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September 15th, 2005
  jimbojones
 | 09:29 pm - sometimes the best things happen for the worst reasons
Well, the small Chinese man is no longer teaching my Calc class. Unfortunately, he failed his doctoral boards. Although he was encouraged to try again next year, he instead threw a hissy fit and decided to go for a doctorate in computer science instead (oh, JOY that you are in my field now, small incoherent one). In a completely different university, because he - or his family, it was hard to decipher which - decided that he could "never succeed in a place like this." I'm not sure if that means he thinks that USC is biased against Chinese people, or that success is impossible here because USC is some sort of backwater... although if the latter, it's sort of a pointed statement that he couldn't CUT it in the "backwater". Anyway. Further decreasing my opinion of the guy, he bolted and left the class he was teaching hanging out to dry - three days after failing his board, he was gone.
Also, we found out tonight that - hell, I don't even know how to phrase this pithily. So far in all of three weeks of Calculus I, the butterball had decided to introduce the concept of limits to us for the very first time using ANALYSIS METHODS NORMALLY NOT PRESENTED UNTIL A MATH MAJOR'S THREE HUNDRED LEVEL COURSES. I am simultaneously pleased with myself that I was doing a fairly good job of grokking it anyway, and INTENSELY relieved that no, Calculus I is NOT really supposed to be that fucking hard, we're supposed to be three years deep in it before we have to learn that shit. What in god's name possessed this jackass to INTRODUCE calculus with third-year math-major analytical techniques?
However, sometimes the shittiest things lead to the nicest things. As shitty as it was for him to abandon the class out of nowhere, instead of some random ESL'er grad student with neither the aptitude, the training, nor the motivation for teaching, we now have a genuine, no-shit, this-is-really-my-job-and-I-care about it instructor. Who speaks fluent English. And makes EYE CONTACT with the class. And answers questions. I feel better about this class after a single night with her teaching it - I can actually pay attention to the INSTRUCTOR in class now instead of taking "notes" out of the textbook, huzzah!
And now, off to see The 40 Year Old Virgin with Leigh.
Current Mood: pleased
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