Random Thoughts XII - This Thread Delivers

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I wonder how many times a day I use the words ******* stupid or ******* dumb in a sentence during the course of a day

Ie; Boy he's ******* dumb
Man they're ******* stupid.
 
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A question for the current and former members of the academic world: what are your thoughts on classes that have consistently low average grades? It seems like every year classes such as Physics, EM classes, and the Calculus track have a terrible final class average. For example, I took Calc 2 last semester and there were almost 1000 people in the class. The final class grade was 54% before the curve. I was lucky my 60% curved to a passing grade but now I'm in Calc 3 and I feel like I'm really lacking in concepts that the professors say I should have learned in Calc 2 (and I'm not alone, as the test scores for this semester are showing). I feel like I'm constantly having to play catch-up and the class keeps steamrolling ahead and using curves to keep passing people along. On the flip side, my Statics exam just got passed back and the average was 58%. The professor said they aren't going to curve it because they want to prove the point that people can't just skate through classes by beating the curve. I would argue that there is something fundamentally wrong if the average is that low. 1000 people can't be that bad at Statics, right? Obviously there isn't a simple solution, but I'd be interested to hear the other side of the story.
 
A question for the current and former members of the academic world: what are your thoughts on classes that have consistently low average grades? It seems like every year classes such as Physics, EM classes, and the Calculus track have a terrible final class average. For example, I took Calc 2 last semester and there were almost 1000 people in the class. The final class grade was 54% before the curve. I was lucky my 60% curved to a passing grade but now I'm in Calc 3 and I feel like I'm really lacking in concepts that the professors say I should have learned in Calc 2 (and I'm not alone, as the test scores for this semester are showing). I feel like I'm constantly having to play catch-up and the class keeps steamrolling ahead and using curves to keep passing people along. On the flip side, my Statics exam just got passed back and the average was 58%. The professor said they aren't going to curve it because they want to prove the point that people can't just skate through classes by beating the curve. I would argue that there is something fundamentally wrong if the average is that low. 1000 people can't be that bad at Statics, right? Obviously there isn't a simple solution, but I'd be interested to hear the other side of the story.

My tack from the early 1970's is still valid today. Take easier courses!

And make sure they aren't early morning classes. :rolleyes:
 
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My tack from the early 1970's is still valid today. Take easier courses!

And make sure they aren't early morning classes. :rolleyes:
I'm taking 22 credits including physics, statics, and calc 3 this semester. On the bright side, I have class from 1pm - 5pm every day so I guess I got 1 of the 2 right. These days I'll take 50% :confused:
 
If you are concerned that you are falling behind why the heck are you taking 22 credits? I get it that college is expensive, but that just seems a recipe for disaster if you are concerned that the curve is making you fall behind already.
 
A question for the current and former members of the academic world: what are your thoughts on classes that have consistently low average grades? It seems like every year classes such as Physics, EM classes, and the Calculus track have a terrible final class average. For example, I took Calc 2 last semester and there were almost 1000 people in the class. The final class grade was 54% before the curve. I was lucky my 60% curved to a passing grade but now I'm in Calc 3 and I feel like I'm really lacking in concepts that the professors say I should have learned in Calc 2 (and I'm not alone, as the test scores for this semester are showing). I feel like I'm constantly having to play catch-up and the class keeps steamrolling ahead and using curves to keep passing people along. On the flip side, my Statics exam just got passed back and the average was 58%. The professor said they aren't going to curve it because they want to prove the point that people can't just skate through classes by beating the curve. I would argue that there is something fundamentally wrong if the average is that low. 1000 people can't be that bad at Statics, right? Obviously there isn't a simple solution, but I'd be interested to hear the other side of the story.
If the classes are consistently that low scoring, semester after semester, the department might want to revisit the pre-reqs for the class, or take a closer look at the instructor evaluations.

If it's specifically the classes you are in each semester, you might want to re-evaluate the course load you are carrying and perhaps opt for a summer semester or two, to spread out the amount of study time you need to put in.

As for the class times, I'm NOT a morning person, but I preferred am classes. There's something about a warm post lunch lecture hall that is extremely conducive to nap-time...
 
I just posted in the ticket exchange but thought I would mention it here. Due to my mom's surgery my parents are unable to make it to the Tech game and are selling their tickets. $60 each in section D. You would have to sit with me though soooo
 
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I just posted in the ticket exchange but thought I would mention it here. Due to my mom's surgery my parents are unable to make it to the Tech game and are selling their tickets. $60 each in section D. You would have to sit with me though soooo
Ohhhhh, that's a deal breaker!
 
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I'm taking 22 credits including physics, statics, and calc 3 this semester. On the bright side, I have class from 1pm - 5pm every day so I guess I got 1 of the 2 right. These days I'll take 50% :confused:

I don't usually understand the concept of designing courses for extremely low scores.
That said, 1000 people could be that bad at statics.
22 credits is a disaster waiting to happen. Anyone is going to fall behind trying to keep up with that. As someone who pushes past reasonable limits as a lifestyle, that's way beyond reality.
 
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