- 10,832
I'm going to school right now for computer science/programming*. As anyone who's taken on programming knows, it can be tricky, especially when it's a totally new aspect in a language you don't know. Those same people will also know that good resources are the key to learning, that and practice, practice, practice. In my situation one of my resources is supposed to be the instructor, Dr. Lee. Problem is, Dr. Lee is from Korea and has not come close to mastering English. In fact, his English is downright atrocious. This wasn't too much of a problem at first since I'd covered the material on my own prior to starting formal education in it, so it was mostly review. But even then I'd spend half the class thinking "WTF did he just say?" The class progressed to a point where all the material was new to me and the instructor's explanations became more necessary, but their value remained the same, worthless. I'd ask questions and listen to the answer, have no idea what he said, and just let it drop because I knew no amount of reiteration would clarify anything. I also learned that nobody else in the class could understand him either.
Aside from his difficulty in English and impenetrable accent, he seems to not really understand how people learn. A good example is Java's use of formal parameters and arguments to methods. I was totally in the dark about how these worked, what their purpose was, etc. All he would've had to say was something like "formal parameters are aliases, their name is unimportant, call it String choppedLiver; . . . it doesn't matter". To me this would've been an obvious thing to point out to a class of programming newbies (not to mention enough to allow me to answer about 50 other questions for myself), but it never occurred to him. When asked about it, or anything else, he obviously lacked the insight to anticipate what simple yet ambigious concepts to clear up; he lacks the ability to understand what people are asking, which is part of a teacher's job.
In the 13th and 14th weeks of the class I fell maybe a week behind due to not understanding the assignments. It bothered me a lot. I got a little depressed. I didn't want to think about it. It snowballed. I began to think I'd not get an "A", which no matter what anyone says, is important to me. So one day I showed up to class early to talk to him and get some questions answered when out of the blue a substitute teacher walked in. Lo-and-behold he could speak English perfectly. He seemed to know what people were asking and answered questions thoroughly, making sure people understood, which was reflected in the new, previously non-existent class participation taking place. He explained things in different ways, interjected perspectives from the non-academic, real-world of programming in the buisiness, which is pure gold for someone like me. He actually used the dry erase board, made the asshole next to me stop chatting and hammering away at his keyboard throughout the entire class (a major distraction), and reigned in the class-question-hog who'd go on-and-on asking one redundant question after another, arguing incorrect points and taking up valuable class time (Dr. Lee just let it happen... what a great use of class time I paid for).
In two weeks with a sub I am completely back up to speed, and not a second too soon, as the final project is due in six days and the class is over right after that. Getting this substitute saved my ass. I would have to call it a very serendipitous event. That's not to say I have no anxiety over the final couple weeks of the class, but you get the point.
I'm seriously considering writing a letter to the department head about Dr. Lee to complain about is total ineffectualness as a teacher for the reasons above. I would never, ever, take another class with him again. I'd drive 35 miles to the other campus to avoid it. So there you have it.
*yeah I made a thread about returning to school for digital design way back but the plan changed and I couldn't see making a new thread about it
Aside from his difficulty in English and impenetrable accent, he seems to not really understand how people learn. A good example is Java's use of formal parameters and arguments to methods. I was totally in the dark about how these worked, what their purpose was, etc. All he would've had to say was something like "formal parameters are aliases, their name is unimportant, call it String choppedLiver; . . . it doesn't matter". To me this would've been an obvious thing to point out to a class of programming newbies (not to mention enough to allow me to answer about 50 other questions for myself), but it never occurred to him. When asked about it, or anything else, he obviously lacked the insight to anticipate what simple yet ambigious concepts to clear up; he lacks the ability to understand what people are asking, which is part of a teacher's job.
In the 13th and 14th weeks of the class I fell maybe a week behind due to not understanding the assignments. It bothered me a lot. I got a little depressed. I didn't want to think about it. It snowballed. I began to think I'd not get an "A", which no matter what anyone says, is important to me. So one day I showed up to class early to talk to him and get some questions answered when out of the blue a substitute teacher walked in. Lo-and-behold he could speak English perfectly. He seemed to know what people were asking and answered questions thoroughly, making sure people understood, which was reflected in the new, previously non-existent class participation taking place. He explained things in different ways, interjected perspectives from the non-academic, real-world of programming in the buisiness, which is pure gold for someone like me. He actually used the dry erase board, made the asshole next to me stop chatting and hammering away at his keyboard throughout the entire class (a major distraction), and reigned in the class-question-hog who'd go on-and-on asking one redundant question after another, arguing incorrect points and taking up valuable class time (Dr. Lee just let it happen... what a great use of class time I paid for).
In two weeks with a sub I am completely back up to speed, and not a second too soon, as the final project is due in six days and the class is over right after that. Getting this substitute saved my ass. I would have to call it a very serendipitous event. That's not to say I have no anxiety over the final couple weeks of the class, but you get the point.
I'm seriously considering writing a letter to the department head about Dr. Lee to complain about is total ineffectualness as a teacher for the reasons above. I would never, ever, take another class with him again. I'd drive 35 miles to the other campus to avoid it. So there you have it.
*yeah I made a thread about returning to school for digital design way back but the plan changed and I couldn't see making a new thread about it
