Do I have a right to be disgusted with my Differential Equations class...

Yeesh!
Can he really not do them at all or is he just pausing longer than you think he should need to?
I know my brain gums up when I try to do math in front of people. Although you’d think a Diff EQ professor wouldn’t have that problem.

No-he really cannot do the integration…he kept standing there, saying “Now I should remember this…” Then he had the answer initally as 2e^2t, which would of course be right if you were taking the derivative. This man is so incompetent it’s a joke…and our textbook is not so hot either, so I went to the campus library and got out two other Diff EQ books to study from this weekend…

Hmm.
I guess it’s possible he spends so much time doing the hard stuff that he forgets the easy stuff. Have you ever been studying calculus and then you want do a multiplication and find yourself reaching for your calculator? I had to help a physics Ph. D. put a series circuit together one time. Just wasn’t the kind of thing he did on a day-to-day basis.
But if you’re going to be teaching a class on it, you probably should be up to speed on the material. Not cool.

Let me recommend KhanAcademy.org to you. He has done tons of excellent videos on calculus and differential equations. He is rapidly gaining popularity.

Also, wolframalpha is great for integrals and derivatives. I just typed this one in for the hell of it. It shows you all the steps too. Good luck.

@Mariah This is the same guy that wants us to do a project using Matlab, but doesn’t know how to teach us the basic parameters. Tonight he said this is probably the last time that he will teach Diff EQ, because it’s just too hard for him to remember everything…:0!

Oops, I actually meant this one.

@cockswain Thank you. This site looks very helpful…Lol! on the second site…maybe I should send this one to my professor…Thanks for both…

They are super helpful. If you don’t want to do some huge trigonometric substitution with integration by parts, you can just accurately get on with things with a quick wolfram integral. Last thing you want to have to do is solve a couple of those, make a sign mistake somewhere, and get the whole 2 page problem wrong.

I’ve thought about complaining…and I’m not usually the type to complain. But it’s too late to get any of my tuition back, and I’m really stewing about the waste of my time and money. Tonight he spent an hour just reading selections from the text book. I told the girl next to me that I would be better off just leaving to go home and study on my own. Now that’s sad…

Have you talked to the teacher directly?

No…and I would before I go and complain, although I’m much more likely to just drop the class. I’m not sure what I would say to him, though. “Hi, I’m sorry, but could you actually go home and prepare before you teach the next class…?”

How old is he? Does he have a lot of personal life problems just now?

He told us last night that he was 57, and that the only reason he is still teaching (he’s an adjunct professor) was for the money (and putting his kids through college). I am sympathetic to people having things going on in their lives, and maybe being a little “off” one night, but overall one still needs to be prepared to teach their class.

This is true. Perhaps this is just temporary?

I hope so, but I’m concerned about my grade if this guy is not able to adequately teach the material. It’s a seven week course, so there’s little time to “hem and haw” about stuff like this. He seems determined to get through a certain amount of material in this short amount of time, but not to teach it competently. This could mean that, without a solid base in the first introductory chapters, we’re going to be more and more lost…

Learning is a two-way street you know. It’s the teacher’s responsibility to make the material available, to explain where necessary, and to respond to quesions. It is the student’s responsiblity to study and learn the material, and to seek help when needed to understand it.

Wow-nobody knows this better than me. I am the most motivated student around. I would just like to feel that if I ask him a question, he’s going to be able to answer it…and I don’t feel confident of this…

Yes, that would be nice, but it’s still your responsibility to learn the material. The only thing I can think of for you to do is contact someone well-versed in the material and ask them, or to simply complain to the administration ( but I wouldn’t want ot do that ).

No, I definitely am not a complainer…especially when so many students complain about petty stuff-that pisses me off (excuse the strong language!) I still think you are letting him off the hook just a little too much…Are you a professor yourself? My professor last semester didn’t believe in spoonfeeding his students, but he did actually teach the material, and he could answer any questions we had. In fact he could no doubt teach this class with no notice and still do a better job than afrementioned current professor. Maybe I’m just spoiled after last semester?

@yankeetooter

Perhaps, although you don’t SOUND spoiled! : )

And no, I am not a professor, although I seriously considered getting my PhD and becoming one.

Why did you change your mind? And what would you have taught? (Tell me if I’m being too nosy, lol!) And I only meant that I was spoiled by having such a good professor the last two semesters, so that maybe I’m too harshly judging this one (although I don’t think so…)

I changed my mind because I’m almost 68 years old and have incurable cancer and type 2 diabetes ( both from Agent Organge exposure while in Vietnam for 2 years ). I just want to enjoy my family and whatever is left of my life. Working to get a PhD and becoming a professor would detract from those goals. : )

I understand, and I’m sorry that you’re going through everything that you are. Cherish this time; many never appreciate the time they have with loved ones until it is too late. You will always have this over them…

Oh, I’m having a blast! : D

Well, I think I’ve decided to drop this class…I’m sitting studying tonight and I’m realizing I don’t understand half of the material that we’re supposed to be tested on tomorrow night. I’m not seeing the point of continuing and I’m contemplating not even showing up to take the test…

Are you going to retake some level of Calc?

I just saw your question @cockswain…I don’t know…that part was not too bad, just needed a better professor…At any rate, as of tonight I have dropped my class, for better or for worse…