The Month Ode to the Guy Brutus Thinks is Douche contents...

Speaking of douche contents..... Let me just fill you in on my latest government instructor. I'm not going to say that I'm a racist, because I'm not. First, let's define the term racism. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary racism is 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2 : racial prejudice or discrimination. OK definition 1, I do not believe that the Filipino race is superior to a particular race...by far. Number two, this is a little iffy because I believe that every person has a particular prejudice or discrimination toward a certain race. Let's break down some examples:

1) Inter-racial relationships: There are many combination between races and the most common one's I have seen are these two scenarios: White girl/black guy or Asian girl/ white guy. Notice the genders because if you reverse them, the frequency trend drops tremendously.

2) Stereotypes: Obviously these still exist because there is a bit of truth in some cases. For instance being a server, I still complain at the site of certain races and individuals... I know, I know this is horrible, but from my experience no matter how great the service, you rarely receive the incentive deserved. Even though, this is usually the case, I can not give anyone bad service on purpose, because I know there are a selected few that deviate from this trend....me being one of them. I know I must not look like the best tipper, so I always keep that in mind.

I can think of a number other examples...but I'll let you brainstorm on your own because I know race is a touchy subject. Let's just keep our own inner thoughts and opinions in our minds where they belong, shall we?

With all of this in mind, I just wanted to point out that I believe I understand the meaning of racism and I would like to think I can point out a racist when I see one.

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So, if you haven't guessed already this subject ties in with my government instructor. The most ironic thing is that he consistently speaks of equality and civil rights (and yada yada I think we all get the gist of the subject) but in actuality, he is the one that does not promote equality by abusing his authority on his students. Take a gander at this e-mail I sent to the dean of students, assistant dean of students, the social science department head, and the government department head:

To whom this may concern:

I'm not exactly sure who to contact for information regarding my concerns about a course and an instructor, but I was given these e-mail addresses to contact about my situation. As of right now, I will not disclose any names regarding these incidents because I want to first be fully informed.

Currently, I'm enrolled in a course, and I feel like the instructor may be treating students unfairly. For example, in the syllabus it clearly states: "Two (2) absences are the allowed limit (regardless of the reason). Three (3) or more unexcused absences will result in the student being dropped from the course. Late arrivals and early departures require a signature and time on the late/early sheet, on instructor's desk, or will be marked/modified as absent. A late arrival and/or early departure will be rounded to a 1/3, 1/2(,) or full absence." It is to my understanding that yes, attendance is crucial to learning; but according to the syllabus, hypothetically, a student may either be absent for 2 days or be late up to 6 times if rounded to 1/3 of an absence each time "regardless of reason." But in reality, each time a student is absent or late, the instructor emphasizes the problem and now does not allow admittance into the classroom at all if a student is even one minute late. The door is locked, and a sign that says, "Class has begun. Do not enter" is taped to the door. This very act goes against what the syllabus says, and it is unfair to students that are still in compliance to the syllabus. I wanted to know if an instructor can go against their own syllabus and forbid students to enter a classroom.

Proper classroom conduct should be common sense, but some people's standards differ. The syllabus states that "no hostile, rude or, otherwise, disrespectful behavior towards instructor or fellow students will be tolerated. A student will be directed to counseling and/or dropped from the class for behavioral infractions." I truly understand these statements, but nowhere does it state that a student will be evicted from class during instruction. To my understanding, the "warning" is to "be directed to counseling." I would hope that this would be in a proper fashion which would not add to distraction in class; but in my opinion, this is not the case. I do not believe that asking another student a question, or jotting down a reminder for assignment for another class during a video can be equivalent to "hostile, rude or, otherwise, disrespectful behavior" and should not lead to being kicked out of the classroom. It seems more appropriate to quietly remind the students to not converse during a video and to put everything away, instead of making a scene by making students pack up their things and leave the classroom. These distractions are worse.

Another concern of mine is related to assignments. Assignments are to be of "college level standards," but the instructor has said that work cited pages are not needed because he/she knows where the information comes from and knows whether or not if it is copied or pasted from the internet. But when a student wanted to "make sure" if a common work cited page was necessary for a written assignment, the instructor scolded said student and said, "Don't make sure. Just listen." I think it's ironic because much emphasis is gone toward how this is an introductory course and that most of the students are fairly new to the college course level scene, but leniency is rarely given. For the most current assignment, a plot summary on the political issues of a movie was assigned. Students were given a choice between V for Vendetta or Good Night, and Good Luck. Again, a source page was not needed, but this time a receipt for the rental of these movies was required. When asked "What if you have the movie?" or "What if we borrow the movie from a friend?," the only reply was to "Rent it." I know I cannot speak as one voice for the whole class, but it seems unfair to me because I know that not every student has economic means to be forced to rent a video. This very act may seem a little minuscule, but just the principle of being forced to pay for something when it is not necessary seems a bit harsh and somewhat vindictive for no apparent reason. The only reason the students were given for this was that this is a way to ensure a summary was not plagiarized from the internet and that it was insurance that the movies were actually watched. For one, I don't see how a rental receipt can verify either act because it just shows that a person rented a film, not that they have watched it. Another thing is that the instructor's very reason for not wanting work cited pages was that he/she already knows where the information is coming from; and if this is true, then this said "insurance" or receipt is not necessary, since it is all knowing.

Each student is given academic freedom, and this is also included in the syllabus. It states that "students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics." It is true that not every person can think on the exact same wave length; but according to a student's academic freedom, it should be a student's right to have their own personal opinion. If a topic is brought up in class, the instructor fully includes his/her viewpoint. But if a student attempts to oppose the instructor's way of thinking, the instructor is quick to say that the student is not as well-educated as him/her, that what he/she is saying is not "bullshit," and if you do not believe his/her opinion, "you can Google it." And for this very reason, fewer students desire to voice their beliefs in the classroom.

These are just a few examples, but the structure of the course does not seem solid and the class environment is anything but pleasant. It's as if students are being forced to walk on egg shells because one does not know what will not please the instructor. I know it is a student's responsibility for their own success for a course, but I also believe that an instructor should be there to help guide a student in the right direction. I bring up these issues because I know that there is some kind of problem in the classroom because I'm a senior at UT, and I've never encountered a problem like this before in my whole college career. I think it is too difficult and almost impossible to learn in a classroom if the student dreads being present. There are many other students who share my same concerns about this course and instructor. We just want to know how much authority can be taken when it comes to our education.

Thank you for your time.

The funniest part about this is that I sent this before I received my assignment back and turns out that some of my concerns were valid... I stated,

"I don't see how a rental receipt can verify either act because it just shows that a person rented a film, not that they have watched it. Another thing is that the instructor's very reason for not wanting work cited pages was that he/she already knows where the information is coming from; and if this is true, then this said "insurance" or receipt is not necessary, since it is all knowing."

My very assignment was returned with a docked grade and a written note saying, "Most if not all of this assignment sounds like it came directly from a professional website." WTF? I thought that he knew where everything came from? If he did, he would know that my assignment contents can not be found anywhere on the damn internet. Apparently, I was being punished because my writing is too good and professional sounding. This guy makes me sick, but he has inspired me to start a brand new thread on my blog. ****

***PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT ARE ANNOYING &/OR FRUSTRATING***

I will add specific topics to this thread in future posts and we'll see how things pans out....

Click HERE and tell me your thoughts.