Ask me a question....

[EigenUser]

Still not as funny as the lecturer who thought the subject was really easy and didn't need to be explained in detail, and when a student asked for something to be clarified, she told him to look into it on his own (and it was a question that I'm certain nobody else in the class knew the answer to..). The funny part is that she hasn't ever taught that class since. She had a real knack for motivating the students, too - she told that they must all pass as she doesn't want to make another exam for the fall (it was clear at this point that a year later sb else would be teaching that course). Needless to say, everyone and their brother took the fall exam, whether they had already passed the course or not. 

My fluid mechanics professor has been here for years (decades) and he re-uses the same three exams in his undergraduate course (which I took two years ago), alternating every three years. This has been known by most students for quite some time -- which leads me in to my quasi-self-righteous rant about how unfair this is:

I didn't know about the recycling of exams until the final exam. I went to class every lecture. It was an 8AM lecture, so many others didn't go (by the last week of the semester, only 1/5th of the class was there). And why should they bother? They had all three exams and we were allowed to bring in an equation sheet. They'd just write the solutions to all old exam questions on the equation sheet and get pretty much 100. I got a 70/100 (yes, I know I should have prepared more, but that's beside the point), having taken the exam fairly. Since the old homework solutions were floating around, no one bothered to try the homework either.

So, you'd have most of the class not going to lecture regularly, cheating on homework, and copying exams (not sure I'd call it 'cheating' since it was technically allowed, but it wasn't what was intended) getting an 'A' at the end of the semester. I know some people who got an 'A' and only went to class for the exams. They had friends turn in assignments. Then there were a few people like me who went to class every day, honestly did the homeworks, and properly took the exams. I have a 'C+' to show for it. Not to say that I should have got an 'A', but most professors use some degree of relative grading (even if not a strict 'bell curve'). So, there's no doubt that the high grades caused a me to get a lower grade. I've gotten 'C+'s before (not to say I'm happy with them, but I'm not at all one of those annoying perfectionists), but I'm particularly bitter about this one.

Now, he's finding out that people have old exams. I'm currently in his graduate class so I'm not sure if he re-uses exams, but I think he does. During the exam review when the floor was open for questions, a student went up to him with a piece of paper and asked him to solve the problem. The professor stuttered for a second and suspiciously asked where he got the problem from, to which the student replies that his friend gave it to him. He said that he'd rather solve the practice problems he already gave us.

Finally (longer post than I thought!), when I get the exam I notice that someone (presumably the lady in the office who makes copies) hand-wrote "revised 10/22" at the top of the first page. 10/22 was the day between the exam review and the exam day.

I bet so many Juniors are going to fail the midterm exam miserably this Spring when he teaches the undergraduate fluids course. Not that I wish ill against anyone, but I think it is understandable why I was frustrated. As for the professor, I do like him.

[mc ukrneal]

My fluid mechanics professor has been here for years (decades) and he re-uses the same three exams in his undergraduate course (which I took two years ago), alternating every three years. This has been known by most students for quite some time -- which leads me in to my quasi-self-righteous rant about how unfair this is:

I didn't know about the recycling of exams until the final exam. I went to class every lecture. It was an 8AM lecture, so many others didn't go (by the last week of the semester, only 1/5th of the class was there). And why should they bother? They had all three exams and we were allowed to bring in an equation sheet. They'd just write the solutions to all old exam questions on the equation sheet and get pretty much 100. I got a 70/100 (yes, I know I should have prepared more, but that's beside the point), having taken the exam fairly. Since the old homework solutions were floating around, no one bothered to try the homework either.

So, you'd have most of the class not going to lecture regularly, cheating on homework, and copying exams (not sure I'd call it 'cheating' since it was technically allowed, but it wasn't what was intended) getting an 'A' at the end of the semester. I know some people who got an 'A' and only went to class for the exams. They had friends turn in assignments. Then there were a few people like me who went to class every day, honestly did the homeworks, and properly took the exams. I have a 'C+' to show for it. Not to say that I should have got an 'A', but most professors use some degree of relative grading (even if not a strict 'bell curve'). So, there's no doubt that the high grades caused a me to get a lower grade. I've gotten 'C+'s before (not to say I'm happy with them, but I'm not at all one of those annoying perfectionists), but I'm particularly bitter about this one.

Now, he's finding out that people have old exams. I'm currently in his graduate class so I'm not sure if he re-uses exams, but I think he does. During the exam review when the floor was open for questions, a student went up to him with a piece of paper and asked him to solve the problem. The professor stuttered for a second and suspiciously asked where he got the problem from, to which the student replies that his friend gave it to him. He said that he'd rather solve the practice problems he already gave us.

Finally (longer post than I thought!), when I get the exam I notice that someone (presumably the lady in the office who makes copies) hand-wrote "revised 10/22" at the top of the first page. 10/22 was the day between the exam review and the exam day.

I bet so many Juniors are going to fail the midterm exam miserably this Spring when he teaches the undergraduate fluids course. Not that I wish ill against anyone, but I think it is understandable why I was frustrated. As for the professor, I do like him.

It is unfair, but it has been going on for years and years and years.

The ulitmate question is: Which is more important - a good grade or true understanding of the material? You can go out there and cheat/lie to a good grade. Does this help you be the person you want to be in life? You need to make a decision for yourself how you are going to handle this type of situation. Not to be rude, but while you are a victim, you are also an enabler. Perhaps you will want to consider taking action in future.

[EigenUser]

It is unfair, but it has been going on for years and years and years.

The ulitmate question is: Which is more important - a good grade or true understanding of the material? You can go out there and cheat/lie to a good grade. Does this help you be the person you want to be in life? You need to make a decision for yourself how you are going to handle this type of situation. Not to be rude, but while you are a victim, you are also an enabler. Perhaps you will want to consider taking action in future.

Exactly how I feel. I definitely like understanding the material and learning (usually I find learning to be more rewarding than the outcome of knowing), but a good grade makes short-term life easier, which is a luxury. It would just be nice if both were possible. I suppose they would be if I was able to put in the time and effort to get an 'A' based off of truly knowing the course content, but that is very difficult to do while taking four other classes (like I was doing two years ago).

[Ken B]

Part of the problem Nate, to be blunt, is your lazy, irresponsible prof.

[North Star]

Part of the problem Nate, to be blunt, is your lazy, irresponsible prof.

Yes. It's unbelievably ignorant of him to think that he can reuse the same exam ad infinitum without nobody realizing it and spreading the old exams.

[EigenUser]

Part of the problem Nate, to be blunt, is your lazy, irresponsible prof.

I know. Last year I was complaining to a professor that I was TA'ing for and she said that it was just "laziness all around" (i.e. the professor being lazy by recycling exams and the students being just as lazy and taking advantage of this). I thought that was a good way of putting it.

I really didn't like him for a while because of this and I was very reluctant to take the graduate class. But, I had taken pretty much all of the core MechE graduate classes as an undergraduate (they count as technical electives). I enjoy his lectures and he can be a very good teacher, though sometimes a grouch.

Also, he looks like Ligeti. (I've verified this with a few other students, too, using the Clear or Cloudy cover for reference).

[Szykneij]

French bow or German bow?

[Karl Henning]

Emmenthal or Jarlsberg?

[Ken B]

I know. Last year I was complaining to a professor that I was TA'ing for and she said that it was just "laziness all around" (i.e. the professor being lazy by recycling exams and the students being just as lazy and taking advantage of this). I thought that was a good way of putting it.

I really didn't like him for a while because of this and I was very reluctant to take the graduate class. But, I had taken pretty much all of the core MechE graduate classes as an undergraduate (they count as technical electives). I enjoy his lectures and he can be a very good teacher, though sometimes a grouch.

Also, he looks like Ligeti. (I've verified this with a few other students, too, using the Clear or Cloudy cover for reference).

Okay then. Lazy, irresponsible, dishevelled prof.

[The new erato]

Favorite $10 wine?

Favorite bang-for-buck wine region/type/category?

Muscadet.

[toledobass]

What amount of individual preparation/rehearsal does an orchestra musician require or is given when faced with a new orchestral work (to him/her) to play for a performance ? Can musicians play right off the bat when faced with the score for the first time, and then it is just a matter of fine tuning with the conductor ?... or is there a larger amount of personal rehearsal as an individual or as a section beforehand ?

Hi Papy! 

This differs musician to musician.  After a certain point in your career lots of the repertoire has had multiple performances and only needs to be brushed up.  Certain musicians read very well and come in to some things cold after only looking at the music to see if anything needs to be worked on.  My old stand partner was a top notch reader and did this with everything but the very difficult repertoire.  For me some part of my practice time was always dedicated to work repertoire.  We would typically get the music a month ahead of time and usually I would be fine looking at the music a week ahead of the first rehearsal.  Though with stuff that was difficult that I'd never seen before I would spend a lot of time in advance preparing. 

When the new season is announced I would see what I hadn't played, get those parts and if super difficult spend the proper time getting it under my fingers.  I played DSCH 11 a few years ago and I had a lot of trouble with that bass part.  It was part of my practice regimen the summer before the season started then in rotation as part of my prcatice routine about a month out from the first rehearsal. 

I would say in general I probably spent 20-30 min on difficult work related repertoire.  Usually much less if the piece was already familiar to me.

Allan

[toledobass]

Favorite $10 wine?

Favorite bang-for-buck wine region/type/category?

I'm not well studied with wines, but I tend to stay in the 10-15 price range.  One of my all time favorites is the Taurino Salice Salentino.  I've also enjoyed the Casilera Del Diablo Carmenere.  Also some of the Copolla blends are around that price point and actually have something of a distinctive character which I've always enjoyed.  Those are three that don't drink like all the other $10-15 wines out there.

Shop in places that give you a good case discount and buy by the case!
A

[toledobass]

French bow or German bow?

I play french bow, but have always liked working on my German bow chops from time to time.  Even playing easier concerts with German bow.

A

[Papy Oli]

Hi Papy! 

.../...

Cheers Allan, thank you for the insight.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Alamos Torrontes

This sells for about $8/bottle at Trader Joe's or at a "discounted price" $9/bottle at Safeway--provided you use your "club card" LOL.

Torrontes is a white wine grape grown almost exclusively in Argentina. This wine offers a dazzling complexity of spice, perfume, and fruit flavors with just enough acidity to stand up to a variety of different foods. Good matches would include salads, seafood, poultry, and light pasta dishes, and pretty much any cheese.

[toledobass]

Cheers Allan, thank you for the insight.

On the orchestra rehearsal side of things:

Typically there are 4 or 5 rehearsals for a concert (this includes the dress rehearsal.)  Rehearsals typically last 2.5 hours with a 15 minutes break.  As stated previously the music is always in the hands of the musician well ahead of the first rehearsal.  Outside of Pops shows, I've never been in a situation where the whole orchestra has had to read something cold on the first rehearsal.  If there is a concerto, it is typical for it to be rehearsed maybe an hour and a half then the dress rehearsal.  Overtures and small pieces get short rehearsal times, especially if standard rep.  The conductor is responsible for alloting and managing time for each piece.  Everything is accomplished in these few rehearsals no matter the difficulty of the piece.  The conductor has to be very diligent with time and with the understand what the particular difficulties with the score/orchestra are.  They have to pick spots to rehearse to make the most effective performance possible and understand when to move on.  Many times things get marginally better in rehearsal but then the orchestra comes back to it the next day, and it is leaps and bounds improvement.  Sometimes things just need to process, so that is part of the conductor understanding when to move on. 

Does that help out more?  Do you have any more questions about the process? if so let me know!  Happy to talk about my experience!

Allan 

[Papy Oli]

Thank you for the complement of info, Allan.

I had started watching the Bernstein Mahler rehearsals DVD. As you stated above, Bernstein, for instance for the M5, only covered the intro and a couple of particular points in the first 2 movements, and that was it, so I wondered about the rest of the work from the musicians' perspective, hence my initial question.