7.03 makes me angry
It's a intro genetics class. This stuff hasn't changed that much in the last ten years. (Lac operon and all the other classic experiments were done in the 60s and 70s, come on.) I didn't come to MIT to teach myself about yeast tetrad analysis by googling up the sense-making, well-written discussions of the subject from other colleges because the explanation given in class failed so hard.
I flip through the textbook and see all this fascinating stuff we aren't covering. The typical structure of a DNA-binding motif in a protein! Cool! Now how about we see that in lecture?....No?
Meanwhile, profs. Fink and Reddien lumber along with their unclear semi-coherent lectures and their total lack of blackboard technique and their powerpoint fail and their awkwardly-written problem sets.
And then I go to office hours, which are typically held at the outdoor tables of a Starbucks, of all places (how have these people not heard of the Bio Cafe, the Coffeehouse, the entire first floor of Stata, etc?) and no one shows up. Including the TA. (For the record, this was not my TA, this was another TA supposedly holding open office hours. My TA is wonderful and I wish she were teaching the class.)
It's all the more irritating because I know MIT is capable of doing a hard, engaging, puzzle-drive-involving, well-presented class. Look at the organic chem, it's fantastic. And also because I want to like genetics, I really do. But I've lost all respect for these two profs, at least when they're in their teaching capacity.
ETA: yeah, I'm in a whiny mood right now. Could you tell?
I flip through the textbook and see all this fascinating stuff we aren't covering. The typical structure of a DNA-binding motif in a protein! Cool! Now how about we see that in lecture?....No?
Meanwhile, profs. Fink and Reddien lumber along with their unclear semi-coherent lectures and their total lack of blackboard technique and their powerpoint fail and their awkwardly-written problem sets.
And then I go to office hours, which are typically held at the outdoor tables of a Starbucks, of all places (how have these people not heard of the Bio Cafe, the Coffeehouse, the entire first floor of Stata, etc?) and no one shows up. Including the TA. (For the record, this was not my TA, this was another TA supposedly holding open office hours. My TA is wonderful and I wish she were teaching the class.)
It's all the more irritating because I know MIT is capable of doing a hard, engaging, puzzle-drive-involving, well-presented class. Look at the organic chem, it's fantastic. And also because I want to like genetics, I really do. But I've lost all respect for these two profs, at least when they're in their teaching capacity.
ETA: yeah, I'm in a whiny mood right now. Could you tell?