Wait..what? There is an F on my transcript? I have almost all A's, a couple B's and...an F?
So, we took this chamber music class this past quarter. Me, my two best friends and this random Korean violinist that was "assigned" to our group and ended up hating contemporary music, which was the aim of this group.
Normally, how this class works is that the students meet independently a couple times a week, and then meet with the professor for an hour a week for a "coaching". One student is designated as the "contact" and is the main line of communication between the coach and the students.
So, for the only the second time in the history of chamber music (which we take every quarter), I was not elected the contact. I was a little nervous, but the only other time, my friend had been the contact and it had worked out. Our contact person takes private lessons with the coach and so I was comforted by that as well. Especially since our particular coach is known for his frequent trips out of town and lack of email-checking/returning.
So, we didn't have any coachings in April, which was fine with me since I had just started a new job, inherited a studio and lost my grandfather. Our contact explained that our coach was going to be in and out until May, at which point we contacted him. He forgot, for a month, to bring up coachings, despite seeing our contact once a week. True, we could have been more proactive, and yes we probably should have alerted that coordinator/admins that this was going on. As someone working full time and dealing with about 10 million other things, I let it slide. I know for a fact that other people had taken coachings with this guy, had one or two for the quarter (you're supposed to have 8) and gotten grades. Our contact, when I DID express my concerns, assured me that we would get the credit.
In June, our coach struck a deal with us that if we wrote a paper and made a recording, he'd give us a grade. We made the recording and all emailed him asking him what the paper should be about and how long it should be.
Then, we got an F.
And when we asked why, we got two nasty emails from the department coordinator and the dean about how "four of the best students could let something get THIS out of hand"
Excuse me, but only about half of that was OUR fault. We made the recording, so obviously we rehearsed, and we didn't ignore the paper and I'm sorry, but the coach should have taken one of his 10-15 opportunities to ask us if he had any concerns, and obviously, if he failed us, he was concerned. Yes, we could have been more on top of things, but...grrrrrrr. If they don't think we deserve the credit, then they should strike the class from our records since most of us didn't need it to graduate anyway, and it was a total communication breakdown from A-Z. And as for the dead yelling at us? Sometimes, lady, life happens and these disasters'll pop up. Get over it.
You see, this is why I never want to get another degree. Obviously, this prof, when approached by the dept. coordinator and dean tried to cover his own butt. It's all pointless red tape. I'd rather learn new things unhindered by wastes of time and energy like this, thanks.
(The most funny part of this? I still graduate magna cum laude. Boo ya!)
So, we took this chamber music class this past quarter. Me, my two best friends and this random Korean violinist that was "assigned" to our group and ended up hating contemporary music, which was the aim of this group.
Normally, how this class works is that the students meet independently a couple times a week, and then meet with the professor for an hour a week for a "coaching". One student is designated as the "contact" and is the main line of communication between the coach and the students.
So, for the only the second time in the history of chamber music (which we take every quarter), I was not elected the contact. I was a little nervous, but the only other time, my friend had been the contact and it had worked out. Our contact person takes private lessons with the coach and so I was comforted by that as well. Especially since our particular coach is known for his frequent trips out of town and lack of email-checking/returning.
So, we didn't have any coachings in April, which was fine with me since I had just started a new job, inherited a studio and lost my grandfather. Our contact explained that our coach was going to be in and out until May, at which point we contacted him. He forgot, for a month, to bring up coachings, despite seeing our contact once a week. True, we could have been more proactive, and yes we probably should have alerted that coordinator/admins that this was going on. As someone working full time and dealing with about 10 million other things, I let it slide. I know for a fact that other people had taken coachings with this guy, had one or two for the quarter (you're supposed to have 8) and gotten grades. Our contact, when I DID express my concerns, assured me that we would get the credit.
In June, our coach struck a deal with us that if we wrote a paper and made a recording, he'd give us a grade. We made the recording and all emailed him asking him what the paper should be about and how long it should be.
Then, we got an F.
And when we asked why, we got two nasty emails from the department coordinator and the dean about how "four of the best students could let something get THIS out of hand"
Excuse me, but only about half of that was OUR fault. We made the recording, so obviously we rehearsed, and we didn't ignore the paper and I'm sorry, but the coach should have taken one of his 10-15 opportunities to ask us if he had any concerns, and obviously, if he failed us, he was concerned. Yes, we could have been more on top of things, but...grrrrrrr. If they don't think we deserve the credit, then they should strike the class from our records since most of us didn't need it to graduate anyway, and it was a total communication breakdown from A-Z. And as for the dead yelling at us? Sometimes, lady, life happens and these disasters'll pop up. Get over it.
You see, this is why I never want to get another degree. Obviously, this prof, when approached by the dept. coordinator and dean tried to cover his own butt. It's all pointless red tape. I'd rather learn new things unhindered by wastes of time and energy like this, thanks.
(The most funny part of this? I still graduate magna cum laude. Boo ya!)
