Brown CS 190 Summer Placement Test/Course - What are others' experiences?

fireandrain
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 19:49:06 +0000

I can’t comment specifically on this situation. I know nothing about this placement course/test, which sounds new. As an alum who has been an active volunteer for decades, I know that Brown values teaching – it specifically hires professors who want to teach and not just do research, for example.

I have taught, and it can be very frustrating when students ask questions that are clearly answered in the syllabus, and I could see how anyone might become snarky after the 10th question like that. I don’t know if that’s the situation here. However, there are way to be snarky without being personally insulting. One class I took at Brown many moons ago involved the professor calling on students randomly to have them comment on legal opinions – we all lived in fear of him calling on us, and he certainly got snarky when people couldn’t respond, but I don’t ever recall personal insults.

But there is absolutely no excuse for a professor or TA to hurl a “gratuitous personal insult” at a student, especially an incoming freshman where the only interaction is online. Nor is there any reason for an instructor to be “hyper critical and personally insulting” especially in a public setting.

I hope she has evidence of these interactions. Your daughter should submit them to the head of the department and the dean of the college. Perhaps she should contact other students in the class and suggest they act as a group.

Thank you, @brownbearz for such a wonderful response. However, I can’t say the same for the first answer. I’ve read it 3 times, and have no idea what the person is saying. If that person is a Brown student, I’m cringing because his writing is so opaque.

@profdad2021, I’ve known a fair number of Brown CS majors who have loved the department and been very successful. I hope your daughter’s experience improves once she gets on campus. To be successful at Brown she needs to advocate for herself. I hope she uses this experience as a springboard to do that.