(1) I am always annoyed for an instant when I'm interrupted from my other work. I do my best to recover and welcome the student warmly, but people pick up on my very first reaction, and that's not the part I can change readily.
(2) I am teaching in the South, which is culturally unfamiliar. It is considered polite to chitchat about the weather or whatever before getting down to business, but I can never think of anything to say about the weather and typically ask students what's on their mind right away. Unfortunately, this probably makes a few people uneasy.
In short, there is probably another side to this story. If you endeavor to understand it, you will have enormously more leverage if and when you complain.
The trick is to get them when they're on academic probation. My school had the "4 horsemen of the math department" and overall their GPA averages tended to be in the "square root club" (sqrt of the GPA is higher than the actual GPA). However, when they were on academic probation it was all A's and B's.
Through a combination of dropped classes, complaints, and bad course surveys, the school eventually picked up that these guys were horrible.
I'm not interested in rebelling just for the sake of it. I also didn't clearly mention this, but I'm going to sit down with the guys at work and make sure they know what's going on. I want to discuss it with them and ask their advice, and maybe we can sort out something that works for everyone. I'm making sure I stay aware, I'm making sure that I don't overlook anything. This is not a random impulse, it's based on a development I've taken some time to think about.
But none of that changes the fact that I'm beginning to realize that I'm not really happy with this kind of environment. I don't feel comfortable explaining every detail of what I think, and I don't feel comfortable trying to justify myself. I gave a bit of background information in order to provide a bit of insight into the situation, but at this point I'm essentially asking superficial questions:
Suppose I've already decided to leave - how much are they allowed to control? What can I do to prevent them from 'punishing' me unfairly?
I don't want to sound entitled or impulsive - that's not what's going on. But I want to cover all the bases, and that includes educating myself about how much power the school really has, and what my options are.
EDIT: I didn't choose the job blindly either - I would have been perfectly happy working for nothing if it was meaningful work in Calgary. Coming home was my first priority for a number of reasons. Pay was never a factor.
Although I have never failed a work term myself (and so cannot speak from direct experience), some of my friends have. It definitely has a major impact when searching for co-op positions. Since this is your first work term, I think it would be especially hard. You don't have the high-level courses to back up your credentials (although you are probably very bright), so future employers would look at your past co-op job performances. In most of my coop interviews, the emphasis is placed on prior job performance than on marks.
Down the road, if you decide to apply to some top-tier companies, remember that you may be tied for 1st place with another student and the failed work term will put him/her over you. I can't stress the importance of not having a failed work term. The truth is that co-op employers have heard students bullshit a lot, so even if you speak the truth, they will assume that you could not handle the rigors of your first work placement.
If I were in your position, I would try my best for 2 weeks to resolve the situation at work by talking to the appropriate people. If that doesn't work, I would take things into my own hands and work on what interests me at work. A caveat: If your employer gives you stuff to work on that you don't like, but that was clearly on the job description, you should do it.
The stigma that surrounds getting a failed work term doesn't bother me too much, because A) I've always found jobs on my own anyway, and B) I'd like to experiment with entrepreneurship, or at least something closer to it.
That being said, I think I agree with trying hard to make things work for the next couple of weeks. Even though it might be intimidating or uncomfortable to stick with it for a bit longer, I think that's the most responsible move to make. And on a less important note (but one that still matters), if I don't do that, I'm going to second guess my reasons for leaving - "Maybe I did it just to run away"
Besides, when making a tough choice I've often found that if there's no clearly defined path to take, the best thing is to just be patient until it becomes obvious what to do.
Anyway, it's nice to get to mull things over with someone who knows what I'm talking about (school-wise and in general). Thanks for the advice, I'm pleasantly surprised with how things are clearing up.
"In the summer, almost 10% of the household electricity in the south of Germany is generated by solar panels."
I don't know a great deal about solar energy, and I was led to believe that it was a bit hokey or inefficient, but that is a really impressive number. Cool!
There is always capacity to choose not to act on a reactive impulse. The notion that that capacity is a finite resource which can be depleted is an illusion.
Resisting reactive impulse is one thing, but do you not find that you have a limit when it comes to willing yourself to do difficult things? Assuming that these things come one after another, of course.
I'm willing to agree that capacity for hardship is infinite in a sense, but I would also contend that it gets harder and harder to call on your willpower/self-control if you've already had to do so many times in the same day.
