THINGS THAT UPSET ME OFF

SOME THINGS THAT UPSET ME

9. People who "lurk" outside my office door. If you come to see me and I am already talking to someone, do not sit right outside the door and stare in at me. Move to one side (so that I can't see you) and wait patiently. I won't rush the person I am talking to and I won't rush you when it is your turn.
Special for Fall 20: Office hours will be via zoom and will be "walk-in"--that is, anyone can join the meeting at any time. So be aware of this. It is generally a great benefit to hear questions asked by others...often in that situation I find myself saying "You know, I'm glad they asked that question because I didn't realize I didn't understand that..."
8. The statement "I understand the material perfectly, I should be getting an A" I can't look inside your head. I can only look at your work--and if your work isn't correct or is inferior, then you haven't achieved a sufficient level of understanding--the fact that you didn't do the problems implies that you don't understand perfectly...
7. The question "What happened in class yesterday?" If I could say what happened in a sentence then class would be 1 minute long. If you missed class, you must get the notes (and talk to) a friend who was there.
6. Answering your cell phone during class. I understand that it is hard to remember to "mute" the phone before every lecture--but if it rings during class, DON'T answer it (just look around as if it is someone elses phone and mumble "...how rude...").
5. Reading or sending text messages during class. Training yourself to ignore text messages is an extremely valuable skill. (If you even glance toward your phone in a job interview, you can kiss the job goodbye--and don't get me started about texting and driving.) The whole reason texting was invented was to provide a way to communicate that did not require immediate attention. If you text during class, I will do my best to point out your addiction and use you as an example for the rest of the class.
4. Saying "I don't understand anything" during office hours. This is particularly annoying when it happens the last 2 weeks of the semester. There are two great things about math. First, it can be broken into small steps, hence is understandable. Second, if you use lots of those small steps, you can prove amazing things. This means you have to get help as soon as you are lost (not months later) and you have to be clear about where you got lost. (So if you are lost after the first day of class, you'd better be asking questions in the second lecture--or even in the first!)
3. Paper torn out of spiral notebooks. Handing in work on paper torn from spiral notebooks, or work that is sloppy in any way is an insult to your profession. All homework should be done on 8.5x11 white paper, writing on ONE SIDE only and stapled in the upper left hand corner. Of course, NEATNESS COUNTS.
2. Coming late to class and being rude about it. Everybody gets into traffic jams occasionally, but if you do come late, don't be proud of it. Get into the room and into a seat as quietly as possible, without parading in front of the entire class. If lateness becomes a habit, I will start locking the door at the start of class and you will have to knock.
1. The question "Will this be on the exam?" This is just another way of saying "What you just said is not worth my effort to understand--I will try to get a superficial understanding of it only if you say I have to." While I can handle insults to me, insulting mathematics will not be tolerated--if this is your opinion, keep it to yourself. Besides, the answer is always "yes".