NYU Prof fired because his class was too hard

[Anonymous]

Organic chemistry is hard? Who knew?

This was especially interesting in light of discussions over Covid learning loss:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/us/nyu-organic-chemistry-petition.html

“Students were misreading exam questions at an astonishing rate,” he wrote in a grievance to the university, protesting his termination. Grades fell even as he reduced the difficulty of his exams.

The problem was exacerbated by the pandemic, he said. “In the last two years, they fell off a cliff,” he wrote. “We now see single digit scores and even zeros.”

After several years of Covid learning loss, the students not only didn’t study, they didn’t seem to know how to study, Dr. Jones said.

[Anonymous]

The inmates are running the asylum.

[Anonymous]

One of the lines in the petition was that grades didn’t reflect effort and time put in. Welcome to the rest of your life, dummies!

[Anonymous]

Shows NYU is overrated in the college rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the lines in the petition was that grades didn’t reflect effort and time put in. Welcome to the rest of your life, dummies!

But, but... they FEEL they deserve a better grade.

[Anonymous]

#NYU

[Anonymous]

Ugh. My worse college grade was in organic chemistry.
But I side with the prof.

[Anonymous]

Reminds me of one of my classes. None of the questions in the tests matched what was covered in the lectures or textbook. It was the most interesting class but grade wise it was the worst. To this day I remember her lectures, she was brilliant. And a terrible test writer.

[Anonymous]

The prof is an idiot. He knew he was teaching at nyu. What the hell did he expect? That the kids were serious? Come on buddy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. My worse college grade was in organic chemistry.
But I side with the prof.

Me too and my dad was an organic chemist and couldn’t understand why . Analytical chem and O Chem were the Bain of my existence as a Bio major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The inmates are running the asylum.

This. We’re in a race to the bottom. Shame on the administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reminds me of one of my classes. None of the questions in the tests matched what was covered in the lectures or textbook. It was the most interesting class but grade wise it was the worst. To this day I remember her lectures, she was brilliant. And a terrible test writer.

This is my child’s honor chem teacher with a reputation for never having anything on her tests that was actually covered in class. Kids drop it in droves first semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the lines in the petition was that grades didn’t reflect effort and time put in. Welcome to the rest of your life, dummies!

Ha! Sorry snowflake, no standards based learning and multiple “retests” and “retakes” like our public high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The inmates are running the asylum.

This. We’re in a race to the bottom. Shame on the administration.

That you vlad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reminds me of one of my classes. None of the questions in the tests matched what was covered in the lectures or textbook. It was the most interesting class but grade wise it was the worst. To this day I remember her lectures, she was brilliant. And a terrible test writer.

It's definitely possible that this is what's happening, just like it's possible that the kids are complaining about tests that are appropriately difficult. It's really hard to say without having taken the class and taken the exams, so it becomes this Rorschach test that reveals whatever you already think about what's happening in colleges, but nothing else.