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Hello all,
I have a question to ask. I'm currently at a university with a
small
Physics Dept. It has around 25 faculty. I've struggled
tremendously with
the teaching style, which to say the least, is eclectic. There is
really no
departmental minimum. Each professor is left to do whatever he/she
pleases
and there is no one to check. Not only that but there is no
rotation...so
there are professors that have been teaching a course for at least a
decade.
Students complain, nothing is done...
So my question is this: Is this something common? Is this what
also
happens at other schools all the way up to Ivy League? Are there
schools
that really seem interested in making Physicist out of Joe Shmoe off
the
street? Or like where I attend "if you can't learn on your own,
tough."
I feel like my department wreaks of elitism. Basically, if you
can't
learn on your own, you shouldn't be here. In one Classical
Mechanics
course, the prof offered no more than the notes off of Marion's
book. No
examples on how to solve problems.
My QM course was laid out with theory alone... no applications
or how to
attack problems. My Stat Mech course's final exam was on a chapter
of a
book that the professor never covered. I've yet to be shown how to
attack
Thermo problems.
I also find my department lacks the overlap I hear my friends at
other
universities speak of. That is, there is a certain expectation that
"you
should have learned this in Modern Physics...or your math course."
Hopefully your teacher didn't skip that part or you'd be out of
luck
learning on your own.
And then there is my all time favorite: When asking a prof about
a
problem the answer begins with " this is easy."
The worst part is that since one is coming from such a small
dept, the
general idea is that they should have a perfect GPA since it's so
easy, when
in fact, teaching is mediocre. It also troubles me that there is a
general
departmental feeling that if you have been taught the theory, you
should
know how to solve problems. This is akin to teaching a surgeon body
parts
and expecting him to perform surgery...
Or is it? Or am I describing Physics departments across
America? I'm
so frustrated that I couldn't afford to leave town...I feel like
this was a
waste of my time. I feel like throwing away 6 years of school cause
is just
feels hopeless...