WTF is up with my Art "Instructor" *Now with Pics*

[911paramedic]

So here I am taking 23 units, C++, Unix, Critical Thinking, etc. (7 classes in total, and I take notes in one for a blind woman.)

The ONLY class I don't have a perfect score in is "Intro To Art". She gives us sheets of paper and says "Draw this with the shading like you see", or "cut out this paper and glue it on a larger sheet showing nutan." (Chinese for dark on light) We've been cutting out paper and gluing it down for almost three weeks now, same projects, and she said we are going to do another one next week. They should have called it "Intro to Scrapbooking."

The gripe is she doesn't say what she wants (I think its because she doesn't like speaking because of her REALLY thick Chinese accent.) and then people end up getting C's or less on the work when they turn it in. Zero instruction. (I've only gotten three A's and the rest are B's, but still) Most people are getting C's.

Its INTRO TO ART, unless you really screw something up how can you get less than an A???

Yesterday there were about half the people that were originally there, probably noticed how bad she was and dropped.

P.S. No feedback on why you received what you received. Its truly amazing to me who they let teach these days. She may be a great artist but she should not be an instructor. INTRO TO ART! It's like P.E. in HS, you really have to try not to get an A.

BTW, I am griping because I need the grants next semester, and the better my GPA, the better the grant and odds I receive it.

EDIT: To clarify, these are MY works from before:

4'x4'
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/9...ramedic/Ascension1.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/9...ramedic/Ascension2.jpg

30"x40"
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/9.../quarry_unfinished.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/911paramedic/Untitled2.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/911paramedic/SeaFoam.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/911paramedic/Fortitude.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/9.../SpringReflections.jpg

4'x5'
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/9...amedic/SkylineSold.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/911paramedic/Ridgeline.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/911paramedic/Untitled.jpg

Most of those have already been sold.

 

[lyssword]

funny sig

 

[911paramedic]

LOL, that's some shit my Art instructor would say. Something that has nothing to do with the subject matter.

P.S. You look a bit crabby this morning...

 

[rh71]

The phrase goes like this...

"Just because nobody understands you doesn't make you an artist."

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic
. INTRO TO ART! It's like P.E. in HS, you really have to try not to get an A.

4years of required PE in HS, never got an A, because the gym teacher never once in his life gave out an A

 

[MegaVovaN]

Yep Art sux
Had same problem in high school, took Theater after failing a semester...Theater was a piece of cake: didn't have to do anything and full of hot chicks.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN
Yep Art sux
Had same problem in high school, took Theater after failing a semester...Theater was a piece of cake: didn't have to do anything and full of hot chicks.

That sounds like a winner, problem is I think it's too late to drop without a W, and that's even worse than a C.

 

[Jeff7]

It reminds me of a great homework assignment in second grade. One of the questions was, "Write your opinion on this short story."
I got it marked wrong. (And no, it wasn't something like, "I thought it sucked lopsided donkey scrotums." I was far too much of a meek little kid to dare do something like that. Seriously.)

Thus far the artsiest course I've been in was Theater. Every day, my main thought on it was, "I'm paying money for this. I'm paying money for THIS!" What a damn pointless class. Did I get anything useful out of it? Yes - 3 credits toward my general arts requirement for an engineering degree.

Fortunately, participation was worth 30% of the grade, so if you just showed up every day and tried to do something in the silly activities and games, you got that 30%. Someone had to drop the class because of risk of failing though - due to low attendance. You could miss 3 days with no questions asked at all, but after that, you started losing major points, something like 5-10% of your final grade per missed class. There was almost no homework, so that was nice.

I had an art class in high school. Creative, "new" works, I wasn't much good at. Duplicating existing works, I could do that reasonably well. I managed an A in that class, even without doing the weekly "sketchbook" assignments, wherein we just had to draw something - anything. I'd do the assignments the first week or two, then get tired of wasting time on them.

The only remaining art type class I need is likely going to be a three week crash course in Jazz History. Three weeks, 3 credits, 5 days a week, 4hrs a day. Bleh. It fulfills two requirements though, so I need it. I would have preferred (only marginally) Political Science instead, but it's not offered during the summer.

Art + mechanical engineer student......it's not pretty. Of course, a "social science," microeconomics, was a breeze for me. They recommend 2hrs of time spent on the coursework for each hour of classtime. I spent closer to 30 minutes a week on it, and still got an A. "OMG, when you move this line on the supply/demand graph to the right, the intersection changes! What does this do to the price?" People actually had trouble with this. It's a graph with two lines on it, and ONE of the lines moves.

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Of course, a "social science," microeconomics, was a breeze for me. They recommend 2hrs of time spent on the coursework for each hour of classtime. I spent closer to 30 minutes a week on it, and still got an A. "OMG, when you move this line on the supply/demand graph to the right, the intersection changes! What does this do to the price?" People actually had trouble with this. It's a graph with two lines on it, and ONE of the lines moves.

If you flunk out of engineering you can go to wall street :thumbsup:

 

[SearchMaster]

Do you really think EVERYONE in the class (who gives any effort) should get an A? What makes Introduction to Art any less academically viable than Introduction to Creative Writing or Introduction to Computer Algorithms?

You're not as good at it as some of your peers. So what? Learn whatever you can from the class and realize it's not your gift in life. Yeah it sucks that's she's a crappy teacher and you have to take a WAG at what she's looking for.

I know you're just ranting and I'm not trying to be harsh but it's a college course...if it were an automatic A, it would be a waste of time.

 

[waffleironhead]

Is this her first year?
I would take it up with a school administrator. Go in with the idea that you are a paying customer. You purchased their srevices to instruct you in art. You are recieving no instruction. You are only being given assignments. When I was in tech school I had an idiot for instructor. He would give us assignments with no parameters and then tear everyone a new ass on presentation day because it didnt fit within what he thought the projects should encompass. Anyway...we went to the dean as a class, and scheduled a meeting to discuss this "teacher". Our next projects were co-graded by someone else in the department and the instructor was replaced before the next semester started.

 

[Mr Pickles]

I actually chuckled out loud at this thread. I guess you could say I lolRLYed. Art teachers are great. I laughed at your sig too. This thread delivers. I think this is great. That's all I have to say about that...

 

[2Dead]

I took Art History. Just sat in a dark room and looked at slides of different paintings/sculptures/architecture. The Midterm and Final were all multiple choice where it was "What is the name of the artist that created this?" or "What style painting is this?" and stuff like that. Easy A. The hardest part about it was that it was after lunch. Dark room after lunch and staying awake in class don't really mix.

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
Do you really think EVERYONE in the class (who gives any effort) should get an A? What makes Introduction to Art any less academically viable than Introduction to Creative Writing or Introduction to Computer Algorithms?

You're not as good at it as some of your peers. So what? Learn whatever you can from the class and realize it's not your gift in life. Yeah it sucks that's she's a crappy teacher and you have to take a WAG at what she's looking for.

I know you're just ranting and I'm not trying to be harsh but it's a college course...if it were an automatic A, it would be a waste of time.

She said at the beginning of the class that she would grade according to each individuals abilities and works. How can she grade the first work (unless its a total joke) anything less than an A and work from there?

She usually shows up with a xerox of something, hands it out to everybody, and says "Do That". End of lesson and instruction. No tips, no "this is how you do it, this is how you don't do it..." nothing.

BTW, I do have abilities, at least in painting. My art usually sells for $800-1,500 per piece, through referrals mostly but also at shows. I took this because I am an abstract artist and wanted to learn other forms, and unless you count cutting up construction paper all day for three weeks an art form, its not happening.

The second day we got a xerox of a shaded room, she said "copy that with your charcoal", that was it. I'm sorry, but that's not what school is for, its for INSTRUCTION.

You don't walk into C++ and have the instructor say "write me a program that calculates the wages and taxes of all employees, given "x", and output it to a file." without first being told how to do it.

Shes also new at the school, none of the other instructors ever heard of her. GPA or not, there is zero quality in her abilities as an instructor.

 

[911paramedic]

P.S. Still all fired up about my tax situation, which doesn't help my outlook right now.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
Do you really think EVERYONE in the class (who gives any effort) should get an A? What makes Introduction to Art any less academically viable than Introduction to Creative Writing or Introduction to Computer Algorithms?

You're not as good at it as some of your peers. So what? Learn whatever you can from the class and realize it's not your gift in life. Yeah it sucks that's she's a crappy teacher and you have to take a WAG at what she's looking for.

I know you're just ranting and I'm not trying to be harsh but it's a college course...if it were an automatic A, it would be a waste of time.

She said at the beginning of the class that she would grade according to each individuals abilities and works. How can she grade the first work (unless its a total joke) anything less than an A and work from there?

She usually shows up with a xerox of something, hands it out to everybody, and says "Do That". End of lesson and instruction. No tips, no "this is how you do it, this is how you don't do it..." nothing.

BTW, I do have abilities, at least in painting. My art usually sells for $800-1,500 per piece, through referrals mostly but also at shows. I took this because I am an abstract artist and wanted to learn other forms, and unless you count cutting up construction paper all day for three weeks an art form, its not happening.

The second day we got a xerox of a shaded room, she said "copy that with your charcoal", that was it. I'm sorry, but that's not what school is for, its for INSTRUCTION.

You don't walk into C++ and have the instructor say "write me a program that calculates the wages and taxes of all employees, given "x", and output it to a file." without first being told how to do it.

Shes also new at the school, none of the other instructors ever heard of her. GPA or not, there is zero quality in her abilities as an instructor.

oh you're one of THEM.

An abstract artist huh?

No wonder you're not getting an A in an art class.

 

[911paramedic]

LOL, I also used to do CAD drafting and 3D design of conveyor systems. I can draw quite well, it's just that abstract painting is much more creative to me.

BTW, I just looked up one of the handouts she gave us (xerox of a xerox of a xerox...) and it looks nothing like the original copyrighted page shown on google, no wonder we couldn't make any sense out of it. (I also like that she left the artists copyright at the bottom, lol)

Page 11 Text

Those boxes that are shown on google? Ours dont have the grey border around the others, like the light-dark image. Ours just shows the bottom box with another one floating above it, no framing or reference.

She gave us this handout and said, "now you do."

P.S. That's a long link, lmao.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Of course, a "social science," microeconomics, was a breeze for me. They recommend 2hrs of time spent on the coursework for each hour of classtime. I spent closer to 30 minutes a week on it, and still got an A. "OMG, when you move this line on the supply/demand graph to the right, the intersection changes! What does this do to the price?" People actually had trouble with this. It's a graph with two lines on it, and ONE of the lines moves.

If you flunk out of engineering you can go to wall street :thumbsup:

Heh, it seems like I could go just about anywhere. I was top of the class in my electronics engineering intro 101 course - it's a required course for mechanical engineers, just a little overview of electronics. I missed two test questions the entire semester, 100% on the homework, 100% on the quizzes, and got a 98.25% overall grade. Apparently, ME's and MET's typically aren't good at electronics. It was a breeze for me, to the point where the professor asked me if I wanted to change majors and help him with research projects. Maybe I should have double-majored.:Q
My notes for the entire semester fit on 5 pages. 2 of those pages were on solving matrices, which I'd never done before.

During the Econ class, the professor would present these "profound" or "difficult" ideas, and my thinking was, "They paid someone how much, to take how long, to figure this out?" Oh my god, if you have a product with limited supply, and you reduce the available supply, the price will increase????? Egad, what an amazing concept!
Economics relies on people being selfish, just looking out for their own wellbeing and future. Again, astounding! What next? The symbol, "$" is used to indicate "dollars." Incredible!

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
I know you're just ranting and I'm not trying to be harsh but it's a college course...if it were an automatic A, it would be a waste of time.

Most of my gen-ed courses felt like wastes of time. Phys-ed courses are required, 3 credits. If I want to exercise, I'll either use the FREE (well, otherwise covered by tuition expenses and government money) gym and swimming pool. Why should I have to pay for an instructor and classes for something I can do on my own? Why should it count for credit?
Similarly, Theater. General Arts courses. If I want to learn about them, fine, I'll go to an art museum, or voluntarily register for a class. But the Gen Ed's are a required part of the curriculum. Did my Theater course teach me anything? Yes, it taught me how unpleasant it is to pay lots of money for something useless and entirely irrelevant to my major.

 

[FoBoT]

:camera:'s?

 

[911paramedic]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
:camera:'s?

LOL, I'm in another city at the other campus sitting in lab after 4 hours of studying. I'll scan one or two in the morning if somebody bumps this to remind me. The problem with that is, my drawings all got A's, it's this construction paper crap that she is hitting everybody hard on.

I'm not complaining just because of me, heck, I'm probably one of the highest graded in the class. I'm complaining because its fooking intro to art, she should teach us something. It's not "come and cut up paper class".

 

[911paramedic]

Added pics in first post of previous works. No way am I putting charcoal drawings on my scanner.

 

[legoman666]

that ridgeline pic looks nice. Got a high quality scan or anything? Good desktop material.

 

[Mr Pickles]

These are your works? What?

 

[edro]

I love Fortitude.

 

[MaxDepth]

"C" after all is average. If you have a Bm, then I would not complain. However, you can take it to the ombudsman for adjudication because of the grade, the level of the class, and as much as I hate to say it, the poor instruction given by a foreign national.

Yes, introductory classes should be clearly articulated but many colleges give these building block classes to teachers who speak English as a second language.