The right to a well organized class where the class objectives (in our case,UNDERSTANDING the ideas we present in class and being able to perform certain calculations) are clearly set out as the class proceeds.
The right to be fairly evaluated on these objectives.
The student does not have the right to pick and choose what topics may be included in class or on the tests. There is no right to an A or a B grade. The instructor is not the custodian of your transcript, and informing the instructor that you really need an A does not help you get one. When a student tells me something like that (several have this quarter) my immediate impulse is to respond "Then you should take this class seriously and work very hard to earn one." I do not give the Z or I grade to conceal, from those who will review your transcripts, an unsuccessful effort.
What you buy with your tuition is an opportunity to learn and a right to be evaluated and have the level of your success recorded on a BC transcript.
What you do with the opportunity is up to you.
Evaluation and course content is up to me.
Various obstacles come to mind when I see students struggling and there is not one thing I can do about any of them except discuss the issues out in the open.
Not having prerequisite knowledge: This is vital. You cannot take two or more sequential math classes simultaneously, which is what you are trying to do if you are not fully "fluent" in class prerequisites. If you have not used a mathematical tool for years, it will not be there when you need it. You must brush up BEFORE you take a 200 level class.
Not enough time for the class : I organize things so that a student with the prerequisites will require (REALLY - NOT A JOKE) 2 to 3 quality hours of study outside of class for every hour inside of class to perform at the A or B level. Too many hard classes or outside work or many other distractions can make these numbers unattainable. If you don't have that much time to spend then you don't have the time to take this class - period. The things I do in class will gradually become unintelligible and explanations will seem like a string of non-sequiturs.
Not taking the class seriously: I regard mathematics as beautiful and worth studying for itself. Most people regard their own specialty in this way.The incredible utility of mathematics is a bonus. Many students have no interest in the abstract nature of mathematics and regard it as virtually useless except as it yields immediate answers to engineering, economics or physics problems. This attitude is ineffective in the long run because such students concentrate on the trees and miss the forest. If you THINK of the problem correctly the answer often pops out, while if you concentrate on the details everything is muddy. Now that you are in 200 level classes a bit of creativity and "art" is required to succeed. You have to believe it is "worth it" or, from a psychological standpoint, it is much harder to put in the level of effort required in the direction required.
Believing that the class is impossibly difficult: Again, this is a psychological issue. I have taught this class a number of times both here and elsewhere. You are indeed trying to bring yourself up to a new level of mathematical sophistication and it is hard and confusing and different and often messy. That's life - deal with it. This class is not impossibly difficult, and if you think so it will make the hard job you have to do even harder. I have repeatedly seen rooms full of people struggle and make the transition and succeed. You can too.
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I can be contacted by phone at Bellevue College at (425) 564-2484 or by e-mail at lsusanka@bellevuecollege.edu .
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