<p>She also could not name the Attorney General when she was lecturing us on the executive departments. I am not in a position to judge, but shouldn’t an American with a PhD in political science know this stuff? Should I report this to the dean? Maybe this is why I want to transfer from my school.</p>
<p>No, you should not report it to the dean.</p>
<p>Having a PhD in a theoretical field is different than keeping up with current events. Yes, your professor should do both, but a small slip-up does not discredit the fact that he/she is highly educated in the field of political science. Who is in a given position at any current time is important, but not as important as understanding the system. </p>
<p>Professors are human too!!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t report it to the dean, no. Current events are important, especially for a political science teacher, but they’re not the be-all to end-all. As long as she’s knowledgeable about everything else, it’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>I have no idea how I remember the guy’s name, but I think he’s shown a lot on CNN. I watch that when I could be attempting to make significant contributions to the field of political science like some people do.</p>
<p>Why it’s Leon Pancetta, how’d she not know that?</p>
<p>" I am not in a position to judge"</p>
<p>Stop, there. If you ever find yourself using this phrase just end the sentence. Don’t use the word “but,” just end your sentence and move on with your life.</p>
<p>chuy speaks the truth. Considering the knowledge fails our actual elected officials can get away with, this is nothing.</p>
<p>Didn’t Bush refer to Africa as a country? It happens, especially when in a position of power…or standing in front of a group of people who are all staring and listening intently, knowing they will blow a mistake like this out of proportion.</p>
<p>Maybe the names slipped her mind at the moment, it. There are times when I mix up the names of associates I’ve been working with for over a year, especially if I’m tired, stressed, or have a lot of other things on my mind. It doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t know who is in that position - it is possible that the names slipped her mind or she was afraid of mixing them up.</p>
<p>I’ve heard countless stories of math professors or high level math teachers screwing up simple arithmetic but as long as the teach the material you’re supposed to learn well you can fill the blanks in yourself</p>
<p>The higher up you get in math (or engineering) the worse you get at arithmetic. You just don’t use it at those levels.</p>
<p>^About the math thing. I was tutoring these 4th/5th grade students and just thinking, the whole time “I haven’t done long division in 5 years, and I’m not sure I remember how to.” Of course, I’m in AP Calc, so I don’t actually know THAT much math, compared to a professor or something!</p>
<p>To be exact, she originally said it was Robert Gates but then she said that he might have retired or might be getting ready to retire, but she was completely unaware of who it is now. She looked over to ask the TA’s and they didn’t correct her. She also made some goofs when she handed out the wrong exams earlier this semester and when she put a wrong answer into the scanner that grades the exams. I must have gotten a different grade three different times for one exam. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to be mean or picky. I just want my professors to be competent enough that my degree will actually mean something.</p>
<p>^^ I have an MD prof right now who does the same thing - wrong answer encoded into the scan-tron so she just gave a bunch of extra points to everyone. I wouldn’t dare see her as a doctor, seeing as how she is teaching outdated material and actually handed out exams on test day with the answers still printed on them :)</p>
<p>Whether your profs are competent or not does not make your degree mean more. The school name, and what you accomplish there means more. Now, if the entire department is really that bad I would consider transferring. I had several incompetent psych professors at one of my undergraduate schools, and after I transferred I received a much better education and higher quality research opportunities. </p>
<p>Every school will have its share of bad profs. Some are all into research and couldn’t care less about teaching you. Others have been tenured and again, just don’t care anymore. But if your department has even a few exceptional profs, it might be worth sticking around for. You can read reviews of profs online and pick your courses wisely. You only get out of them what you put in, and college is often more about what you’re willing to learn on your own and less about what the professors spoon feed you.</p>
<p>Every math professor I’ve known will readily admit to being bad at arithmetic, even the ones who can work out multi-step integrals in their head without blinking. That’s what calculators are for.</p>
<p>Accidentally putting one wrong answer on the key or forgetting a fact or two are minor things. They do not mean that you have an incompetent professor.</p>
<p>Welcome to college.</p>
<p>One word: tenure.</p>