MattusMaximus
Intellectual Gladiator
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2006
- Messages
- 15,948
It's nutbars like this woman who give higher-ed academia a bad name. As an adjunct college professor myself, this kind of garbage pisses me off to no end 
I hate to stereotype...but...I have noted that a high number of the worst offenders when it comes to not teaching the subject but indulging in rants about their pet theories (often having nothing to do with subject of the course) are English Professors. There must be a reason for this....
Today she threw drops of rum on the classroom floor in prayer for the souls of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Jacob, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X. Yes, threw rum on the floor.
Lord help me.
Today she threw drops of rum on the classroom floor in prayer for the souls of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Jacob, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X. Yes, threw rum on the floor.
Lord help me.
This is one of the weirdest threads I have ever read. I'm so sorry, Eeney! This person is wasting your time and money and the time and money of so many others.![]()
I hate to stereotype...but...I have noted that a high number of the worst offenders when it comes to not teaching the subject but indulging in rants about their pet theories (often having nothing to do with subject of the course) are English Professors. There must be a reason for this....
THIS?!?! is the weirdest thread you have ever read?
We have people come here and claim to be able to levitate, move objects with the mind, and my personal favorite, they hear voices.
Here's an example of what I mean by this woman sounding like, I'm sorry, an uniformed moron even when she is arguably correct and one actually pretty much agrees with what she is saying. I blush a little as I write this...
She, out of nowhere, started talking about ADD in grade school children and why she thinks it is bogus.
Imagine this with a heavy Jamaican accent (this conversation is reconstructed to the best of my recollection)-
"All these kids have ADD now? Why they have ADD? They all on Ritalin! Why they on Ritalin? Why they have ADD?"
Silence. I decide to say something sensible and informed to her poorly informed, half baked, uneducated, crass and silly over generalizations and pseudo information.
Me: "Well, they have a neurological disorder."
"They 'ave a neurological disorder cause they stuck inside school all day and they wanna talk! They wanna run around, play, go games, go on the computer! And the school make 'em learn math! They tell 'em learn the multiplication tables!"
Me: "Well, ADD is indeed often misdiagnosed and over diagnosed in children but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist and that it isn't a real problem in the children who do have it and that drugs aren't a real treatment for-"
"They 'have a 'disorder' cause they go crazy inside the 'hole day!"
Silence.
"My nephew, the school make-a him learn all the Chinese dynasties! All of them! All the kings, all the year, all these ancient Chinese dynasties! They wanne him to learn all this! And what these kids thinking about all day? What they thinking about? What they thinking about? "
Silence.
"SEX! Boyfriend and girlfriend!"
Everyone laughs uncomfortably, shifts uncomfortably or looks really confused because we all think she is still talking about grade school children. Silence.
Girl in class: "Uhm, well, that depends what age they are-"
"HIGH SCHOOL! My nephew is in high school!"
Girl in class: "Yeah, ancient China can't compete with that!"
Laughter all around.
Good grief.
I agree that the "at least one crazy professor per degree" requirement is probably true. You fell into the "Black studies" type. Other popular ones are the "alternative history" type and the "religious nutcase" type, as we see here.
Sooooo, she's an instructor opposed to education? Yay! Again, on behalf of English teachers everywhere, I'd like to assure you that most of us are not like this.
Well, I'm glad to hear that you’re graduating.
Congratulations.
Back in the late 70’s I had an electronics teacher who claimed he had invented a device to electronically cure and heal people. Claimed he was testing on himself for “longevity” (extending his lifespan was my take on that) and that it was under going clinical testing (I never believed that one). From the stories he would tell you would have thought he had lived for over 100 years already. When I would ask him how it worked he would just say that it sent 3 “signals” through the body. When I would ask him for more detail he would just laugh and say that he wasn’t going to give away his secret. In spite of those rather bizarre assertions he certainly knew and was quite able to teach electronics (one of the best electronic teachers I have ever had). The point of this story is that people can be both knowledgeable and able to teach effectively their subject of interest even if they might have some rather peculiar beliefs, even about that subject of interest. With some critical thinking (that you seem to have no problem with) one can take the effective information to heart and basically just shrug at the ancillary peculiarities.

Don't worry, this is completely normal, it's an unwritten requirement for all undergrad students to have at least one crazy professor.
My geography prof wanted all of the humans on earth to die in order to save the planet.
You have 2 choices here:
1.) argue with the prof at every opportunity
2.) relax and enjoy the thought that it is almost over![]()