So there's this chick who's a first year grad student along with me. She's a little older than I am--maybe 27, 28?--and she is doing her thesis research at the place she worked at before coming to SDSU. She makes sure to tell everyone all the time: "I'm doing my research at the Scripps Research Institute" (in such a tone that implies that since her research is being done at a rather large, private institution, it will be much, much better than everyone else's, who has to do research here at an under-budgeted state university).

I do not like her one bit.

She dominates conversations, thinks she's always right about everything, and--did I mention she's snooty?

Right.

So anyway, today before class, we're all talking about the little writing assignment we all had where we had to describe the discovery and function of a drug called Gleevec, which is a treatment for a very specific type of leukemia. The professor had expressed that he would appreciate it if what we wrote were on the shorter side, so everyone tried to keep their writing to a minimum.

So another girl comes in and she didn't know we had an assignment. Scripps chick interjects and goes, "Do you want to look at mine?" before shoving the paper in her face. So no-homework girl takes a look at it and hands it back. Then the girl sitting in front of Scripps chick asks if she could read it, too. Of course she obliges.

"Wow, that's really good--and short!"

So Scripps girl replies, "I know. I want to teach, so it's good practice because I have to dumb things down."

And at that point I lose whatever little respect I have left for her.

It really bothers me when teachers think they have to dumb something down to make it intelligible. My belief is that you just have to present the material better and more understandably, but not necessarily strip the material down into a mere skeleton of what it was to make it understandable.

If you have to resort to that, that just means you're an uncreative teacher.

I will be the first to admit that sometimes you might get a student (or a handful of students... or a classful of students...) that you think is more than a little "mildly retarded." But that just means you have to work harder to present all of the material in all of its complex glory.

If you don't do that, that just means you're a horrible and lazy teacher.

I hope this girl never gets to teach a class because she might turn off an entire generation of students from the sciences. Like we need any more of that.

And I hope she stops toting that sanctimonious attitude around class, though I really do not think that's gonna happen.

Ew, people who think they're always right are horrible. :(
» randomjunk on 2008-09-29 10:28:34

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