Blog Comments

Yeah, I know the feeling. I've purged a fair bit of stuff myself. I had this phase where all I read was fanfiction. I didn't have an eye for quality yet. Now I do, and subscribe to the entirely correct belief that all fanfiction is garbage except for very special exceptions. (I desperately hope mine are exceptions).

Honestly though, I favorite a lot of things just to keep track of things that held my interest. If I really like a story, I favorite the author.

the folly of our youth will always haunt us

That's an older name.

Long time no see, dood.

Welcome back.

I'm sorry to hear that - and more sorry to say that I can't offer advice. I did all my coursework by correspondence, so I was never in a position where complaining was really a viable option.

Originally Posted by GabrieliosP

Ah no, the decision of making an exam with a single question was completly his.

Sadly, I don't think somethign'll happen even if I complain. Once, a teacher failed the entire class (yep, 100% of the students) and nothing happened to him (well, some students stole his car's tires as revenge and that's why they put security cameras in the building but he's still teaching).

Actually, failing 100% of students in a course (especially if it's a 100 or 200 level course with 30+ students) should raise eyebrows in the department, especially if it's common or if the prof has a lot of students failing in his class. Might cause the Dept. head to take steps. That, of course, is for the prof though so you're still kind of boned.

I feel your pain. Really. Failing was a common experience for me(I only completed the Engineering course because I was damn stubborn about finishing it).

As for the teacher, try enlisting some classmates and make an official complaint to MEC(won't work if you do it alone); if more than 60% failed the exam, you have the right to complain. Probably won't do anything, but at least you can get some pressure on the department.

EDIT: For how long has this guy been a professor in the university? The longer he's been there, the worse the chances of reversing this get.

Ah no, the decision of making an exam with a single question was completly his.

Sadly, I don't think somethign'll happen even if I complain. Once, a teacher failed the entire class (yep, 100% of the students) and nothing happened to him (well, some students stole his car's tires as revenge and that's why they put security cameras in the building but he's still teaching).

You mean one that won't put a Pass/Fail grade on a single exam.

I'd consider appealing to the department chair - or if he is department chair, to the dean. On the other hand, if that's what was in your course syllabus, well, you may be kinda fucked.

Originally Posted by My Little Username Can't Be This Long

One of my physics midterms was 3 questions long

each took about an hour to do (we had 3 hours)

fuck mechanical waves/vibrations

I feel your pain. I remember how poorly I did on the test covering that. Managed to get a pass on the course, but never again I was able to study so much for any single subject. A weekend day study session consisted of studying like crazy at a classmate's house from about 1-2PM until dinner time, than going to a nearby restaurant with the study material, and keep on studying after ordering until the food came. After dinner we studied until 11 PM, went home to sleep, and did that again if the next day was a Sunday. Weekdays we studied at the university whenever we had time.

One of my physics midterms was 3 questions long

each took about an hour to do (we had 3 hours)

fuck mechanical waves/vibrations

I've never encountered an exam like that - ouch.

Originally Posted by Dark Pulse

So in Brazil, it's perfectly normal to pass or fail a student on a single question?

Because over here that'd pretty much immediately be called malpractice.

Oh, from experience, it probably was a single question that happens to need most of the course material to answer, and should take at least one hour to answer it. Grading won't be pass or fail, it'll take in account how much he got right(at least, I hope it'll be like this).

As for the malpractice angle, try firing the ass of an university professor. Especially if he has tenure. It happened in my university, but it was: 1) A private one, meaning we were directly paying for the wages of the professors; 2) The guy managed to fail 89% of the students that were having that subject(some 200 people); 3) He still kept his job after that, he was merely sidelined - his ass got fired some time later(they couldn't fire him immediately, you know - that would mean keeping him for more than 20 years as a professor had been a mistake, and we simply can't admit that).

The Physics professors in my university were fond of having tests with one question subdivided in 4 or 5 items. Each item would depend on having correctly answered the previous item. Those questions frequently made up about 40-50% of the whole test grade. Things could get... tense.

As for having a single-question test, I've had a few of those, but not many. The professors would usually be more generous and have the test being comprised of two questions instead.

...Good Luck!

At the school I graduated from some teachers have this practice. They are a minority, though, and they usually drown a student with basic questions.

So in Brazil, it's perfectly normal to pass or fail a student on a single question?

Because over here that'd pretty much immediately be called malpractice.

Congratulations! Seriously.

So, got any points on your charme-stat? Got some new social links with it?