Boris Mityagin's Reply to Doron Zeilberger's Opinion 73

From borismit@math.ohio-state.edu  Thu Aug 17 16:18:14 2006

       INDEED THIS IS RUTGERS 2006, NOT KANSAS 1972


                 Zeilberger is probably the best
                  professor I had so far at Rutgers.
                  He makes math fun and gives
                  excellent handouts. He is a great
                  teacher and  HIS EXAMS COME
                 STRAIGHT FROM HIS HANDOUTS.
                 If you want to learn Calculus 2,
                 I suggest you take Zeilberger!

                A Math-152 student on RMP-website

Dear Doron,

0. Thank you for your interest in my Letter [1] to
Notices of AMS

[1] http://www.ams.org/notices/200607/200607-toc.html

you are commenting on in your Opinion 73

[2] http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~zeilberg/Opinion73.html.

Of course, it would be nice to have serious rational discussion.
Unfortunately, you've chosen the path of intellectual dishonesty.
Maybe, we'll have a chance to talk about these matters. But in
meantime I'll make a couple of remarks to support this conclusion.

1. You put in my mouth - just look into the title of your Opinion -
'grumbling about your "lazy" students'  giving 'lazy' in quotes as if it
were my wording. But in my letter there is no word about
'lazy students' or anything close to talk about students' laziness. So you
argue not with me but with your own fiction.

2. Another dirty trick of professional spinners is to ignore
the issues but attack the messenger. Oh he is a communist (or
"probably the opposite") and he is an immigrant (or even worse -
from "Russian emigres"), etc.

 But what will you tell to Tina Blue (goto:

[3] http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-04-27-06.htm

or

[4] http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-06-30-04-epr.htm )

who teaches English in Kansas colleges since 1972 or to your
own colleague at Rutgers Professor Michael Gordon (goto:

[5] M. Gordon, "Students' A's, Professors' Failure" is available online at
this address:

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=Z3h54rqVzYsjhm4bKRm6wB9gbbwSqDGf

3. You fantasize that in [1] "the point of these quotations was to
illustrate that the students' definition of excellence is AN EASY A, and
all they want is to maximize their grade with minimum of work." Maybe,
this is your confused reading. But the point of those quotations was to
illustrate that instructors often cheat in grading and as
a consequence of this the teaching itself becomes a complete mockery.

So let us put aside fiction and bigotry.
   Could you tell - in rational and academic manner - whether you,  your
Department and your administrators consider

(i) as a fraud in grading

or

(ii) as smart pedagogical methods

or

(iii) something else,


 the actions of your colleagues described in the following quotations.
[Capitalization below and the epigraph is mine.]


--------------------------
3a.
  Stat for Bus:
Awesome professor. Only grades are midterm and final, WHICH ARE
JUST LIKE PRACTICE EXAMS. No need to go to class or buy the book.

 dont go to class except to get the problems sets/practice exams.. study
those and THE EXAMS ARE ALMOST THE SAME EXACT THING. u dont need the book,
no homework collected.. i got an A, i went to 5 classes

  and EXAMS ARE SIMPLY CLASS EXAMPLES WITH DIFFERENT NUMBERS. You would
have to try to do poorly. Very nice.
------------------------------------------------
3b. Stat 401

EASY EASY EASY EASY EASY - very nice teacher.. Class def easier than
theater apps. Probably easiest class on campus. Go to class and take like
1 page of notes - then squeez everything on to 2 pages of note for the
exam/final. And wat do u know... an A...

----------------------------------------
3c. Mat 477

Very good professor. Very helpful in class and outside of class.
THE EXAMS ARE EXACT HOMEWORK QUESTIONS WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY GONE OVER.
On top of that, he grades extremely generously.

3d. calculus III

great professor! HIS EXAMS ARE MOSTLY FROM HIS REVIEW EXAMS.
 really helpful during office hours! the best professor i had at Rutgers!
-----------------------------------------

3e.  math 454
 he curves larger than ive ever seen. Also GIVES PRACTICE EXAMS
THAT ARE JUST LIKE THE ACTUAL EXAM, and will discuss ALL THE ANSWERS.
Overall good professor.
===================================================

We can continue such quotations endlessly. But let us stop.

Yours
  Boris Mityagin

PS. Of course, in Kansas they teach and grade in a different way:

 "Even if she grades hard at least someone in your life is teaching you
how to write better."

PPS. Could you resend this letter to all faculty members in your
department? Thank you.