So I closed the semester with a short essay assignment–in less than 800 words, tell me what you got from the class. I seriously wanted to know that, and I figured doing that would help them crystallize some of the course’s abstraction into something useful for non-majors.
What follows is one student’s submission. With her permission, here is proof that I did everything this semester a good professor should do. Even the last part.
What have I learned in ECO 201?
Before the tax multiplier and comparative advantage, the most important thing that I have learned in Principles of Economics is to always read the assigned chapters before class! Not only for the sake of my grade on pop quizzes, but also because it is impossible to understand what is going on during lectures without having some sort basic knowledge about the course material. Too many times in the first half of the semester did I think I could skip out on the reading before class as if it would not matter. Well, the two times it took me to learn my lesson were the two times Bomani decided to give pop quizzes. Even worse, because I did not study as the semester progressed I had to cram right before the mid-term. I am hoping that my study and preparation habits have changed significantly since and studying for the final will be comparably less stressful. And because of my negligence, my final grade is probably going to suffer.
In addition to reading the book and preparing for class, I learned that it is crucial to pay attention in class! Making my notes look pretty is the last thing I should be worrying about during a lecture. Being legible is all that really matters. In reference to paying attention in class, Bomani CAN tell when a student is text messaging, regardless of how slick he or she thinks they are.
Finally, I learned that I want nothing to do with economics after this course is complete. Even though I understand more about supply and demand and how prices are determined, I think I will stick to my communications major.
What can I say, I’m an educational genius!
tell her there’s a future for her in marketing! come on over to my dark side!!! 🙂
great job, Mr. Jones! I might give this assignment to my students in the winter.
Forty years ago, my econ professor in the first class session, explained the phrase, “there are no free lunches.” I have never forgotten that. I didn’t decide to be an economist, but I do think it should be a required course for all students.
Please raise her grade one letter just for this. Thanks.
You gave pop quizzes? You are just evil, pure evil…
🙂
So, in 800 words, what did YOU get from the class? I always learn something each and every semester I teach.
Perhaps she’s a better economist than we think. If she really understands incentives, this might all be a grand butt kissing ploy.
That being said, even if it’s a butt kissing ploy, she clearly learned something.
Clearly she’s reaching for the grade bump.
Pop quizzes? Dirty, dude, dirty…
Explain yo-self!
Not sure if she learned a whole lot about Econ but what she did learn should help her along the way.
Thomas Sowell would be proud.
pop quizzes? I’ve always found that the teachers who were most able to reach me gave almost no graded assignments. They gave one test a couple weeks before midterms that is insanely hard in order to let us know what their tests were like then the rest of the tests were marginally easier. The fear invoked by that first test, for me, worked infinately better than pop quizzes which always struck me as very juvenile. What does a prof. really care if you properly prepared for class? why do profs. even care if kids show up for class? Obviously, the kids who show up want to learn. This is especially so since 90% of the grades people receive (final course grades) are at least partially arbitrary. Does some kid who always participates intelligently, but does poorly on the pop quizzes deserve a bad grade? What about the kids who never show up for class, but do well on the tests? do they deserve to be penalized because they can learn the content outside of class? I never went to an econ course after my sophomore year more than a hadn full of times a semester. I had already learned the general micro models, and gotten some of the (largely incorrect) macro stuff down why should I have to have it rehashed each semester?
And another sentinel is recruited into the Kanye West “College Dropout” army…
Pop quizzes keep you honest. If you want to learn stuff outside of class, why pay to go to college? You don’t pay for the knowledge, you pay for the authoritative body (the university and the professor) to SAY that you have the knowledge. This allows you to signal to others, in the forms of grades and a diploma, that you have knowledge, and that they can reasonably expect you to know what the fuck you’re talking about rather than wasting their time and energy. In fact, some people will even enter into arrangements with you wherein you agree to provide them with the use of your knowledge, and they compensate you accordingly. In professional jargon, this is known as a “job”.
So, unless you (in the general sense, not you specifically) are interested in learning purely for the shits and giggles of it all, then show up, pay attention, respect the professor, and realize that a student’s philosophy on grading is of absolutely no value to anyone.
This was a hilarious post seeing as I am thinking of entering academia myself.
Quick Question: When did it become ok to text message in class? To me, its the technological equivalent of flipping the bird to the professor. I mean, you dont have to pay attention all the time (I sure as hell dont), but show some respect and just daydream or zone out. Make it look like you are paying attention. Should this be part of the “code” for academics?
In fairness, I’d send texts if there was a way to do it slick-like while teaching. But I can’t. So I don’t.
Which high school did she go to where you don’t have to read before class? Is it too late to transfer?
I must agree with the gentleman who helped my butt get through graduate school. Pop quizes keep you honest, they make the braniacs come to class and the kids who are still coming around the bend when it comes to the concepts…get the extra credit needed to pass.
The hardest class I’ve ever taken in my life was Calculus 101. Dr. Jeff Zhang (I still remember his name…which means a lot) gave pop quizes every class or every other class to make you have to come to class and class attendence was factored into your final grade. Usually 1 or 2 questions to reinforce the previous lesson or theorem. When it was all over the final questions were literally all of the pop quizes combined.
The kids who came to class but struggled with the material got better grades on the Final than half most of the smarties. Coming to class and participation means a lot….and never forget that most A students usually wind up working for B and C students…..shit look at who is the president of the country and you know he is taking care of the kids who let him cheat off of them aka Skeeter and Skippy: )