SS: A**hole TA

ski · 09-04-2004, 03:04 PM

I am having a problem with one of my classes' Teaching Assistants, and I have 13 more weeks of him left.

Email from my Professor prior to the lab:

Quote:

Completed MATLAB script to calculate the intersection of two circles. Note that you must have this script working by the end of lab. It will be validated by Mr. Black.

I came to lab with my script, but it was not working. After the TA looked at it and tried to point something out (only to get distracted and walk away), I found the error and corrected it. The TA STILL says I should get a zero because it wasn't done at the start of class, even after I told him the Prof said that it should be working by the end of lab. So I go talk to my Prof the next day after the lecture and tell him about it, and that I think I should get credit since the e-mail he sent out made a reference to having it completed by the end of lab. The Prof tells me to write an e-mail to the TA and copy it to him, so here's his response to my e-mail:

Quote:

I do not like to lose marks any more than you do, Kevin. I understand your reasoning but will not award you the prelab credit. Were I to do so, it would seem less than fair to the several students who did fully complete their prelab assignments, in good style, before lab period.

I understand that you feel that the earlier e-mail from the professor could very reasonably be interpreted as meaning that it were acceptable to bring an unfinished script to lab.
While I do not necessarily disagree with the point, the time to resolve the apparent discrepancy between the e-mail and the lab manual was before the lab period. Another safe solution would have been just to complete the script before lab time. The way you chose to handle the matter, while not wholly unreasonable, did harbor an element of grading risk.

This prelab mark is in the book now. Another lab comes next week. There are ten labs. Earn prelab credit for the other nine. They all count.

I have no illusions that you will like this answer. I was a senior not so long ago; so I know. See me. We can discuss the matter further.

(Note to Prof. Scales: Kevin tells the story correctly in my view. I have nothing to add to his tale, nor do I dispute his version of the facts, in the event that you thought it advisable to overrule.)

On Fri, Sep 03, 2004 at 02:54:54PM -0400, Kevin wrote:
> I spoke with Professor Scales after my lecture today about the
> discrepancy with this week's prelab grading. I explained to him that
> it only took me 5 minutes of looking at my code after Wednesday's lab
> to fix the syntax error, and once I got a result and asked if it was
> in the right range, you verified that it was (about x=-5.6 and y=9 I
> believe). What he told me to do was send this e-mail to you and copy
> it to him, so that any deductions to my grade may be resolved.
>
> With the notice Professor Scales sent out to the listserv that the
> code must be working by the end of the lab time period, I believe I
> fulfilled the requirements within the extra parameter given by the
> special notice. I understand that from now on, all code must be in
> fully-working condition prior to the lab, unless otherwise stated.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Kevin

I don't want to get bent out of shape over it since it's only one prelab and now I know, but I can't escape that this guy is a pompous, stubborn jerk

slaus · 09-04-2004, 03:08 PM

It could be worse, my girlfriend came home crying due to her Accounting Information Systems professor. That was just after introductions and some basic stuff on day 1.

redcolours · 09-04-2004, 03:33 PM

i remember now why i punched one teaching ASSistant in the face while in class when i was in college...

Mike_N_Ike · 09-04-2004, 05:09 PM

Man what a jerk. I think TAs like this get too high off of the idea that they have some authority to throw around. What a freaking loser.

Markel · 09-04-2004, 09:39 PM

I'd still forward the whole thing back to the prof, explaining that the TA is enforcing rules which contradict the policy the prof sent out.

09-04-2004, 03:33 PM	#3
redcolours in living colour Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: above a raging c Posts: 1,739	i remember now why i punched one teaching ASSistant in the face while in class when i was in college... __________________ there are pictures, but no,nothing happens on my site.

09-04-2004, 05:09 PM	#4
Mike_N_Ike Captain Join Date: May 2000 Location: Irvine, CA Posts: 1,676	Man what a jerk. I think TAs like this get too high off of the idea that they have some authority to throw around. What a freaking loser. __________________ -Mike

09-04-2004, 09:39 PM	#5
Markel Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 11,733	I'd still forward the whole thing back to the prof, explaining that the TA is enforcing rules which contradict the policy the prof sent out. __________________ stay low... keep moving...

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09-04-2004, 03:08 PM	#2
slaus Commander Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,189	It could be worse, my girlfriend came home crying due to her Accounting Information Systems professor. That was just after introductions and some basic stuff on day 1.

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