Topic: What is that rule about college professors being late?

[shock]

We were supposed to take a Math test today at 8:00AM.  However, by about 8:15-8:20, the TA was not present.  The class only went until 8:50.  What ended up happening was everyone walked out, so not wanting to be the only one sitting there, I too left. 

I guess they can't fail everyone, but I am still a little nervous.

[scottws]

As far as I know, there is no such rule.  It's like a myth made up by students.  I'm pretty sure everyone is supposed to remain and someone is to go tell an administrator.

[shock]

Fuck.

I should have just stayed there.

God dammit, I'm never listening to another kid in my class again.

Any idea on what will happen now?  Maybe the TA never showed up at all(forgot to turn his alarm on, or something).  Or maybe he showed up 5 minutes later.

[Cobra951]

Yeah, there was some hierarchy of time you needed to wait.  For a full prof it was like 15 minutes, less for a TA.  I had a physics professor who would disagree about failing everyone, though.  He told us first day that we were graded against a standard, not each other.  "You can all get A's.  You can all get F's."  Nothing wimpy or socially accomodating about Dr. Erickson.

Edit:  Don't worry, shock.  Shit happens in college all the time.  The people on the other side of the teaching table sometimes skip too, for good or bad reasons.  If you were there for a third or more of the class period, and no one showed up, forget about it.

[scottws]

Fuck.

I should have just stayed there.

God dammit, I'm never listening to another kid in my class again.

Any idea on what will happen now?  Maybe the TA never showed up at all(forgot to turn his alarm on, or something).  Or maybe he showed up 5 minutes later.

Well, I doubt they will fail everyone, but you never know.  You could have a dick professor with dick TAs.  I would say they'll work out a make-up, but I would contact your professor and tell the story and ask what you can do to make up the exam.  Professors are usually very reasonable people.

Edit: Added quote for clarification.

[Cobra951]

Nah, this guy was great.  And he was not a dick, just strict.  Either you knew and could handle the material, or you didn't and couldn't.  This was engineering physics, not bullshit elective 101.  He was a great teacher.

I did have an English prof who scared away about half the class, the first week.  Seriously, people dropped it left and right.  He was talking a course load and testing schedule which was downright draconian.  Then after scaring off all those people, he smiled at us and said something like "now that everyone who was here to goof off is gone, let's have fun with literature."   

[shock]

"Professor [name],

I am currently enrolled in your Math 51 class, section 12.  My recitation for this class is held on Monday at 8:00AM until 8:50AM.  The section number is 42.

The recitation this morning did not go according to plan, as Teaching Assistant, [name], was not present for it.  Because of this, our class was unable to take the quiz.

I was simply wishing to inquire when the quiz could be taken on my own time.  Would your office hours be an acceptable time to take care of this matter?  If so, I was planning on attending the Tuesday office hour at about 1:00PM.

Thank you for your time and understanding,
[name]"

Look ok?  Hehe.  College scares me still. 

[scottws]

Don't let college scare you.  I think what scares most freshmen is how responsible you are for yourself.  You have to make sure you find out what classes you need to take for your major, and get them scheduled.  That sort of thing.

As far as the actual schooling goes, don't let it intimidate you.  It's just school.

I'll be honest though, I hated those huge classes with 300 people and four TAs.  I didn't feel any real connection and those classes were hard for me.

[shock]

Yeah, 2 of my classes are 250 and one is about 75.  Eek.

I guess college is just scary because, unlike high school, about 4-5 grades make up your grade for the semester.  I do just fine on tests, but it still gets me a little nervous to have so much riding on so few assignments.

Funny email I just got..

"Hello,
I am sorry that the students of this morning's session did not have the recitation class this morning. Reason: The TA [name] slept in and came to GW late. I have had a long conversation with him and have advised him that showing up in class late (or not showing up at all) isn't acceptable.

Because of the fact that quiz #1 wasn't administered in this morning's 8 am class, I have decided to postpone quiz #1 for all of the sections. So, there will be no quiz this week. We would do quiz #1 next week, and then continue the original plan for the semester.

Best wishes, and see you tomorrow.

[name]

PS: Thanks to those of you who wrote to me this morning about the missing TA."


lol pwned 

[scottws]

See, I told you it would work out.  Professors, especially those that seem to make TAs do all their work, seem intimidating at first.  But they are actually extremely reasonable people.

As far as so much riding on so little, yeah, you have a point there.  I guess you get used to it.  Just make sure you do well on each thing and you'll be fine.

I'm wired differently though.  The only things that give me anxiety are papers and speeches.  Exams and projects don't bother me a bit.  Hell, I had two exams I completely forgot about and I didn't sweat it at all.  Somehow on both of them I also had the highest grade in the class.  And I don't even study until the night before and since I forgot, I didn't.

It really does help if you can remain sort of calm and confident about everything.  If you feel like you're going to screw up, then you are going to get nervous and screw up.  Just do what it takes for you to know the material (whatever that may be), and be confident that you know it and you'll do fine.

[Ghandi]

There is no rule, for the simple fact that you don't have to go if you don't want to. I skipped waaaay to many classes freshman year, though, and I am still making up for it. It may be fun at the time, but I will tell you what, summer school is not fun. Usually I've found that if you email professors and act nice and go and see them and stuff, they will be willing to tolerate most anything. I once skipped my biology lecture class not knowing that we had a test, and then went to the lab right after it. I asked this kid what we did in class that day, and the teacher was standing right beside him. Yeah...I felt like a retard. Luckily he was cool about it.

[shock]

Yeah, I actually like exams too, Scott.  In high school, I don't think I ever got nervous, save for my Physics exam at the end of one of the semesters that was a disaster.  I think it is just because I am in a new environment and still adjusting.. I am hoping in a two weeks I will have it down to a routine.

PS: Really attractive girl on the 7th floor, why must you flirt with me constantly when you have a boyfriend.  I can't tell if you want more or not.

[scottws]

Is the boyfriend at school with her?  If not, they won't be boyfriend and girlfriend for long.  Go for it.

[Cobra951]

Shit happens in college all the time.  The people on the other side of the teaching table sometimes skip too, for good or bad reasons.

Ahem!   

Edit:  Attractive girl?  Is there a ring on her left hand, one finger away from her pinky?  No?  Don't worry about it.  (You worry too much.)

[Edit 2: I screwed up this post bad, hopefully now fixed.]

[shock]

Haha, I am.  He lives a few hours away.  I am just going slow enough to make sure that I don't disrespect the relationship she is in.  I think it is the only way to do it without the possibility of it backfiring really quickly.  I know she is feeling the same way, I just don't know how she is going to respond to it(IE "You are an amazing guy, but there is this other guy back at home that I care about still.." or "I like where this going").  My plan is to make sure she gets to know me real well before it comes to that decision making point.

And good call, Cobra.  

[Cobra951]

Haha, I am.  He lives a few hours away.  I am just going slow enough to make sure that I don't disrespect the relationship she is in.  I think it is the only way to do it without the possibility of it backfiring really quickly.  I know she is feeling the same way, I just don't know how she is going to respond to it(IE "You are an amazing guy, but there is this other guy back at home that I care about still.." or "I like where this going").  My plan is to make sure she gets to know me real well before it comes to that decision making point.

And good call, Cobra.  

I had a roommate in college whose girlfriend did have an engagement ring on her finger, and not from him.  That could have been really ugly, but somehow, it worked out peacefully.  He met her at the apt building we were in.  She lived in the same building (which felt more like an extension dorm than apartments). 

College away from home is the prime time for that stuff.  Everyone there wants to meet new people and test the waters.  Academics are important, but so is this.

[scottws]

Well shock, from where I sit it sounds like this girl wants to see what else is out there, maybe she's even looking for a reason not to be with her boyfriend anymore.

My first college girlfriend had a boyfriend.  Only I didn't find out until a week after we started hooking up.  I bet she regrets the fact that she told you or that you found out she had a boyfriend back home.

[shock]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'll keep you all updated.

[Cools]

Like scott mentioned, it's a myth. There's no 15-20-30 minute rule to leaving. I've had that happen to me before as well and the students that left ended up failing the test automatically.

[Ace_O_Spades]

Yeah, I've had a prof not show up, we all left after about a half an hour, after all, the class was only 50 minutes long. There was no test though, he just shifted the syllabus so something off the end of the course got dropped.

[Cools]

Btw, regarding class sizes:

While attending the University of Toronto, the majority of my first year classes exceeded 800 people. If I remember correctlly a few had 1,300+.

[Quemaqua]

You all make me feel like such a complete failure.  I need to stop reading this thread.

[Cobra951]

You have a job, right?  Marriage still there?  You don't owe so much money that you'll never be able to pay it back, right?

So definitely don't ever let me make you feel like a failure.

[Quemaqua]

But college is one of those things I completely missed the boat on.  And especially now that I'm very much into poetry and literature and all, most of my idols in that arena were very, very academically-oriented people.  You wouldn't believe how often I regret going into the workforce the way I did.  Not that I had much choice.  When Dad died I'd have ended up being forced into it anyway, but... still.  It's hard.  I often feel like I completely missed out on an entire chunk of life experience that I'll never be able to try now.  Like you said, I have a job and I'm married.  I like both of those things, but it's hard to look at it objectively when you feel like there was something else that just passed you on by.

[scottws]

Well, "the college experience" for me was a huge waste of my parents' money and my time.  Now, I'm still going to college, but I commute at night after work and it's going to take forever and cost me a ton of money.

Living away at college isn't for everyone, but it is one of those things that really isn't like anything else at all.

But it's never to late to go to college.  Hell, I'm 28 and basically a sophomore.  I proved with my grades that I'm a pretty good student, and I'm getting $5000 in free money this year, plus $1000 in reimbursement from work.  The rest are low interest student loans.

[iPPi]

I hate late TAs and professors.  But I've never had one do a no-show at all.  Regardless though, going to class is completely up to you.  I know several people who do extremely well and I only see them the first week, at quizzes and exams, and that's it.

[gpw11]

I have mixed feelings about university.  I could have done better (although I did pretty well overall), I could have had more fun (although I had a lot), but when it all came down to it, after four years at two different schools I wasn't willing to put minimal effort into going back for a year and graduating (lost a lot of credits in a transfer).  At times I regret it, but strangely enough, not because I actually didn't graduate, just because I didn't originally finish it the way I originally intended.  Having my original degree wouldn't have gotten me a job I'd want and it wouldn't have gotten me any more money then I make right now at this point.

Doing it the way I do it now through distance ed is something I actually like doing.  I put three hours in, learn more, and actually feel like I accomplish something wheras in university I felt as if I was just going through the motions.  I'd score very well on tests without actually learning or retaining any specific knowledge in a lot of cases.  What was the point.  While the degree I end up with now (well, the fact that it's from a less respectable 'open university') may not look as good as the traditional one I would have had before, I don't care...that's what my tech school plan is for. 

Um, yeah...that had little to do with anything. 

anyways, you might as well put in some effort with that chick.  If you don't someone else will....if she's going to leave her boyfriend she'll do it either way, the real question is if it'll be for you or for some other guy because you didn't do anything.  And remember....rejection is always better than regret.

[Cobra951]

But college is one of those things I completely missed the boat on.  And especially now that I'm very much into poetry and literature and all, most of my idols in that arena were very, very academically-oriented people.  You wouldn't believe how often I regret going into the workforce the way I did.  Not that I had much choice.  When Dad died I'd have ended up being forced into it anyway, but... still.  It's hard.  I often feel like I completely missed out on an entire chunk of life experience that I'll never be able to try now.  Like you said, I have a job and I'm married.  I like both of those things, but it's hard to look at it objectively when you feel like there was something else that just passed you on by.

I understand.  I feel that way at the graduate level.  I could have been a lawyer, and even went to law school for a year and a half.  I hated it.  It wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.  But that was because of the illusions of an inexperienced young guy.  Life would be so much better for me if I had just completed that stupid JD.  I realize that hindsight is 20-20, foresight nothing like that.  But still, I had the opportunity and the encouragement.  I chased a different dream, and it worked out, for too short a time.  I'm still here, and basically have to start over.  I have to find a way out of this funk, or die.

Speaking of starting over, you are a young man, and if you really want to pursue something requiring academics, go for it.  My youngest brother (who is 40) is doing that right now, working by day and going to school at night.  I'm not saying it's easy.  Hell, life has turned out to be 10 times harder than I ever realized.  But you have no kids, and you have time (meaning years ahead of you, not hours in the day).  Don't ever think you're locked into a bad situation at such a young age.

[shock]

Update on the girl situation:

I have finally found a "friend with benefits" girl.  We didn't do much last night, but she is just a girl I have been friends with since I got here.  So that is cool.  Love college.

I have no idea on the other girl.  I called her a few times after I noticed she left the party but she didn't pick up(she always answers her phone..). I have no idea where she went.  And she wouldn't return my calls.  This could be totally egotistical and way off base, but I am thinking that it may be because I was getting pretty close to a few different girls.  It was actually kinda funny, since there was this one girl that wouldn't leave me alone.  She was PISS drunk, but kept following me around trying to hold onto me and everything.  I'd get away and give her to another guy, and she'd stay with him for a while, then she'd follow me around again.

Maybe the girl I used to like got jealous?  Or maybe she just thinks I am an asshole and doesn't want to talk to me anymore.  I have no idea.  I just hope she'll tell me.

I wish I could get to sleep already.  I am tired as hell and just laying in bed.

[Raisa]

That happened before.. the TA got fired after we complained. 

[Antares]

Girls tend to get a little offended when you snuggle up with another one.....

I've blown my chances more than once that way.