- This isn't the first time he's had the course. It's his third. And one of those previous times he had issues with the instructor -- another young female. If the new situation doesn't work out, [little big boss] says he'll put a note on his transcript to keep him out of the department's classes.
- He tried to explain to [little big boss] that he wasn't intense (how that came up I have no idea). The problem? He was doing so in a pretty hostile, intense manner.
- He admitted that part of the problem he had with me is that I'm younger than he is. Go figure.
- [Little big boss] liked the email that my friend wrote for me so much he decided to mention it to me -- and to the first year GTAs in a show that they should take the high road and things will work out for them. Not exactly how I remember Timothy's reply but whatever.
- I actually didn't get a lecture from either of the bosses about how I should have handled the situation. I did get cornered by [useless boss] in the office and was forced to listen to her talk about how they just knew from the email that it "wasn't going to work out" between Timothy and me. Um, duh. What gave that away?
- As Timothy was very adamant that he get transferred to a class that was at the *exact* same time as mine, he was transferred into an already-full section, taught by a tenured professor who is indeed older than he is. The fun part is that, as he's tenured, said professor doesn't use the same books that GTAs have to, so Timothy is in for a rude awakening once he realizes how much shit he has to catch up on.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Timothy -- A Tenured's Problem Now
Found out some interesting information today regarding dear Timothy:
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Congratulations! Include some of this ice cream with the cookies. He may need it.
ReplyDeleteGlad this worked out for you.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah -- I love me some tenure because you can do a face-to-face smackdown if you need to. So maybe this Timothy dude will finally feel the hard boot of power on his neck.
ReplyDeleteintrovert: If I could've gotten my hands on that I would've not cared about it at all :P And the prof definitely wouldn't be getting any.
ReplyDeleteBen: Thank you. So am I.
Marcia: That's the idea. This prof in particular is known for giving it as good as he gets it (Though with an older male professor most of his power issues will probably disappear). Either that, or poor Timothy will drop when he realizes how much work he has to do to catch up and he won't be able to take the course here again.
I love that Timothy will have to buy all new texts for the class. That shows him!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if it's not an issue of youth but an issue of gender. Crazy Math Spouse and I have noticed distinct differences in the way "they" (meaning the student collective) treat us. Since we are both of roughly the same age but different genders I sometimes ponder whether it's women who, in general, get more Timothy type problems. Or maybe women get more of both words. More delighted, happy *fans* but also more miserable, vocal *haters.*
Crazy Math Professor, it's ALL of it.
ReplyDeleteIt can be differences of age, race, gender, class, size (height or weight), education, authority/status, sexuality, religion, fashion sense, or any other rather superficial trait we can think of. It's usually 2-3 of the above though.
In general, if the instructor doesn't fit the standard stereotype of a tall, fit, white, middle-class, middle-aged, heterosexual, genial male in a suit, there will be SOMEONE in the class who refuses to accept the instructor as being in charge. It seems like all it takes is one deviation from the stereotype to set someone off nowadays.
Absolutely it is all of it, CMP. I get more flak in general and definitely from the Timothys than my colleague does, who is older, male, and married. The good natured slackers think that since I am a woman, I must either be more understanding, or that if they ask repeatedly, "No" will become "yes." The Timothys get more explicitly gendered: As I am middle-aged and unmarried, no kids, the standard Timothy-type assumption seems to be that I must be lesbian "at best", especially because I live up in the "most Godless place in a Godless city, where all the dykes who hate men like to live." (quoting a former Timothy-type of student's evaluation, which said quite a lot about him).
ReplyDeleteSorry, missed a sentence. ...And, of course, my alleged hatred of men is the *only* reason the Timothys do badly in my courses. Couldn't be their lack of writing and reading comprehension, their inability to turn anything in on time, their unwillingness to address the material historically rather than through their own lens, or their overall attitudes. No, sirree, it *has* to be because I failed them because I must hate men. (The Timothy type in question repeated the class with my male colleague. I passed by Dr.Colleague'S office as Timothy was blustering, unable to accept the failing grade he had earned but equally unable to blame Dr. Colleague, as a fellow white middle-aged fit married man.)
ReplyDelete