The Septimus Notes

Thursday, December 09, 2004

So there is a class in which I'm dangerously close to performing very poorly. I did disastrously on the midterm, not because I did not know the material, but because I never went to class and my Prof's lectures are key to his exams (take-homes). What threw me off was that for too many professors/teachers, lectures merely supplement the readings/literature. You can never go to class, do all the homework, and still do very well. Prof. Eyal (yes, I give his actual name for a reason made clear below) actually teaches, so that, really, the readings just supplement his lectures. I realized this all too late and missed a great first half of the semester being taught sociological theory (which I love) from a professor (who's love of it comes through so clearly in his lectures).

I talked to him today, after he handed out the final take-home. I asked him to consider putting more weight on my final than on my mid-term, as I intend to perform remarkably better. He said that would not be a problem at all, but that I'd better do better.

On a whim, I decided to see what CULPA had to say about him. Typically, I don't regard reviews of teachers because if I'm choosing to take a class, it is because I have to take that class for whatever reasons.

And I was horrified to see what I read. Perhaps it's the case that in his other classes he is an entirely different person, like night and day, but I hardly see how that could be. But, moreover, the fact that the most vehement charge against him was that the reviewers could not understand him through his accent just angers me. Enrages me, to be more precise. There are teachers who don't speak English and there are teachers who speak it with an accent. Those who don't speak English should not be teaching here. Those who speak with an accent -- the accent should hardly be held against them. And, really, I feel like if one has done the reading appropriately, then the few (and it is only a few) words that aren't immediately comprehendable should eventually become clear because one should know what is being discussed.

Although, he is Israeli and I have some experience with Israeli accents, so maybe I'm in a better place than the reviewers.

But, either way, something about it just strikes me as offensive. It feels like arrogance run amuck. What do you think?

promulgated by SWS2.1 at 18:18.
2 comments

2 Comments:

I dunno. I mean, I can see how said views might be regarded as racist, but at the same time, I've had difficulties--in some cases extreme--in trying to understand some foreign-born instructors I've had. It's not because their command of the language was poor, to be sure, but rather because their accent was so thick (and they didn't understand the concept of enunciating). It can be really frustrating--even in the small 10-person seminar classes I take--to sit around and constantly have to ask the professor to repeat himself. Would you feel as offended if people complained about a professor mumbling incomprehensibly?

-Adam

By Anonymous, at 11:34 PM

Well, I object to the negative reviews overall, because they seem to be entirely off base. Moreover, with the exception of a few words, I think he's entirely comprehensible. It's not to say that he doesn't have an accent - no, it's very clear that he was not born and raised in the States, but he manipulates the language with the ease of a native speaker and, I think at least, is very clear. I feel like the kids who made the negative reviews were just trying to find some way of putting him down that made them feel superior. I dunno. Maybe if I didn't also like him, I might feel differently.

By Septimus, at 11:48 PM