No, it's not weather-related, but it's the only image I can think to put here for now...
No, it's not weather-related, but it's the only image I can think to put here
for now...
This page is for those of you in my Tuesday and Thursday labs (lucky dogs, you!) so you can keep abreast of the policies, procedures, practices, and punishments...how's that for alliteration, you wacky English majors? As always, if you have any questions at all please email me or call my office at 325-0385. You can try (as a last resort, please) to call me on my home phone (I'm regretting this already) at 364-8741. Also, I have new office hours...I repeat:
Tuesday 5:30-6:30
Thursday 5:00-6:00
Generally, my office hours are in SEC 1370, but occasionally I will be in the lab room (SEC 209) or somewhere else, if it's crowded. (yeah, right) In any event, I'll try to put a note on the office door. Remember, you can always make an appointment to s ee me at another time by emailing me.
First, I want to make one thing absolutely clear...if you are having problems with the labs or with the class in general, please don't eeeeever hesitate to see me! That's what I get paid so darn luxuriously for!
"But John, why do we have labs? I mean, there's kegs n' bongs n' stuff that
take up most of my time out of class?"
Well, I can't say I don't understand...after all I was an undergrad myself. But
Weather and Climate is a lab science, as labs are necessary to expose you to the
workings of actual meteorology. Are the labs difficult? Yes. Do they require
you to do math? Of course...meteorology is completely dependent on all aspects
of mathematics, from basic arithmetic to advanced statistics and differential
equations. I completely understand if math "ain't your thang," but we would do
you a great injustice by not requiring a little number-crunching. Believe me,
it hurts me more than it hurts you. Remember the big map analyses? You each did
two...I have to GRADE ALL OF THEM!!! Feel bad for me yet?
Didn't think so...
"What's the deal with these lab books?"
They're old, somewhat poorly written, and have been around this campus more than
a cheap UT sorority girl. (Yes, that's a lame attempt at some Okie
humor, but cut me some slack, I'm new here.) For this reason, I'm not allowed
to let you take the workbook home...there are too many floating around, and
someone who's less than honest might try to fill in the blanks before lab time.
But of course, YOU wouldn't do that, would you? Along these lines, I've had a
few people say, "Ummm, I lost my workbook..." YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE THE FREAKING
THING IN THE FIRST PLACE! Anyway, please bear with me, these books are
confusing and hard to understand so I'll do my best to make them clearer, OK?
"But I can't make it to lab this week, my [insert lame excuse here]"
Well, first of all, labs are most definitely supposed to be done in lab. You
registered for this lab, which means you should have no other conflicts with
classes. In fact, I don't have to give you a chance to make up labs at all.
But I'm a great guy (my mom says so) so I will let you make up labs PROVIDED
you:
"I got only a 99 out of 100 on this lab. You're awful at grading. What the
funk is wrong with you?"
Relax, tiger. I am completely open to questions about grading. If you think
something is incorrectly or inconsistently graded, don't feel at all
uncomfortable asking me...try to save the dirty looks for when the grade stands,
though. Seriously, I'm human, I make mistakes, and grading these after a fifth
of Jack is...ummm...never mind. Let's just say that I'm open to discussion.
But there are some things that I will definitely take points off for, whether or
not you have the correct answer, i.e., not showing work, not following
directions, not including units when necessary, not completely answering all
parts of a question. If you are confused as to whether you've answered a
question completely enough, ask me before you hand the lab in...that's what I'm
there for!
"OK, stud, how are you grading us in the end?"
Well, first of all, flattery will get you nowhere everywhere!
What I'll most likely do is give average each student's lab scores in some
fashion to find a raw grade, and scale this to some number out of twenty
(conincidentally the percentage of your total grade for this class). Basically,
if you have a perfect, or very-near-perfect raw grade, you'll get 20 out of 20.
If you've done every lab, but are at the bottom, it would make me very happy to
give you no less than 12 or 13, but we'll have to see how it turns out. If
you've missed a lab, you should do your best on your remaining labs. If you've
missed a 'few' labs, you'd better see me ASAP so we can figure out some way to
salvage a decent lab grade...otherwise, you may be S.O.L. If you don't know
what this means, email me.
OK, so there it is...new lab policies, ways I do things, etc. Any problems? You know what to do!
Cheers!
-H