Posing the question about the purpose of playing college softball….

[Strike2]

We didn't have a weed out class that I can remember for Engineering. If Physics II was Electricity and Magnetism I didn't like that class either..lol.

Chem, Phy I & II, and Calc I & II were the "weed outs" when I was in school, and it was no different for DD. She did fine through all that, but 40% of those taking the Physics classes got a D/F. She also encountered a Dynamics prof this past semester who appeared to be on a mission. She survived that as well, but ya gotta love those tests that look nothing like the homework or in-class examples. He created his own exam problems...ones that made other profs shake their heads.

 

[CoachJD]

You might want to follow this thread. They post this every year and you will be surprised how long the list is every year. Turnover is very high.

https://robocoach.discussion.community/post/coaching-moves-22-12359797?pid=1332710197

How many of these are coaches getting fired though? I know there's coaching turnover, but we were specifically talking about coaches coaching for their jobs. What I see a lot is coaches jumping for better jobs. 1 firing could lead to 5 or 6 vacancies as coaches move up the ladder of coaching jobs.

 

[_MIA_]

She survived that as well, but ya gotta love those tests that look nothing like the homework or in-class examples. He created his own exam problems...ones that made other profs shake their heads.

We are going to have to disagree on this. If you know the subject material then you should be able to do the problems, regardless of whether they are similar to what you have seen. We are not supposed to be teaching them recipes for how to solve problems…

Now if the actual material is different that is a different story.

 

[schwabach]

How many of these are coaches getting fired though? I know there's coaching turnover, but we were specifically talking about coaches coaching for their jobs. What I see a lot is coaches jumping for better jobs. 1 firing could lead to 5 or 6 vacancies as coaches move up the ladder of coaching jobs.

Jo Evans wasn't exactly fired, but her contract wasn't renewed. While there may have been issues of which we are unaware, it seems that Texas A&M, having built a new stadium, expects Supers or better every year.

 

[Strike2]

We are going to have to disagree on this. If you know the subject material then you should be able to do the problems, regardless of whether they are similar to what you have seen. We are not supposed to be teaching them recipes for how to solve problems…

Now if the actual material is different that is a different story.

When the class average for an exam in a second-year engineering course is an "F" (no curve, and highest score was an 80), it's in the "different story" category. Something is misaligned. An exam should fairly evaluate what's been taught to someone learning it for the first time...not assume a refined understanding. Not intending this as a shot at you, but some college profs get this, some don't. As I mentioned, even a colleague sees it. It's notable to me that the "colleague" is the one teaching the summer school class that cleans up the mess.

 

[_MIA_]

When the class average for an exam in a second-year engineering course is an "F" (no curve, and highest score was an 80), it's in the "different story" category. Something is misaligned. An exam should fairly evaluate what's been taught to someone learning it for the first time...not assume a refined understanding. Not intending this as a shot at you, but some college profs get this, some don't. As I mentioned, even a colleague sees it. It's notable to me that "colleague" is the one teaching the summer school class that cleans up the mess.

Sounds like he/she did a poor job of teaching the subject matter. Exams are supposed to test one’s knowledge of the subject, not their ability to recognize that they have solved a similar problem before.

That said, there is no positive outcome for the Professor in having a class where everybody does poorly. Even if they have tenure, there are often uncomfortable consequences to doing so..

 

[radness]

This is actually my goal for my DDs. I'm hoping softball will give them some sort of edge in getting into the school of their choice. If it's their goal to actually play an inning of college softball, that's up to them.

Definitely know that the academic advisors of colleges will go to sports coaches and advocate for them. Especially when the student is already accepted to the college and in some cases already knows they have academic money available to them.

There are even times when the athlete has not even been able to make it to a college Camp yet and the academic advisor is already handing the coach a folder on the player who is about to attend camp.

 

[radness]

Just curious - what did they wind up doing post-college?

ETA: I also realize that many people make a great living who never went to college; however, I’m asking this question as it relates to choosing to go to college for SB as the priority.

Some did not specifically know what there intended field was going to be until the end of their junior year and took kind of just a blanket business direction of courses.

And Basic liberal arts type degree.

Basic degrees that are kind of blanket degrees and not specific degrees
(how do I say that better LOL)

What are the statistics of people getting a degree and even working in the field of their degree anyway???

And they all went on to get good paying jobs that were I would say better than average. Really I think that has to do with their organizational skills and communication skills and work ethic regardless of a degree or not.

 

[radness]

Agree, however at age 17 I was told by the coach recruiting me I couldn’t play on her team if I wanted to be a nursing major.

Yes nursing majors and medical fields are difficult to mix in with Sports in college. Some colleges specifically will allow it and work around that.

I decided to give up SB at that point - and believe me, it was an extremely difficult decision because I am just about as competitive as they come and SB was my passion! However, I also wanted to get a good job that payed well right out of school so I could move out of my house. I knew SB couldn’t provide that for me at the time.

ETA: I also did not have any parental influence in this decision as neither had gone to college so they didn’t have much input. They left the decision up to me.

Even to the point where recall one of my students going to a specific local D1 college camp. During the campus walkthrough The Athlete commented to the assistant coach saying she was looking to enter the nursing field and the assistant coach looked at her and said oh you will want to go somewhere else then.

 

[Strike2]

Sounds like he/she did a poor job of teaching the subject matter. Exams are supposed to test one’s knowledge of the subject, not their ability to recognize that they have solved a similar problem before.

That said, there is no positive outcome for the Professor in having a class where everybody does poorly. Even if they have tenure, there are often uncomfortable consequences to doing so..

You're absolutely right about the scrutiny that can land on a prof whose classes bring too many bad outcomes; either the teaching or method of student evaluation sucks. I suppose both could be a problem. In this case, I think the teaching was pretty decent. It's the expectation for the exams that appeared unreasonable. Despite the mediocre grade that she worked her butt off for, I think DD knows what she's doing there.