Disillusioned: adj. - Disappointed in someone or something that one discovers to be less good than one had believed.Remember this post? The one where I stood, starry-eyed, looking at the next 18 months of Masters Program Bliss through apparently rose-colored glasses?
Well, I take it back.
How about, instead, plenty of nights where I come home tense and frustrated from four hours of wasted time.
I've reached a conclusion.
Those who can teach, do. Those who can't become professors of education.
And I don't think my expectations are unreasonable. All I expect the teachers to do is:
- Teach something that has something to do with the weekly objectives listed on the syllabus.
- Act like they've ever read the description of the assignment. Be able to answer questions about the upcoming assignments.
I used to have a longer list. Now I see it as a pipe dream.
- Reward excellent work with excellent grades. Give mediocre grades to mediocre work.
- Extend the information included in the weekly reading with relevant experience.
- Be engaging.
- Teach by example how to reach students with different learning styles.
At first I thought it was just this one teacher, but the pattern of poor instruction persists. I find it really sad that I am adjusting to the idea that I'm just paying for my degree. Apparently, I'll exchange thousands of dollars for hours of wasted time as long as I get a fancy piece of paper at the end.
Bitter: adj - Marked by resentment or cynicism.
Okay. Maybe I am a little bitter, too.
3 comments:
I could definitely get on my soap box about this topic. When I worked for the University of Utah Reading Clinic we were always going off on how horrible master and sometimes doctorate programs are these days. We came across so many educators with master and doctorate degrees who didn't know half of the stuff they needed to. Higher Ed needs to get their butts in gear! My former boss left the U of U faculty because she was so disgusted with what she saw.
Before I met Christopher, I was working on getting my masters but quit soon after because I was learning more at the clinic than I was in class. I was so frustrated with the quality of education I was receiving. Anyhow, I could probably go off for another few hours but I'll stop there.
So sorry Andrea.
Well, I can't say I love all of my professors, but I can safely say that all but one of them (in the Electrical Engineering department) is an absolute genius and master of their field. Sadly, I am not surprised to hear a much dimmer view of most soft-science and arts academians.
Sadly, getting a PhD does not require any coursework in the art of actually teaching. Most professors who know how to educate know it because they love to teach. Few masters of their field feel this way.
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