Teach Fzx Tuesday - Aggressive Learners

Dr. Fred ... was my Geology professor Grove City College.  He taught Geology and Biology and was purportedly called as an expert witness in geology and water hearings.  The worst professor I ever had, he was commonly known as Elmer Fudd.

"Hewwo.  My name is Doctow Fwed ....  I teach Biowogy and Geowogy at Gwove City Cowwege and I named my daugtew Ewaine ... (just so I couldn't pwonounce hew name)."

I would walk into Geology class, check his book to see what page was open, and highlight sentences that he read to us.  He would try to copy boldfaced words from the text three letters at a time but his dislexia was so severe that he would usually give up and erase the attempt.  I quickly figured out that an A was easy if I just studied the sentences he read to us and the words he tried to spell.

I learned such expressions as "a few french fries short of a Happy Meal" and his favorite "Basically, the aspects of...."  We started counting and he averaged more than one "basicawwy" and "de aspects" every minute of every class.

My description may seem far-fetched but I have witnesses.  His upper level lab classes were apparently a completely different experience, but I hated my time with him.  Fwed was essentially the only poor professor I had in my time at Grove City.  Some were dry and boring and overly technical, but nothing like him.

I just put up with it since that's how I was raised and I was a young 20 at the time.

My wife is obsessed with German.  We took an introductory German class together a few years ago and it was almost as bad as my Geowogy expewience.  He didn't read from the book nor did he have speech impediments we could ridicule but he sucked at his chosen job.

I and a few others had zero knowledge of German but a pair of young ladies had taken four years of German in high school and they were his favorites.  They smiled and giggled and were the only ones who could participate at the level he expected.

The conceited American lawyer had moved to the US at 7 years old.  He spoke the language well from what I could tell, but he did not understand the basics of grammar.

Students asked the question "But why is the word order like that in German?" - "I can't explain it, that's just the way it is" was his response.  Since I had actually read the book that he chose, I raised my hand and referred to page 34 where it clearly explained the rule and reason.  That happened three times.  Same question.  Same answer.  Same page reference.

I paid for the book and I paid for the class.  I expected better.  Not only arrogant and essentially unprepared for class, the professor also refused to modify anything when I requested specific changes in person and by email in the nicest way I could muster.  Less than half the class was left by the end of that angry semester.

The dean of his school and I had a conversation concerning this professor's incompetence at the end of that semester but nothing came of it.  I didn't like German.  I was stuck with a book I would never use again.  I should have requested a refund.

The most important stakeholder in education is clearly the student.  Yet we train them to sit silently in the face of what could be called educational neglect and abuse.  We need to raise up aggressive learners not willing to put up with inferior education.