it's just that I dealt a lot with apparently similar attitudes (similar to your opinions regarding the whole class, not the money side of things) from premeds who were in classes I instructed and it really annoys me.[/QUOTE]
As someone who served as a graduate TA in the biological sciences I can certainly sympathize with the feelings of a frustrated instructor. However, my frustrations were usually the result of people who did nothing and were adamant about getting everything, mainly a good grade. I never felt any animosity toward highly motivated hard working students. As I said before I do not wish to have a bickering match with you but since you have expressed frustration with students, especially "pre-meds", I would like to give you my/our side of the story. For starters I hate to call myself a "pre-med" b/c as someone with an MS I don't see myself as a stereotypical "pre-med". But since I am applying to medical school I can't avoid that label. That being said I shall continue.
When my course started on Monday it was immediately obvious that my instructors were not fond of "pre-meds", for whatever reason. This is an immediate stereotype that, like all stereotypes, makes it extremely hard for individuals to prove the stereotype wrong. The reason being that this attitude inevitably isolates people and puts them on the defensive. In some ways this makes me think of a self fulfilling prophecy. Hate the pre-med, b/c most of the premeds you've encountered rubbed you the wrong way, and you will immediately back them into a corner. What do all creatures do when you back them into a corner?? Well, of course, they fight you tooth and nail. All of the suddent the little fighter starts to fit a stereotype. Obviously this is not the best way to start a course / make a first impression. I shouldn't really be isolating "pre-meds" here b/c the truth is that every single person in the class who felt disrespected by the child like treatment has been isolated and put on the defensive. Since you did make a comment about the pre-med thing I shall continue on with that.
God knows I've encountered my share of pre-meds that I could do without. But here's my point of view. Every single person in our class is a high-school graduate or has the equivalent. Moreover, every single person in my class was 21 or older. My feeling is that whether they have aced the MCAT and all premed classes or barely passed their GED's it is time for these people to enter the "real-world" and start being treated like adults. In other words, they need to be self-motivated, responsible, and accountable for their actions. I don't think it is conceded, or inappropriate, to want to be treated like this. I do not need to be told 400X that I need an 80% to pass the course, and obviously it makes me feel like I'm getting less than my money's worth. Put it on the syllabus, tell us it's their and move on please. For all the people who are not responsible enough to pay attention, or attend class, or read the syllabus, or take a permanent mental note TFB. I certainly don't expect an ambulance company or an ER to call me up and remind me what time I my shift starts. If I did not show up out of laziness or lack of responsibility (here comes the accountability) I would get fired PERIOD. If I screwed something up as an EMT in the field, I may or not be given a second chance. I think it's almost a guarantee that I'd be out after two strikes. Therefore (similar to bombing your first quiz) if I screwed something up in the field you can be sure that I'd get feedback from my peers and make any other adjustments that were necessary not to make the same mistake (something that no one else can do for me). This is an invaluable skill.
I ask you DropKick, what would happen if a family came to your funeral home to make arrangements and wanted to view the body? We both know damn well that they wouldn't buy "sorry I forgot to attain it from the coroners office b/c the boss did not make repeated note of it. I am not familiar with this kind of stuff but I would imagine that forgetting to embalm someone probably wouldn't go over well either. I am not chastising you I just want to make the point that professionals must be able to act independantly b/c if they don't there will be ten more people in line for their job that will.
So to make a long story short people (premeds or anyone else) will never act like adults (responsible and accountable) until they start getting treated like adults. Holding someone's hand is not doing them any favors. It will not come as a surprise to anyone that EMS programs have to have responsibility and accountability for the students they turn out, so they try to cover their asses. But they take tremendous risks with this hand holding mentality b/c some people will never be weaned from that type of treatment. If you want to do them a favor, give them some tough love, and force them to grow up.
P.S. I hate to harp on the slowness of the class b/c a few people were rudely reprimanded for being late and/or talking. A simple do you have any questions Mam would have gone over a lot better with me than a public denunciation. This was as unprofessional and disrespectful as the student who was talking during class. Yeah, being late is also disruptive and disrespectful. However, this is another distraction that people must learn to deal with. Anyone who has ever had a job has probably dealt with bossholes who make their own hours when we're showing up a half hour early just to be sure we are not late. It sucks but not letting it bother you is another valuable skill for people to learn, so the instructors are not really doing the other class members a favor by interupting class for this type of stuff. This may be longest post ever but I'm just letting you know where some of our "attitudes" come from. My only contention is that there is nothing wrong with people who want to be treated like adults. I'm sure we could laugh together about many of the other undesirable traits that pre-meds have. But I can't agree that EMS instructors should waste people's time by "drilling things into people" who should be responsible enough to absorb it the first time they hear it.
