Things I've learned from teaching a university course

As a senior graduate student, I was asked to teach a second year course in my department because of some faculty shuffling that was going on. Because none of the faculty was available to teach it, I was the clear choice (in the department, in that area of research, in need of money, sucker for punishment). Since starting the course, I've had numerous people ask me if I like teaching. I like lecturing, but 'teaching' involves some pretty horrible things: making up exams, marking, keeping track of grades, dealing with administration, dealing with belligerent students, etc. So, I don't REALLY like teaching, but it's not because of the standing in front of 100 students and talking for an hour and a half twice a week (I'm as surprised as you are). During this experience, I learned a couple of things that I wish I'd known as a student:

1. Being pissy to your professor WILL hurt your grade, especially if there is subjective marking involved (and possibly even if all the grades are 'objective' ie. based on multiple choice exams).
2. Related to this, be polite to your professor. If you think your grade was miscalculated, or you were somehow treated unfairly, you are FAR more likely to have the situation rectified if you say please and thank you. Making demands = far (far far far) less likely. I would even be tempted to admit that under some situations, I might make a serious effort to find a reason NOT to rectify the situation for a student who is giving me attitude.
3. Also related, YES, I know when you think I'm an idiot. I had some students who sat through lectures with a look on their face that said loud and clear "You are too young to be doing this, and I don't think you're qualified." I'll let you in on a secret: no one is qualified. There is absolutely zero training for anyone who becomes a professor, only experience. So cut me some slack.
4. Go meet your professor. Don't be all ass-kissy, but it helps if your prof knows who you are. Even going to ask a question or two after class can make an impact on your professor.
5. Related to this, you are not a faceless nameless number to me. I suspect I would be able to recognize 90% of the students in my class (which roughly works out to 85 students). I would often see my students out and about, and they didn't make eye-contact. Perhaps it was because they didn't like me, but I suspect it was more often because they thought I wouldn't recognize them. Not so.
6. Go ask your professor questions before the exam. When students came in with questions about material that I knew was covered in the exam, I often worded my explanations to mirror the questions I had included. At points, I felt like I was telling students the answers to the exam questions, but in all reality, was just answer their questions. Albeit, with a slant toward making the exam easier for the student.
7. GO REVIEW YOUR EXAMS. Most students don't do this, but those that do realize that how they read the questions tends to be more of an issue than actually knowing the material. The wording of questions is going to be specific to every course.
8. Everyone's grandparents die almost every semester. That's not to say that some of my students didn't lose one or more of their grandparents this semester, maybe a few did, but I sure as hell don't believe that 17 of them did (number of actual students who claimed this happened as a excuse for something or other). If you need an excuse, don't use your grandparents' deaths. Even if it's true, your prof will think it's bullshit. And if its a lie, you should be ashamed of invoking your grandparents in that way!!!

To be fair, I will say that my entire course was based on objective grading (multiple choice) and I didn't "fudge" any grades for my favorite students. But that's not to say I didn't WANT to. I really, really wanted to, which is why I think when things are more subjective, biases play a role in grade assignment. I also didn't subvert anyone I thought was pissy to me, but again, I really, really wanted to.

I will also make a very sincere effort to try to overcome my biases in the future. But profs are human, and human nature is to be nice to people you like, and be not nice to people you don't like. Accepting this a truth, and using it to your advantage can do wonders for your GPA.

I'm gutted

Russell Brand has just resigned from the BBC Radio 2. His show is off the air.

I'm at a loss. I listened to the Russell Brand Show every week, and savored the podcasts over several days of walking to and from school. Sometimes, if I don't have a new show to listen to, I won't listen to anything, as if I'm protesting my own podcast downloads. This is just such sad news!

I've heard Matt Morgan and Russell Brand were in talks to import their radio show to America. Gawd I hope so. I need my fix more often that Russell Brand appears in movies, and Matt Morgan is very important to this whole package!!

Any suggestions for alternative funny podcasts starring two handsome and strangely charming, always hilarious Englishmen? Hmm?

S-O-C-I-A-L-I-S-M is here to stay

I'm so confused. Why is the term "socialist" being thrown at Obama as if it's an insult? I really don't understand people who think Socialism is evil. Honestly. I'm baffled.

I mean, you don't slap your kid's hand when they share on the playground, right? Only when they don't share.

Right?

That's still right, right?

What would Jesus do? Be an atheist.

I was having a chat recently about religion, and it occurred to me how much I love Jesus. Bold words coming from a dedicated atheist since the age of 11. Don't get me wrong, I'm still an atheist, but have an understanding of what people were like prior to Jesus and you can see how special he was. Ancient Romans didn't have a word akin to 'happy'. Literally, the emotion didn't exist. The closest they came to happy was a word that meant something along the lines of safe and undisturbed. And people were mean. Husbands had the right to kill their wives, and no one would even ask why. The wealthy had slaves that they treated inhumanely, and the poor were subject to this slavery. Things were dangerous... I suppose in those times, happy was moot - safety was what was important.

But think about Jesus's message: God is love. Quoi? Sounds like atheism to me. In an era and locale where it would have been suicidal to admit you don't believe in god, how do you preach atheism? Redefine god as something else other than god. I believe in love, and the power of love, what I don't believe in is a supernatural being who decides our fate, and I don't believe this life is a prequel to eternal happiness. I don't believe that morals are absolute, but rather arbitrary rules that generally help us all survive and thrive in the world and in society.

But I like the rules that Jesus laid out. Let's be nice to each other, even if there is no obvious benefit. Let's help each other out. Let's be loving to one another. There is no reason to live in fear of a mythical monster in the sky, because he doesn't exist. All that exists is love. Right on, Jesus. I'm totally an atheist for Jesus.

Epiphany

Omg. I just had a light buld moment (literally, I think I might be powering the lamp right now). I study cognitive psychology, but I don't actually *believe* in cognitive psychology. I study low-level cognition: attention, memory, learning, perceptual processing... the detection of simply lights and sounds...

Psychology has gone through several major revolutions in its history. In it's most recent incarnation, psychology really started with Freud - but that was a bunch of non-sense. Or at least it was unscientific and completely untestable. You can't falsify something you can't prove to begin with. For example, try falsifying that we went to the moon. Just kidding. Try falsifying that someone's death is all part of God's Plan. Anyhoo, at some point psycholgy really began to be about predicting behavior, and so enter the behaviorists. There is no mind, there is only behavior. Stimulus and behavior, to be exact. We can't see the 'mind', so let's not make up fairy-tales. And then, the cognitive revolution happened. You can't talk about human behavior without talking about the mind! Cognitive psychology... no longer are we only permitted to talk about stimulus and behavior, now we can talk about the organism. What is going on in the mind of the organism. This era birthed black box psychology - stimulus goes into a black box, which does something with the information, and spits out the appropriate response.

I still think this is true. I think there is alot of psychology that requires us to postulate a mind. There is something greater that the sum of a bunch of brain cells and neurotransmitters (let's call it superadditivity to be scientific about it). But I don't think that's the kind of thing I study. It's why I'm interested in the brain, and not the mind.

I think I've been trying to work that out for 4 years. This will help. I've been Indecision-City for months, but this will help.

Apology

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

I sincerely apologize for mocking you for running for office, and I extend my apology to your constituents who elected you. You've proven yourself to be a great politician, and a real hero. I wish there were more people in office like you.

Yours truly,

Rae

Research (Tool)

Piled Higher and Deeper, a comic about grad school, has a zip-up hoodie that I would kill for. Does anyone need a guy whacked? I'll do it for $27 USD ($30 CND).

Perhaps I'll just put it on my Xmas list. Yes, I still have one.