Professor fails student; "Australia is not a country"
- Thread starter Mohonky
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NickFire
Member
Now always, but under these conditions an A+ was likely the only chance the student wouldn't keep shining a light on the absurdity of it all. A passive aggressive B+ after all that was just begging to become a laughing stock of higher education. One must really relish the smell of their farts to fail and fight with a student over whether Australia was a country, and not bother to double check after the first couple claims to the contrary,Lol yea when a student teaches a professor something it should equate to an immediate A+
Knowing Australia is a country too, is elementary school geography though lol
A Link to the Past
Banned
There are people with sociology degrees who do know that Australia is both a country and a continent, so there's really nothing causal here.
But yes, it is a rather funny gaffe.
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I had to look this up because I was seriously getting mind-blown learning about a "new" continent called Oceania.
Turns out Australia is a continent and Oceania is a region including the country Australia...which is also a continent so...fuck Australia?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
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Bakkus
Member
Lol what? This makes no sense. This 'Australian continent' consists only of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesian part of Oceania. If Oceania isn't a continent, then that means New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and all the other small islands of Oceania are not a part of any continent of the world. Which defeats the entire purpose of having continents...
kingwingin
Member
Cant blame the professor for not knowing.
Currently taking electronics engineering and during our intro to math class 2 years back we had the advanced calculus teacher sub in and try to teach us long division. It was a train wreck and you would have thought he was a moron. Dude was brilliant tho
Currently taking electronics engineering and during our intro to math class 2 years back we had the advanced calculus teacher sub in and try to teach us long division. It was a train wreck and you would have thought he was a moron. Dude was brilliant tho
Lupingosei
Banned
It is not that important if it is a country, but does it feel like a country.
BANGS
Banned
How exactly are you sure that the project was A+ material? Or are you suggesting it automatically should get an A+ grade because of the situation?
NickFire
Member
I don't and it Probably shouldn't be auto. Just saying if you get caught failing someone in such a ridiculous manner you should probably be a Bit overly generous on the make up grade if you have any hope not to become a laughing stock in academia. Short of an a I would assume student will be telling the higher ups and anyone else who would listen. Give max grade they may drop it.
BANGS
Banned
I dunno, I don't think as a professor you try to gain your integrity back by doing a 2nd poor job at grading the same project... but I realize alot of people think otherwise...
SatansReverence
Hipster Princess
Maybe it was a C grade piece and the B+ is generous.
TheChewyWaffles
Member
At that point their competency to grade anything comes into question
llien
Banned
In what way? Islands are... islands, not parts of "some continent", the way they taught me at school.
Which "continent" are Hawaii islands?
I actually can't follow the teacher on any of the steps.
How did Australia "being a continent" prevent student from doing analysis?
What research is needed to figure there are no other countries on the mentioned continent (the only thing that would matter in a given context)?
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Fools-Emissary
Banned
This topic is a bit confusing for me, I must say. To be clear, there are seven continents and Australia is the only one which houses a single sovereign nation, though it also includes an Island called Tasmania (where people may or may not be born with two heads, I dunno). A continent is just a very large mass of land.
Australia is a big place. For instance, I live on the East coast, in Newcastle just North of Sydney and it is quicker for me to catch a plane to New Zealand (which is it's own sovereign nation, though with close ties to Australia), than it would to reach the West Coast in Perth.
Australia is a big place. For instance, I live on the East coast, in Newcastle just North of Sydney and it is quicker for me to catch a plane to New Zealand (which is it's own sovereign nation, though with close ties to Australia), than it would to reach the West Coast in Perth.
lil puff
Member
For me whether it's a country or not is kinda moot. If the paper was written well and targeted all the right points, who cares?
If I had a students and told them to write about a county and one student wrote about a city municipality and the paper were well written, I would be inclined to pass it while on the side engaging the student privately about why they chose a city instead.
Good professors allow the student to go off course sometimes if the intent is sincere. In this case the professor decided to take the cheap semantics angle (I get that this is not exactly semantics)
Once in a drawing class I decided to draw on the paper at an angle, and I posted my work on the wall that way. This is apparently blasphemy in classic drawing. Did the professor make me redraw it? No, instead it spurred a discussion on why it was unacceptable and whether it should be. Since the drawing was good, I got a fair grade and that was it.
If I had a students and told them to write about a county and one student wrote about a city municipality and the paper were well written, I would be inclined to pass it while on the side engaging the student privately about why they chose a city instead.
Good professors allow the student to go off course sometimes if the intent is sincere. In this case the professor decided to take the cheap semantics angle (I get that this is not exactly semantics)
Once in a drawing class I decided to draw on the paper at an angle, and I posted my work on the wall that way. This is apparently blasphemy in classic drawing. Did the professor make me redraw it? No, instead it spurred a discussion on why it was unacceptable and whether it should be. Since the drawing was good, I got a fair grade and that was it.
Bakkus
Member
UK, Ireland and Iceland are all official parts of Europe. Likewise with Madagascar, Cape Verde, etc for Africa. And of course, Japan Taiwan, Philippines and Sri Lanka for Asia. Despite all of them being nothing but islands...
Basoes
Member
to me I wouldn't say it moot, you could write the best paper the teacher has ever seen but if you didn't follow directions you fail or at least get points taken off.
llien
Banned
UK, Ireland and Iceland are politically parts of Europe.
British islands are... islands and not part of the Europe (a continent).
Armenia, Azerbaidjan and Georgia, despite, at least Armenia, not having a single part of its territory in Europe, are still politically part of Europe.
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metareferential
Member
And rightly so.
And not because of his error; he should be fired (upon? lol) because of the way he thinks and acts as a member of the scientific (yeah I know, sociology) community.
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Alx
Member
Geologically speaking, continents are defined by their tectonic plates.
British islands are part of the Eurasian continent, while Hawaï belongs to no continent but the Pacific Plate.
Islands being separated by water doesn't matter much because water levels change over time.
Funnily enough, India isn't in (Eur)Asia, and is on the same continent as Australia. 
lil puff
Member
Yeah, probably not moot. I agree - take some points off or something.
I am glad he got fired. There are some petty professors out there, the younger ones seem to be a bit more sensible than the old tenured professors.
Bakkus
Member
Has there ever been an argument against UK, Ireland and Iceland being a part of Europe due to being islands? I'd love to see that because from what I can find. It's nonexistent. Same goes for the ones of Asia and Africa.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
She. The professor is a woman.
lil puff
Member
haha true ... For some reason I keep wanting to replace her with one of my old professors who would have done something like this. I can't separate it!
BANGS
Banned
lol
dc3k
Member
Australia is a continent.
Oceania is a region that exists for political reasons.
New Zealand is part of Zealandia.
I'm not sure what you think "the entire purpose of having continents" is, or what that even means. Do you know what a continent is?
killatopak
Member
Lol
AnimalFather
Banned
Australia has never been a continent. Australasia is a continent.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
continent
[kon-tn-uh nt]
noun
one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).
