if you are a teacher, I expect you to not make assumptions

[bedlamsbard]

Man, I am so mad at my AP Gov teacher right now. He should not be teaching the class, seriously.

Witness the two most recent incidents:

We're finishing up our unit on the Constitution and were talking about the Fifth Amendment, and I asked about the bit regarding "except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger" and how that works. Well, first he tells me that he doesn't know -- okay, fair enough, except for the part where he's teaching freaking AP Gov and has been doing so for a fairly long period of time -- and then he tells me that it's never going to apply to me anyway. I was too shocked that a teacher would say that to give my writer comeback -- which he probably wouldn't have understood anyway, since it's pretty much, "Well, no knowledge is ever wasted, and dude, I write military fiction" -- or kindly tell him that there's, like, an eighty percent chance I'll be joining the Air Force. And going for a JAG after I get my undergraduate. A.K.A. military law.

Yes. Let's think about the idiocy of his comment for a few minutes. Let's think about the fact he's a teacher and he was pretty damn judgmental right there. Just because I'm a girl and an A student doesn't mean that I'm never going to join the military.

Bit number two. We're having a mock Supreme Court thing dealing with commerce clause cases, and he's already told us which groups are going to be petitioners and respondents on which cases. Then he decides that we're too stupid to figure out which is which and assigns my group to be the citizen complainers and Group A, the group we're going up against, to be the United States, regardless of which one is petitioner or respondent. He did that today. You know when he told us the original assignment? Friday. So I'd been researching for Caminetti v. U.S. assuming I'd be the United States, and now I'm Caminetti. Apparently I was the only one bothered by this, but I was extremely bothered, because, hello, you don't do that to your students, especially not when we're supposed to start presenting our cases tomorrow and you haven't given us the fucking time to make them, and then, b, fucking changing shit around on us. Just no. You don't do that shit.

*seethes*

Comments

[mentalhygiene.livejournal.com]

My dad explains the fifth amendment thing as, if you're a member of the [various armed forces], and it's a time of war (which can either be declared by congress, or, the military courts can determine if conditions warrant that they are functioning under "time of war" circumstances), you are not protected from self-incrimination and can be compelled to testify against yourself. Although he is not sure what happens if as a serviceperson one refuses to testify.

but I am guessing you already googled that. ;)

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I did not in fact know that. I think I just ask these questions to test my teachers, seriously. That's really interesting, though. (Yeah, all my teacher said was, "Oh, the rules are different. You don't have the right to remain silent. The military functions under the UCMJ.")

[mentalhygiene.livejournal.com]

My impression is that, even as a servicemember, you do have the protections, except when it's a capital/infamous crime, and when it is a "time of war".

The copy of the UCMJ I found online doesn't bring it up.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I should ask my AP U.S. History teacher from last year. I bet he knows. He was career Army.

*sad* I miss him. He actually knew what he was talking about. AND he prepared us really well for the AP test.

[mentalhygiene.livejournal.com]

*nod* Definitely ask him then. He'll probably give you a discourse on it. : )

Unfortunately, even in college sometimes you get professors who don't know what they're talking about. Mostly, though, I see professors who know their material/subject, but can't teach for shit. :/

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Ooh, like my chem teacher. Not that he's bad, mind. It's just that he's been teaching too damn long. He's one of the only teachers whose class I've fallen asleep in. A lot. That's how I survived my sleepless junior year.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Wow, your prof is a jerk. Just remember that in less than a year, you'll be in a classroom with teachers who actually know what they're talking about. (Also, my 11th grade history prof was a gym teacher by training).

Oh, so, I was thinking about you in class today. Because we learned about the assassination of Duke Sforza in Milan back in the 15th century, and how the Sforza family was basically the first Mafia family in Italy, and how "Sforza" actually means violence, and they were mercenaries, but damn did they love their music (enough to cheat the nobles in the city out of some church positions in order to pay said musicians).

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

My teacher is a hick, and he admits this. He spends a lot of time talking about how much he loves his horse. Also about guns and gun laws, which I find fascinating, but nobody else in class except the other rednecks really cares about. And his horse. (There's also the bit where we were talking about Executive Orders and I asked about 9066 and whether that ended when FDR died or not, and he went off on, "Well, you're Japanese, so you must be interested in the internment camps," and I was sitting there going, "No, I actually just want to know about the legalities of that since the president died in office and an executive order only lasts while he's in office." Guess what? He did not know.)

Hot damn. And there was a Sforza in the Bardverse, too! Go me for not knowing anything about old, old Mafia history.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's really annoying. You could be a bitch and file a detailed complaint with the school board, stating that he's unfit to teach the class. But I guess that's only if you're really really annoyed.

Hot damn. And there was a Sforza in the Bardverse, too!

Yep, I remembered that!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Too much trouble, and I'm applying for college, I still want to get in. I mean, he's not too bad most of the time. (Argh, don't get me started on how he puts stuff on the test that he doesn't teach us. Oh, last year's AP U.S. History teacher, I miss you so much.)

Joey must be a relative. *grin*

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

I hate profs like that. My Music prof is like that... his midterm had even the advanced music students confused. But he's such an awesome prof, so it's okay. Your teacher, though, sounds crummy. Hey, semester's almost over! Is AP Gov a one-semester class for you all?

Joey's probably a great-great-great grandson. Bet he brags about it all the time. Yeah, man, my great grandfather? Took over an entire city.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

No, AP Gov's full-year; it takes the place of World Affairs. Yeah, that's right, we don't have a world history class, we only have current affairs. This is why no one from Ellensburg ever goes to one of the UC schools; they all require a full year of world history, the world history SAT II, or the AP World History test.

And Val looks at him and snorts and goes, Man, I'm going to own this city.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sucks. We had a half-semester Gov't, and half-semester Economics. (I failed Economics with a 67%, got a 73% after the bell-curve. Lost my spot in the top 10%. I weep at the thought).

Ew, SAT II. I took the writing one, cause there wasn't a writing part on the SAT Gen when I took it. Evil tests.


And Val looks at him and snorts and goes, Man, I'm going to own this city.

Ngh, LOVE LOVE LOVE Val. ♥.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Econ's a semester class, but I don't know if it's being offered this year -- I know it was last year.

If anything gets me refused, it's going to be my SAT II Math 2 score. But my SAT II Lit score was really high! (800, baby.)

*bounces* I'm trying to think through the rewrite of Snafu before I, you know, actually write it, and now I have plot bunnies which would have been awesome carried through the series. Alas, I weep for their loss. I suppose I could take everything down and make it original fic instead.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Oh, Econ was required for us. I hated it. You scored a perfect on your SAT II Lit? Holy crap. Wow.

I want to marry Val. Seriously. Or maybe Carmine, but Val for sure. :D Also, original fic wins. But if you're gonna take it down, can you give me a couple of days to save all the chapters? Because I re-read Bardverse like a crazy obsessed dork.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

The only social studies classes required for us are Pacific Northwest History, which is a semester, and U.S. History and World Affairs (or AP Gov), which are both full year classes.

Well. I tend to go through Lit and English type things very quickly. (In the case of the SAT I, going, "Oh my God this is so, so wrong, it needs to get out of my sight! If I fill in this little tiny bubble it will disappear!")

Eh, I probably won't. I'll reuse the scenarios and possibly the characters, but probably not the entire things. Too much trouble.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Pacific Northwest History

Which, I assume, is like Texas History? We took that in grade 7. Boooring! But other classes were required... US History, World Geography, World History, Gov't/Econ. And I took AP European Hist. because it was awesome.

Sweet. I heart your OC writing.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

More or less, I assume, only substitute the PNW for the Texas bit. *grin*

They were supposed to offer AP European Hisotry this year, but the teacher (my awesome AP U.S. History teacher) opted not to because the College Board is now requiring various things to certify that it's actually an AP class, not a class with "AP" tacked on in front.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

That sucks. It really was a fantastic class. I think it's one of the reasons I ended up going into a Medieval Studies program for my minor.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I bet you anything they offer it next year, though.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

That's always the way life is.