So I Just sent my Calc professor an... interesting... email. What y'all think?

[jordanhendrix]

jhobson5 wrote:

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jordanhendrix wrote:

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jhobson5 wrote:

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^^^^Not when you go to lets say an Engineering School or something along those terms. Weed out classes are easy "The tough will survive and the weak will struggle". An Engineering college such as I went to is cut throat, because if you make it out of there your salary is well deserved. In my case, If I tell an employer where I went to college its "Wow how did your survive that, I hear a lot of kids drop out because its so hard", My first two years were tough (the weed out years), I saw a lot and I mean a lot of kids transfer and drop out. But once you get into your major your professors are very knowledgeable about subjects and arent there teaching over a 100 kids per class session. You have to be crazy to think that there is no "weed" out classes.

So you went to a tough school for the first time to study a very hard major that is known to be tough. The first few classes were hard (then it got easier) so they MUST be weed out classes? Thats a tough major and good job! But to say that the classes are purposefully hard to knock kids out is illogical. There is no basis for that other than hearsay and rumors.
You do agree that no school will tell you its a weed out class right? New things are hard for people, some can handle engineering some cant...you saw that with your own eyes. It doesnt mean the school has it set up for some to fail on purpose...thats against their model. 

I agree that there are some classes that serve as weed out classes, but its not a schools doing, its the nature of education.



Ill make this point and we can agree to disagree. Some schools not just mine require their students to get a certain grade in pre-req classes before they can go on to the next class in the pre-req sequence. For example my school you had to pass Chem I, Physics I&II, Calc I\II\ and III, Environmental Science, Statics and a few others I cant think of with a "C" or better. If you didnt you would have to take the class again. And ill personally say they try to really make these classes difficult so that people cant just "slide" by and cheat their way thru it would have been impossible to cheat in these classes. And lots of my friends had to take classes over and some quite because it was too hard. 

This clearly shows the underlying principal...Weed out classes  
  


or it just means its a hard major... their aren't weed out courses for history.
of course you need a certain grade for a pre req to move on but that doesnt make it a weed out class.

The underlying principle (NOT PrinciPAL) isnt clear at all. You coud say that those classes are hard because they are new to people. Why should people who cant pass move on to the next class? Again it doesnt mean a class is set up up solely to eliminate as many people as possible.
Can you agree with me that engineering is hard and it takes a smart person who works hard to move to next level ?

When people get knocked out it doesnt necessarily mean the school has some master plan to flunk the dummies. Weed out classes are an excuse. One you didn't accept yourself.

Look you get a lot of credit for graduating and congrats on surviving an elite major that most cant handle. Its just a hard major not some death gauntlet that is set up by the school.

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

of course you need a certain grade for a pre req to move on but that doesnt make it a weed out class.

The underlying principle (NOT PrinciPAL) isnt clear at all. You coud say that those classes are hard because they are new to people. Why should people who cant pass move on to the next class? Again it doesnt mean a class is set up up solely to eliminate as many people as possible.
Can you agree with me that engineering is hard and it takes a smart person who works hard to move to next level ?

When people get knocked out it doesnt necessarily mean the school has some master plan to flunk the dummies. Weed out classes are an excuse. One you didn't accept yourself.

Look you get a lot of credit for graduating and congrats on surviving an elite major that most cant handle. Its just a hard major not some death gauntlet that is set up by the school.

Like I said we agree to disagree. In my view weed out classes exist because I lived through it. I dont think my college and professors wanted me to fail, but I think its the nature of the beast in the way most curriculums are set up. The kids who work hard and want to be successful shine through because they study and work hard, the kids who came to college to get by dont get by in those classes. Hence, they weed out those slackers out.

  

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

of course you need a certain grade for a pre req to move on but that doesnt make it a weed out class.

The underlying principle (NOT PrinciPAL) isnt clear at all. You coud say that those classes are hard because they are new to people. Why should people who cant pass move on to the next class? Again it doesnt mean a class is set up up solely to eliminate as many people as possible.
Can you agree with me that engineering is hard and it takes a smart person who works hard to move to next level ?

When people get knocked out it doesnt necessarily mean the school has some master plan to flunk the dummies. Weed out classes are an excuse. One you didn't accept yourself.

Look you get a lot of credit for graduating and congrats on surviving an elite major that most cant handle. Its just a hard major not some death gauntlet that is set up by the school.

Like I said we agree to disagree. In my view weed out classes exist because I lived through it. I dont think my college and professors wanted me to fail, but I think its the nature of the beast in the way most curriculums are set up. The kids who work hard and want to be successful shine through because they study and work hard, the kids who came to college to get by dont get by in those classes. Hence, they weed out those slackers out.

  

 

[jordanhendrix]

^^So its the nature of the major...not the schools doing then right?

 

[jordanhendrix]

^^So its the nature of the major...not the schools doing then right?

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

^^So its the nature of the major...not the schools doing then right?

I went to an all Engineering School all we had was Engineering majors and an Econ degree. But everyone had to take the same exact pre req classes for 2 years. So from my experience its the school. And lots of other schools have the same sort of rules as well.

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

^^So its the nature of the major...not the schools doing then right?

I went to an all Engineering School all we had was Engineering majors and an Econ degree. But everyone had to take the same exact pre req classes for 2 years. So from my experience its the school. And lots of other schools have the same sort of rules as well.

 

[jordanhendrix]

how can you conclude that if you went to a school that has 2 degrees....both hard?
The story is different at normal schools with several majors, some which have what you would call weed outs some dont, a school is tough or not a major is tough or not. No school has an official weed out, the dont need to the major does it for them.

Stop the conspiracy my man!

 

[jordanhendrix]

how can you conclude that if you went to a school that has 2 degrees....both hard?
The story is different at normal schools with several majors, some which have what you would call weed outs some dont, a school is tough or not a major is tough or not. No school has an official weed out, the dont need to the major does it for them.

Stop the conspiracy my man!

 

[destination kicks]

Originally Posted by Its A DC Thing

OP you got Professor Eric Partridge right? 

  Wait... how'd you...

Oh and still no e-mail back.  Which is odd because he normally sends between 5-10 e-mails the day before an exam. 

For all those saying, "Shut up and learn the material". The exams and the exam format are nothing like what's in the book so it's not like i can just read the book and come in to class and follow his examples and that's that.

 

[destination kicks]

Originally Posted by Its A DC Thing

OP you got Professor Eric Partridge right? 

  Wait... how'd you...

Oh and still no e-mail back.  Which is odd because he normally sends between 5-10 e-mails the day before an exam. 

For all those saying, "Shut up and learn the material". The exams and the exam format are nothing like what's in the book so it's not like i can just read the book and come in to class and follow his examples and that's that.

 

[dirtylicious]

do you read the material before the day's lecture or after?
it's possible he teaches with the expectation that you've already looked at the material for the day.

 

[dirtylicious]

do you read the material before the day's lecture or after?
it's possible he teaches with the expectation that you've already looked at the material for the day.

 

[destination kicks]

Dirty- Yes, trust me I'm a good student. Dean's List all three semesters, and no grade below a B+. It's not like I just show up to class write what's on the board, go home, and then go back to class. I've put forth a pretty good amount of effort.

 

[destination kicks]

Dirty- Yes, trust me I'm a good student. Dean's List all three semesters, and no grade below a B+. It's not like I just show up to class write what's on the board, go home, and then go back to class. I've put forth a pretty good amount of effort.

 

[nawth21]

Every non remedial course should be a weed out class. If you can't cut it, you can't cut it. Every major here requires you to get a C- or better for program required courses (pre req or otherwise). MnTC courses (our gen eds/lib studies) are just passing or better. Now some programs require you to get a B or better. Then of course you have SAP standards to adhere to, that's gpa and cumulative completion.

 

[nawth21]

Every non remedial course should be a weed out class. If you can't cut it, you can't cut it. Every major here requires you to get a C- or better for program required courses (pre req or otherwise). MnTC courses (our gen eds/lib studies) are just passing or better. Now some programs require you to get a B or better. Then of course you have SAP standards to adhere to, that's gpa and cumulative completion.

 

[destination kicks]

Oh and this program is not a prereq for any courses related to my Major or Minor. My adviser said it would make upper-level Econ courses easier and I've always found myself to be pretty good at Math so I figured I'd take it.

 

[destination kicks]

Oh and this program is not a prereq for any courses related to my Major or Minor. My adviser said it would make upper-level Econ courses easier and I've always found myself to be pretty good at Math so I figured I'd take it.

 

[Renaldo Balkman]

talk to the higher ups.... only way anything will get done. I would also get a petition going on with others in your class so they know this is not an isolated incident

 

[Renaldo Balkman]

talk to the higher ups.... only way anything will get done. I would also get a petition going on with others in your class so they know this is not an isolated incident

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

how can you conclude that if you went to a school that has 2 degrees....both hard?
The story is different at normal schools with several majors, some which have what you would call weed outs some dont, a school is tough or not a major is tough or not. No school has an official weed out, the dont need to the major does it for them.

Stop the conspiracy my man!

  

2 degrees??? I hope you do realize there are many different types of Engineering degrees my friend...We had  Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Petroleum, Mining, Metallurgical, and Environmental Engineering. Not to forget the Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Bio-Chemistry, and Statistics. So I think we had a little more then 2 degrees. What makes a college normal by the way? I consider my school normal, we just specialized in engineering.  But you are right no school has a list in the secret vault in the deans office labeled "Weed Out Classes".

I can even prove my point further, many colleges have common hour examines(meaning all examines are given at the same time and all examines have the same exact questions the only difference is the numbers in order to prevent cheating). Meaning a department feels that all students should know the same information, and if a student cannot pass these examines its not fit for them to move one. And some of these common hour exams are made quite difficult to ensure students study and weed out the weaker ones....

This was the best explanation i got for a weed out class with a quick search:

Most universities call these classes "Performance Metrics"

Typically these are undergraduate classes that are prerequisites for graduate degrees that have high enrollment requests combined with high failure rates - e.g. Medical School, Law School, et cetera.

 

[jhobson5]

Originally Posted by jordanhendrix

how can you conclude that if you went to a school that has 2 degrees....both hard?
The story is different at normal schools with several majors, some which have what you would call weed outs some dont, a school is tough or not a major is tough or not. No school has an official weed out, the dont need to the major does it for them.

Stop the conspiracy my man!

  

2 degrees??? I hope you do realize there are many different types of Engineering degrees my friend...We had  Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Petroleum, Mining, Metallurgical, and Environmental Engineering. Not to forget the Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Bio-Chemistry, and Statistics. So I think we had a little more then 2 degrees. What makes a college normal by the way? I consider my school normal, we just specialized in engineering.  But you are right no school has a list in the secret vault in the deans office labeled "Weed Out Classes".

I can even prove my point further, many colleges have common hour examines(meaning all examines are given at the same time and all examines have the same exact questions the only difference is the numbers in order to prevent cheating). Meaning a department feels that all students should know the same information, and if a student cannot pass these examines its not fit for them to move one. And some of these common hour exams are made quite difficult to ensure students study and weed out the weaker ones....

This was the best explanation i got for a weed out class with a quick search:

Most universities call these classes "Performance Metrics"

Typically these are undergraduate classes that are prerequisites for graduate degrees that have high enrollment requests combined with high failure rates - e.g. Medical School, Law School, et cetera.

 

[Thats My Word]

Originally Posted by Destination Kicks

Oh and still no e-mail back.  Which is odd because he normally sends between 5-10 e-mails the day before an exam. 

I told you he wasn't going to read your email.

 

[Thats My Word]

Originally Posted by Destination Kicks

Oh and still no e-mail back.  Which is odd because he normally sends between 5-10 e-mails the day before an exam. 

I told you he wasn't going to read your email.