As the sun pulls away from the shore....

[Ambush Bug]

...and our boat sinks slowly in the west....

(cookie for the reference!)


Aaaanyway, I figured it was high time I wrote up a little something as this semester comes to an end. Computer classes are going well, not much to write home about save that I've since tangled with Windows Server 2003 for a bit. Some nice features, and your typical MS 'WTF?' moments when configuring things. Got signed up for next semester too: I'm taking some DBA classes, Intro to UNIX, and a 'System Admin II' class, which should be a real hoot. Let's just say that neither one of my intstructors has the, er, 'outlook' on users that I do. It's lead to some interesting and productive arguments from both sides.

No, the real reason I wanted to write up something today was because of my "Liberal Ars Math Class" I mentioned way back. Quick Review: This class is meant to cover a lot of subjects but not go into a lot of detail on each. So far, I've aced just about everything the teach could throw at me, because I've used a lot of those things before. This despite the woman's total inability to write on a whiteboard so that people in the back can read anything, or her inability to use an overhead projector properly, plus her superior attitude. And no, I have not been taunting her; I've been good the whole semester, hanging out quietly and banging out my work.

Well, today I think I really pissed her off. See, our current chapter is all about financial equations. Loans, annuities, mortgages, and so on. I take a marked interest in the material because Mrs. Bug and I have to deal with these things in Real Life.

Today we were covering compound interest. The formula goes something like this:

Code: Select all

S=PMT [(1+r)^N - 1/r]

Best I can do without throwing in a bazillion parentheses and using code tags. Anyway, S is the final amount, PMT is the amount you throw into the account every payment period, r is the interest rate (adjusted to fit the time period), and N is the number of payments you'll make (derived from frequency of payment over X amount of time). Solving that equation for any other variable but N is trivially easy. Solving for N is a bit of trouble, involving logarithms. Heck, the last time I used logarithms on a daily basis was almost 12 years ago.

Now, of course, today's subject involved a lot of solving for N. This was getting tedious, and since I couldn't read a thing she was writing on the board anyway, I figured I might as well see if there was an easier way to re-work that formula so I wouldn't be stuck moving things around algebraically all the time. After a page or so of reverse-engineering a problem in the book and doublechecking my work, I came up with this:

Code: Select all

N =   ln<&#91;&#40;S/PMT&#41;r&#93;+1>    
     _________________
            ln&#40;1+r&#41;

Math whizzes, try not to snicker too much. My algebra's pretty rusty. Anyway, after class, I take this work up to her and explain that I was trying to come up with an easier way of setting up the 'solve for N' problems we were facing, and that I wanted to see if my algebra was correct. She looks at the paper, looks at me, and this look crosses her face I can't quite describe, and says "I'm not checking this for you."

I boggled for a second. "Why not?"

"I'm not giving you something you can put in your calculator to solve this for you. Do the algebra."

Instant remark, thankfully cut off by my brain: "Toots, what do you think I just spent two pages doing?" What I actually said. "Oh, all right then." And then I left.

Conclusion: from her reaction, I apparently nailed it. Granted, it is something into which you can plug numbers and come up with the answer. But that's kinda the point, I think.

This made me mad for a while, then I thought it through. I see her point, if only grudgingly. I say grudgingly because I have little to no respect for this woman's teaching methods. First off, I've asked her on more than one occaision about making her overlays and board-writing larger, as I have trouble reading it from the back. (*grumble* and she uses assigned seating, too. *grumble*) I've gotten no joy on the readability front. Second, she's quite imperious and a mite detached from reality, as you might recall from my first write-up of her. Thirdly, she gives us multiple choice math tests. That ought you make you math-types cringe a little. Woman doesn't even check the work, just runs the damn things through a scantron machine. Even better--it's plainly obvious she hasn't changed her tests in some time, because she collects them after grading them and showing them to us, so that no one can copy down the test and distribute it. Mind you, it's pure hell writing new tests... but for cryin' out loud, that was teachers get paid for.

So, instead of this making me mad, this now tickles me pretty good. Why bother getting upset? I only have to deal with her for another week and a half, then I'll make sure never to use her as an instructor ever again.

As a side note, I've had math teachers in the past that did let us use equations like that for tests. Heck, they'd spend time in class showing us how to derive them! The catch though, was this: on test day, said teacher confiscated all paper, calculators with any kind of formula storage, and watched us like a hawk to make sure we didn't have any notes during the test. Then he'd pass out the assigned three sheets of scratch paper, the test, and have us go at it. We were allowed to use the formulas on the test... provided we could derive them on the scratch paper from memory. A nice balance.

So really, all is well, but I figured I had to vent a little bit about this. My tuition was not well-spent on this particular class.

[Spinning Hat]

Just remember that as the semester draws nearer, the State requires the schools to have students do evaluations on instructors. They are anonymous, and the instructors do get to see them after the fact, but only after the grades have been turned in. I've written some pretty scathing reviews of instructors in the past, and have not suffered academically for it in the least. Keep these kinds of things in mind, and in your most diplomatic way, give it to her come review time.

[Ambush Bug]

I may just do that, Hat.


On further reflection, I am very tempted to break out my father's old spotting scope and bring it to class, wooden case and all. Unpack it, set it up (it's heavy and made out of roughened blued steel), and see if she has an apoplectic fit when I explain that I have it so I can read the board.

Dangit, now I have to go look for it.


----


Couldn't find it, but I did find a compact pair of binoculars. That should work.

[Spinning Hat]

That would most definitely get her attention...

[XMEN Gambit]

The administration would probably put pressure on her if it learned she was discriminating against someone with medically provable vision issues. Not something I'd do before the final grades are in...

Regarding money well spent:
Well, WHY are you in school to begin with? I know you want to learn, but you're there so that you can get a piece of paper so the locals will gainfully employ you, yes? To that end, you're getting what you paid for.


I gotcher reference but I Googled for it. S.J.

[XMEN Ashaman DTM]

ROFL!

Bug, I'd definitely bring the dang scope to class and set it up.

But that's me.


I'm also the guy that puts "class was not great because person seated to my left does not shower regularly" or "teacher needs to stop drinking before class" on those evaluations. My aerodynamics instructor during my undergrad actually posted the feedback that he got that he liked; all of the statements were honest and he said that he would work on them. He did post my shower comment, and several others, apparently after the rest of the department had seen the evaluations.


Anyways, long story short, the teacher was right about the algebra skills being more important in the long term than being able to solve the problem numerically. Those algebra skills come in handy in more than just math too.

[Ambush Bug]

Well, that's the thing I don't quite understand... I had the whole thing lined out algebraically, from one end to the other. Ah well. I tried it out on other things and it worked fine and matched up with the answers I'd get doing the problem full-length, so I'm not too worried.

[Ambush Bug]

All that preparation, and not a peep out of her. Ah well, I suppose that's for the best. Binocs worked great, when she wasn't writing important formulae at the very bottom of the board where only the first row could see it.

[Spinning Hat]

That's funny.