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Professor Frank Popper: Rutgers University – Public PolicyOh snap! You’ve just been anti-filibustered
View Professor Profile Your CommentsProfessor Frank Popper: Rutgers University – Public PolicyOh snap! You’ve just been anti-filibustered
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April 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
By saying students are stupid and don’t answer questions properly, he lost his case. Up until that point, I was in agreement.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
If he hates engaging with students so much, I have to wonder why he became a professor in the first place.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Funny! i agree with him lol
April 29th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Most likely has tenure.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Love the Professor Strikes Back addition to the site. And Prof Popper seems like a blast!
April 29th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Lol. This guy’s freaking hillarious. How can you not get a kick out of grumpy professors? I suspect that 15 minutes into his class I’d be in tears after listening to him lambaste some ignorant kid. To other students I say, if you’re not ready to be verbally abused by a professor, then you’re not ready to be out in the real world where life treats you like crap. So suck it up and don’t be such wimps.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
this guy proffessor is an ass if it woouldnt be for the students from jesrey he teaches he would not have a job **** him get tha **** out of rutgers then
April 29th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Could you be more specific? Comment is too general to be of any help.
April 30th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Hey, lighten up guys. You need a sense of humour. The man is funny as hell.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Students: It’s fine for you to comment on his teaching in a derogatory way, but it’s not fine for the professor to respond in kind? This is a fun site. You can say what you want about his teaching, and he can say what he wants about you smelling and about your paltry education. This guy is obviously a great teacher, because he can put on a very cogent, entertaining show at the drop of a hat (45 minutes with MTVu). If you can’t follow it and can’t see his humor, then maybe some of his criticisms about you are more accurate than you care to admit.
Rutgers students should be grateful to have the opportunity to study at your feet, sir. You go, Prof. Popper!
April 30th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I understand some points he made. I also understand that a lot of what he said was in jest. (Too funny: who is responsible for Croc shoes!) However, he is exactly the kind of professor I try and avoid. There is a reason why I chose NOT to go to Rutgers. I chose a school where the professors actually give a f*** about the students, their learning, and do not automatically assume that we are idiots w/ a 5th grade education.
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Rate your professors dot com responsible for Croc shoes? Dear sir, that goes too far!
Overall, this guy is funny, but his insults are a bit severe if he is indeed making them not out of jest. If you don’t like working with students that much, then you honestly don’t have to do it. You have the PhD, go find another job. We do not yet have a degree so we have to put up with you guys in order to get one… The same is not true in reverse.
Maybe find a job in comedy? “They are, in the war for knowledge, confirmed conscientious objectors.” Adorable.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Quite ironic that a public policy professor would fill his rebuttals with ad-homonym remarks. Goes to show the trivial nature of this man’s status at Rutgers among the student population.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
There’s a basic rule of stand-up comedy that every student should know: what the audience sees is not the comic, but a person the comic made up. Lewis Black, say, is not the person you see in his performances. Likewise, I’m not the person to whom some of you objected. Check my website, policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/popper. Check the fifty or so comments on Rate My Professors site Ask yourself why I have been teaching at both Rutgers AND Princeton since 2001. (Some of the RMP comments come from Princeton students.) I have a wall full of unsolicited thank-you notes from students at both schools who profited from my courses, as I profited from what the students taught me. Oh, and Scarlet Knight, learn how to spell ad hominem and what it means. Best wishes,
Frank Popper
May 19th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Then, “Bravo, Professor!”
Students are so one-dimensional sometimes. And they watch _Family Guy_ and Comedy Central! Peter Griffin is not a real person. Brian is not a talking dog. Stephen Colbert is not a conservative commentator. Comedy and parody are ways of getting a point across. You’d think people would be able to distinguish a person from a persona. The sad truth of the matter is many administrators and members of the professoriate cannot see those distinctions either. And that’s why we’re in so much trouble.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Thank you, D, Flo, Rodger, Tony, Ramon (doubly) and Kay (sort of). I appreciate that you got me while others didn’t. Best to all of you,
Frank Popper
Visiting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
fpopper@rci.rutgers.edu
fpopper@princeton.edu
May 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
HOW CAN YOU KID AROUND WHEN YOU FOISTED “THE MYTH OF PROPERTY” ON US UNSUSPECTING GRAD STUDENTS IN PROPERTY SEMINAR?
May 20th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
my honors thesis advisor-amazing person! i think the people who seem upset just do not understand his sense of humour!
May 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Dear Frank Fan,
You’re only now beginning to grasp how much comic strangeness we put over on all of you in the course? Fabulous. Classes have only been over two weeks, and my fangs and tentacles are already growing back. Looking forward to summer in the city … and the year at Princeton. All the best,
F
May 20th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Bravo Frank!
Property class with Gordon as your foil was the best I have had at RU – with “strikes back” it’s almost like class never ended. Of course some may discount this coming from a southerner… but they don’t what they missed
May 20th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Dear Edyta and Chuck,
Thanks so much. It’s students like you who really do make teaching fun and worthwhile. All the best from Gordon and me and keep in touch,
F
May 20th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Lighten up folks! I’ve know Frank Popper since we were colleagues at the American Society of Planning Officials in the early 1970s. He looks exactly like he did then; hasn’t aged a day. And he talks and acts exactly like he did then.
For those who are offended, get over it. He’s pulling your collective legs, as he has long been wont to do. Be thankful. If he stretches you out, you’ll do better in your career since there’s substantial scientific evidence that tall people do better in life than shrimps like Frank (it’s all mirrors with him, he’s really as tall as Robert Reich (and if you don’t know who he is, then Frank rests his case). Just accept Frank as somebody who is living Second Life in First Life and you’ll understand his sense of humor a whole lot better.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Whether it’s TVALS or Rate My Profs, the difference here is that Frank has the guts to actually sign his work — versus the hit-and-run weenies whose grade reports suggest are students. This, I hope, will be an inspiration for profs everywhere who are bashed by cowardly children challenged by education delivered not by the spoonful, but in a challenging environment. If you can’t deal with critical thinking, why in the world waste money at a university? Get a degree online and go work for your mommy and daddy.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Prof. Popper FTW!
May 20th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
[...] Professor Frank
May 20th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Professor Popper, you are a scream. Don’t worry about the kids….us old students get it. If you ever decide to come down south and teach, I would take your class anytime.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I’ve known Frank for over 20 years. He is the greatest. He says what a lot of we profs actually think but are afraid to say. But listen, he’s also kidding a good bit! So lighten up! Rutgers is lucky to have someone as witty, humane, and decent as this guy. Lucky students!
May 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
In addition to Chuck Mcglynn and Edyta Materka, I know Dan Lauber and Joe Scarpaci, and I think I know who Tom at KSU is–and wish he’d tell the civilians what TVALS are. All of them, plus VA Student, Frank Fan #2 and the media nerd (I think), get what I’m doing. Thanks, in some cases again, to all of you.
But it is Dan, not me, who is living in a fantasy world. I’m 6-4 and had bushy red hair until the creative brainwaves burned it off ten years ago. When I met Dan, I was fourth-strong quarterback for the Chicago Bears. I hung around with the–whatdoyoucallthem?–planners only for the big bucks and because it beat running scrimmages against **** Butkus, who was not then the much-loved TV personality he is today.
For those (perhaps few) of you who know my research career, I’d like to say that this the longest conversation, in person, on the phone or online, I’ve had in the last twenty years where I didn’t hear the word “buffalo. It’s a pleasure. All the best,
FP
May 21st, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I agree with the VA student and Joe Scarpaci. Have you ever thought of what students and others say about Frank Popper (as you can see)? Let ‘im STRIKE BACK! He’s probably getting a kick out of the vitrolic responses. That’s what planners are about…
By the way, Frank was one of my more supportive doctoral dissertation advisors.
VA Student Says:
May 20th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Professor Popper, you are a scream. Don’t worry about the kids….us old students get it. If you ever decide to come down south and teach, I would take your class anytime.
Joe Scarpaci Says:
May 21st, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I’ve known Frank for over 20 years. He is the greatest. He says what a lot of we profs actually think but are afraid to say. But listen, he’s also kidding a good bit! So lighten up! Rutgers is lucky to have someone as witty, humane, and decent as this guy. Lucky students!
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Dear Professor Frank,
Riddle me this…
What time is it when a buffalo sits in your canoe?
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:53 pm
…and riddle me that:
What did the mama buffalo say when her youngest went off to college?
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:33 am
Dear MelFlan,
Beats me. On the first one, maybe it’s time to bail, but that’s just a guess.
Tell us all. I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this without buffalo coming up.
I almost forgot to thank Wanda for her gracious post. Thanks and keep them honest down there. Best to all of you,
FP
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Hey, Frank Popper is funny, he’s great.
More seriously, I left college teaching forty years ago because ninety percent of the students didn’t give a damn. They were bored by the idea of learning to write their native language or become familiar with its literature. They were in college for sex, drink, and vague hopes of making more money or social advancement. My colleagues from those days say it’s worse now. Please, if you don’t want to get acquainted (or more than acquainted) with the great ideas, don’t go to college. Get training that leads straight to a job. Learn a trade. Fact: A doctor doesn’t catch up with the lifetime earnings of an electrician until about the age of 45. Best of all, work for five or ten years, find out what you might really need from college, and don’t go until you have a clear purpose.
win blevins
author of more than twenty books
May 24th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Dear Professor Frank,
The answers to the Riddles of the Buffalo are as follows:
1) Time to get a new canoe.
2) Bison!
Happy trails… Next stop for you: A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila?
May 26th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Right on Frank. ‘Round these parts we call that site “Rape My Professors” ’cause that’s what it is. Most of the comments left there seem to have been made by students who didn’t get the easy B to which they thought entitled, having paid tuition and shown up to three out of four class sessions.
Our therapeutic culture and service economy now dominate in the college environment. Professors are seemingly there to boost students egos, not challenge their assumptions, introduce them to important ideas, and encourage lifelong learning. College, for too many, is an extension of high school…partying and only cracking the spine of a book if absolutely necessary.
I absolutely agree with someone who commented here that a lot of eighteen-year-olds would be better off not going to college, but going into a trade or something else (the military, the Peace Corps, living overseas, etc.) and maybe enrolling after a few years. Read some fiction and poetry, have a job, see a little of the world . . . then you’ll value your college education.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Thanks to Wanda Mills and Win Blevins, whom I know, MelFlan, whom it turns out I know, and Bill, whom I think I don’t know. (Inner editor: Very Rumsfeldian, known unknowns, etc. MF, I’m going to work your second buffalo joke into stand-up routines I now do every Wednesday at open-mic night at the Stress Factory, a New Brunswick, NJ, comedy club. Posters and readers, please don’t all come right away. I’m several months away from being at least vaguely good, But I really am taking up several posters’ suggestions that I look into stand-up as a new or–more likely–additional career.
BTW, in the current Atlantic Monthly there’s a fabulous article on what it’s like to teach students who really don’t belong in college or who might but not at this stage of their lives. It’s anonymous but sounds like a man’s voice. He teaches lower-level English and writing at two colleges, one public, the other private, somewhere in the Northeast, His experiences feel totally authentic to me and to the fair` number of professors who have mentioned the piece to me admiringly before I could do likewise to them.
Students, if you want to know what a lot (not all) professors really think of a lot (not all) of you without the time constraints of Professors Strike Back videos or the length ones of the posts here, dig out Professor X’s piece. Best to all of you.
June 8th, 2008 at 3:48 am
He’s right. Most kids are only in college on an athletic scholarship or from rich mommy and daddy with the last book they’ve read being “Clifford: The Big Red Dog.” They’re there to get trashed 24/7 and spread every known STD whilst on their quest for a piece of paper which will prove useless as they’ve not retained the skills required to perform in their chosen field of study.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
haha,
why is everyone using such high vocabulary,, lighten up its the internet o.o;
i hope all my professors will be like this guy [:
June 18th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
This guy needs to retire and leave this world soon!
June 18th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The scary aspect of RateMyProfessors.com is that people like Scarlet “ad-homonym” Knight (near the top) get to speak even though they have know clue what they’re saying. For your information, ad hominem is Latin for “against a man;” i.e., literally an argument without merits and that only attacks the opponent. Prof. Popper–without a doubt–is the exact type of prof. I love to have: dynamic, honest, hilarious. The people who really can’t read at the college level, who slow class down, who blames their failures on everyone but themselves, are the reason Sartre said “Hell is other people.” Really, such sour attitudes spoil life. What this website needs is a good filter to weed out stupidity; actually, double order an extra for society at large.
As for Prof. Popper, come to UVa anytime! AND we actually have gardens.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Thanks to Deathshard, highschool student and Dana, all of whom have the right idea(s). Best,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
August 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
This guy is freakin hilarious. Reminds me of Vizzini from The Princess Bride.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I wish I can be in class. I’d probably love his sense of humor, or even his sarcasm! lol
August 21st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Students attend colleges/universities to get help learning whatever course they signed up for. If a professor evaluates his pupils at the beginning of the semester and found some that is below the standard that he/she was looking for then he/she should work hard to bring those students to the level that they aught to be at. That is what teaching should be about. If you are not capable to bring the students up to standard as a professor then you should be trained to use the correct methods to bring about a positive change in your students level of understanding and accomplishment. What is the purpose of attending these institutions if you are left on your own to teach yourself? Maybe they should just have state/national test then all people would need to do is buy the relevant books, study them then go take the test.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:11 pm
“He’s right. Most kids are only in college on an athletic scholarship or from rich mommy and daddy with the last book they’ve read being “Clifford: The Big Red Dog.” They’re there to get trashed 24/7 and spread every known STD whilst on their quest for a piece of paper which will prove useless as they’ve not retained the skills required to perform in their chosen field of study.”
…well we are talking about Rutgers right?
August 25th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Funny. I thought a professor’s main function was to challenge the student to learn, not to engage in emotional competition with adolescents.
Way to go Rutgers!
August 25th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I love this guy! What a hottie.
August 25th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
This guy needs new glasses.what a hottie.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I like cheese.
September 7th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Honestly, I think that this whole “Professors Strike Back” thing is kind of unprofessional. Professors have to realize that the majority of comments left by students on this website are from the kids who don’t do the reading, don’t do the homework, and don’t show up to class. If I were a professor, I’d just ignore this site as a whole.
It’s also extremely unprofessional for this particular professor to generalize all students as being “unable to read at a 5th grade level” when it was merely one bad apple who left him a comment.
The only true benefit from ratemyprofessor is from the students who leave constructive criticism/advice for other students about certain classes. This includes: testing structure, textbook usage, class participation requirements, etc., NOT merely “This professor sucked, so-and-so had a monotone voice.” That doesn’t help anyone, and it can potentially be construed as being slanderous.
These videos are amateurish and I wish the professors would rise above the negative comments left by a few poor students.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Thanks to Nate Johnson, CollegeKid, Wayne Paul, Brad and (probably) Saluki, who get the idea of what I’m doing here. The Cheese Man is a complete puzzle.
Then there’s Paul and Rob, who missed the point entirely–they think I’m the person they saw on the videos when in fact that’s just someone my imagination produced. (Sad, when you think, as most people do, that college students ought to be developing their imaginations.) Even worse, there’s Drew, for whom the whole world looks to be living down to his or her expectations: MTV, with among the best production facilities in the world, does “amateurish” videos. Rate My Professors should stick to information exchange, which sounds boring even as one types the phrase. I am “unprofessional” about a point Drew wildly misreads. All us professors should not waste our time on RMP because that’s also “unprofessional.” Drew, and Paul and Rob too, the three of you sound like dead cats bouncing.
Best wishes to every one of you,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
September 9th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
“I know most of you people can’t read.” – 2nd video down
How could anyone misread that point? How is that comment not unprofessional and conduct unbecoming of an educator?
I should have clarified on my “amateurish videos” comment. From a publicity and financial perspective, it’s very smart for MTV to do these film shorts. However, for professors, the concept behind these videos is amateurish, and just because MTV produces something doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea to participate in it. Ever see “My Sweet 16″?
I understand all of the **** teachers put up with makes many instructors jaded, but please don’t make mass generalizations. I would hope that highly educated people would be more worldly.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Again, the desire to engage in emotional competition, Herr Popper.
Please try harder, sir. I’m a strong proponent of the internal locus of control.
(I’m going to assume that you have even less of a desire to repay my student loans than you did prior to reading this additional feedback to your unprofessional bearing.)
September 11th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Perhaps some proffs end up taking themselves and their professions too seriously. Not that being a proff isn’t important, mind you. And let’s face it: either teaching or having a degree from an Ivy League (sounds like a bowling team) institution must be a pretty intoxicating feeling. I know myself well enough to realize that if I had a degree from Buffy And Skippy University in New Jersey (or New Haven), I’d probably look down upon a lot of people, too. “Missy”, I’d say to some 19 year old sophmore. “Come over here and pit me an olive”. And she would do it, because she would be in awe of my Ivy League degree.
Hey Frank, can you talk to some people about getting me a seat as a student at Princeton? I like olives in my martinis, but I don’t like to pit them myself. I’m going to need a cute little thing named Anastasia to prep my drinks, and she won’t do it unless I can awe her with a degree from a really lofty school. Chicks dig brand names.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Please.
September 13th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Pauline,
All courses assume that you know something before you even get the syllubus. Even courses with no prerequisites. If a student doesn’t have the base assumed knowledge, he/she doesn’t belong in that class! It is that simple. No matter how long the term is, a professor can not stop the class so a few people who don’t belong can try to catch up. That is what high school and prerequisite courses are for.
I have taught freshman courses with no prerequisites where I required that they do some simple 3rd grade calculations(find percentages, add, maybe even multiply) and I have actually had students struggle with that and complain that there is no math prerequisite for the course, therefore I am wrong to give those types of assignments. The most hilarious part is that the assignments are in Excel, it is not like they have to figure anything out.
I am not even a professor and that sort of thing drives me batty, I can’t imagine having to deal with that level of stupidity year after year. As much as I enjoy teaching I am looking forward to completely my MS so I don’t have to deal with these children.
Hats off to Dr. Popper who has turned his frustration into something positive and it is obvious that he is a positive force for learning on any campus he steps foot on.
September 13th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
He seems like a nice guy…. NOT!!
September 13th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Johanna,
Please don’t be too tough on the guy. Discovering that not everyone is in awe of one’s teaching credentials is a tough thing to come to terms with, especially when one teaches at a school like Princeton. Dr. Popper (not the soda pop) reflexively dismisses his naysayers with something similar to “you sound like dead cats bouncing”. Don’t be dismayed when you encounter such a “catty” comment: Popper is like that grumpy old uncle who comes to visit every year and complains because “it’s too cold in here”, then “too hot”, and finally, “where the (expletive deleted) did I put my glasses” when he’s wearing them.
We don’t feel any real anger toward the Poppers of the world. We simply recognize that they’re excellent academicians and disturbed people, and move on (barring, of course, the enjoyment that always comes from jousting with such “intellectual snobs” -an oxymoron if ever there was one).
September 15th, 2008 at 1:59 am
this guy is hilarious! if you really are taking him 100% seriously on his comments and not laughing with the rest of us i strongly suggest you drop college and start your life as a blue collar worker becasue i doubt you will really get far in college. Prof Popper wish you were at PSU
September 15th, 2008 at 5:30 am
In the war for knowledge are confirmed conscientious objectors….
Very, very funny.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
September 17th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
lab say WHAT?
September 19th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I guess my comment was too nasty/hilarious that the mods thought it might have gotten frank upset.
September 19th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Oh, lab, try it again with a rephrase. I’ll get back to you and the other recent posters shortly.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Frank,
I hope you’re going to offer to repay my student loans.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:54 am
The man seems HILARIOUS!! He just has a dry sense of humor so people take it badly, it’s fabulous! AND if he isn’t joking then it’s even better because he is exactly like my highschool econ teacher who truly meant every thing he said to people, so I would take this professor in a minute!
September 25th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Professor Popper is listening to Big Bill Broonzy (ask your grandparents) and cannot be disturbed.
His Digital Assistant
September 25th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
T’aint bad, Professor Popper’s Digital Assistant. But my grandparents are rudely dead, currently, so asking them about Broonzy is out of the question.
I’m a John Lee ****** man myself.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I’m back. I see that John Lee’s last name (Hoo ker) was censored by the pc crowd. Apparently, ***** and *** are the same as **** and ****, but without the *****.
Hope that clears things up.
September 28th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Never underestimate the stupidity and hypocritical censoring of anything affiliated with MTV
September 30th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Many blogs use filters that do automated string matches on comments. MTV may need to cough up more $ for better tech, but seems pretty unlikely there’s someone back there manually ***ing out ‘hoo-ker’ (and allowing the hyphenated version to stay up) don’t you think?
Cheap? maybe. But stupid and hypocritical? Only if you feel like anthropomorphizing a Unix script…
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Who said anything about attributing humanlike characteristics to Unix? Someone decided to use a really awful filter.
I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t claim that I said things that I didn’t.
October 4th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Hi Rob, no claim about you was intended. My comment was in response to Rusty’s on 9/28 but perhaps in my haste it was written vaguely. My sincere apologies for this.
I had only meant to say I doubted there was a human sitting there censoring out partial words from posts like ‘Hoo ker’ but that this was probably the result of a low-quality automated script. And as such that it would be strange to call a machine hypocritical. I agree with you that an awful filter is being used.
Again, sorry for the confusion I caused, no ill will toward either your or Rusty was intended — just wanted to get in on some of the fun here but I’ll bow out now.
Best regards, SW
October 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
It is obvious that a human does censor posts. Unless you think scripts take 3 week long breaks.
Yes, I have seen 3 week old posts get deleted.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Steve,
Thanks for that. I agree fully with you there.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I’m out for now, too.
I have to go repay some more student loans (da mmit)
October 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Dear All,
Sorry I haven’t posted recently, but I have been on the road a lot in the last few weeks (Ireland and Oklahoma, New Mexico soon and maybe Vietnam after that). Will try to answer your interesting posts when I get a chance. Best wishes to all of you,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
October 21st, 2008 at 9:46 pm
looking forward for more information about this. thanks for sharing. Eugene
October 30th, 2008 at 3:28 am
““I know most of you people can’t read.” – 2nd video down
How could anyone misread that point? ”
I don’t know, when you find out how you “misread” his statement can you get back to us and let us know?
October 30th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
This guy is funny. I like him. I bet he’s great at parties…..not that any of us go to those…..
November 17th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I’m sorry not to have posted in several weeks, but life really has been hectic. I appreciate the posts from Eiledon, John, Steve, Sabrina and Kim, who plainly get what I am trying to do here.
I’m less impressed with the posts from Drew and Rusty Shackleford, who misunderstand my remark on the second video about “I know most of you people can’t read” by missing the next thing I say: “Certainly can’t read at the college level.” I’m comfortable with this asssertion. It’s supported by endless studies, comments from my colleagues and people who have posted on this thread, and my daily experience as a classroom teacher. Yes, some students can read, often brilliantly, but they are a clear minority. And most of them know it.
Taking a more personal perspective, on more optimistic days when I teach I will pick out a random sentence from the readings, ask the class what it means and see how they respond. Then I’ll ask how that sentence links up with another a couple of pages away. Then I’ll ask how the two sentences link up with the overall arguments or findings of the reading. The whole exercise feels like I’m doing a root canal on the entire class and takes about as long. It usually drives away the optimism with which I began the session.
The most interesting respondent is Rob, mainly because he’s so intriguingly ambivalent. Sometimes he’s really perceptive, as in the “desire to engage in emotional competition, Herr Popper” line and the one about accepting that a lot of professors are “excellent academicians and disturbed people.” I gather our musical taste overlap. But then he goes on about his student loans. It’s also hard to tell which is most pathetic, his social fantasies or his sexual ones or the fact that he genuinely seems to be sharing both with all of us. TMI. But all in all, he’d fun to have in class and if he’s ever in the low zip codes, he should drop by.
Best wishes to all of you,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
November 17th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I’m sorry not to have posted in several weeks, but life really has been hectic. I appreciate the posts from Eiledon, John, Steve, Sabrina and Kim, who plainly get what I am trying to do here.
I’m less impressed with the posts from Drew and Rusty Shackleford, who misunderstand my remark on the second video about “I know most of you people can’t read” by missing the next thing I say: “Certainly can’t read at the college level.” I’m comfortable with this asssertion. It’s supported by endless studies, comments from my colleagues and people who have posted on this thread, and my daily experience as a classroom teacher. Yes, some students can read, often brilliantly, but they are a clear minority. And most of them know it.
Taking a more personal perspective, on more optimistic days when I teach I will pick out a random sentence from the readings, ask the class what it means and see how they respond. Then I’ll ask how that sentence links up with another a couple of pages away. Then I’ll ask how the two sentences link up with the overall arguments or findings of the reading. The whole exercise feels like I’m doing a root canal on the entire class and takes about as long. It usually drives away the optimism with which I began the session.
The most interesting respondent is Rob, mainly because he’s so intriguingly ambivalent. Sometimes he’s really perceptive, as in the “desire to engage in emotional competition, Herr Popper” line and the one about accepting that a lot of professors are “excellent academicians and disturbed people.” I gather our musical taste overlap. But then he goes on about his student loans. It’s also hard to tell which is most pathetic, his social fantasies or his sexual ones or the fact that he genuinely seems to be sharing both with all of us. TMI. But all in all, he’d fun to have in class and if he’s ever in the low zip codes, he should drop by.
Best wishes to all of you,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
November 20th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Why did I get lumped in with him?
I was simply asking why he couldn’t understand what you said.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Dear Rusty Shackleford,
I apologize. I misread your October 30 comment, partly because your second quotation mark is a bit ambiguous. But it sounds like we agree. All best wishes,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
November 30th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Hi Frank,
Sorry for being so slow in responding to your post.
If I’m going to have any social or sexual fantsies, it’s going to be with a pretty young thing named Anastasia (refer to a much earlier post of mine, way up the board in the nosebleed section. This is, of course, in reference to your post which is located three above this one.
Anyway, if I ever meet someone named Anastasia, I think I will know how to repay my student loans. Then again, if you could spot me a few bucks I’d really appreciate it.
Seriously, I think I would have enjoyed having you as a professor. Throughout my academic experience, professors have focused so hard at maintaining their professional appearances that they forgot how to laugh. Thank God someone gets it. A professor who expresses a sense of humor in class facilitates the mood of GETTING to go to his or her class rather than HAVING to do so.
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:51 am
Dear Rob,
Thanks for your kind note. I know what you mean. I felt that way as a student and still feel that way when I look at some of my colleagues or the other Professors Strke Back videos. Learning at its best is /supposed/ to be fun, to draw its participants in to the point of being a socially approved addiction. Sometimes learning gets there, but in most American universities (and workplaces) it doesn’t, and the result is that we all suffer. Best wishes,
FP
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Dudes, Shut up you are so lucky this guy is hillarious he reminds me of ben Stiller’s dad-you know the King of Queens dad. You are SOoooooooooo lucky, I wish he taught at my school…”find me the garden!” ha!
December 26th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Dear Michelle,
It’s weird that I remind you of Jerry Still and other people of Wallace Shawn. When I look in the mirror, I see Hugh Jackman. Best wishes for the holidays,
Frank Popper
January 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
He looks and sounds like Vizzini from “The Princess Bride.” Awesome.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:23 am
This guy is great!! How could you not love him, he’s hilarious. Reminds me of my fav. prof at NJIT.
Think about it… he’s talking about Rutgers kids. My sister who’s probably as dumb as it gets got into Rutgers. Not saying NJIT is doing all that great lately on their admission but everyone knows Rutgers has no standards when in comes to admitting NJ residents. It’s a safety school, the 13th grade. He’s got every right to be frustrated and it’s more than obvious his goal is to teach not put up with stupidity.
If you can’t keep up you probably shouldn’t be in college to begin with.
January 19th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I can’t believe I’m just seeing this now. I’ve been under a professional rock! As Frank Popper’s former TA, I am nodding my head in emphatic agreement with his right-on comments. I had to read and help grade term papers of GRAD students, which often felt more like an experience of a 5th grade remedial English teacher. How can you get to GRAD school and not understand that run-on sentences should at LEAST have a subject-verb agreement? Even a funny-tawkin Rhode Islandah like me knows that. Anyway, Dr. Popper’s classes are obviously not for those looking for a drone, syllabus-sticking, run-of-the-Rutgers-mill experience. He likes to sit on top of a desk facing the class, swing his legs back and forth, and talk the period away, challenging all the noggins in the room to think… well that’s just it, to think. I don’t think he’s “striking back” so much as “injecting reality.” I’m ever wearier that kids are growing up with too much coddling and too little constructive criticism and self-responsibility. The world and Dr. Popper do not owe you anything. You have to earn that degree. You might learn an interesting thing or two along the way (even about Buffalo).
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thanks, Michelle, BitterSweet and especially NotSoJerseyJess. All your excellent points are even more credible because they come from you rather than me. I’m on leave at Princeton this academic year and not teaching at Rutgers until September. Am letting my hair grow, what there is of it. By fall I should achieve the coveted Bozo the Hobbit look. Best wishes to all of you.
July 4th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Where’s everyone been all year? Why is MTVu hiding this site under a bushel? Best wishes,
Frank Popper
Rutgers and Princeton Universities
July 20th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I'd do him for an A
August 6th, 2009 at 2:07 am
this man is great ……. funny professor…….. i wish i had him
August 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I'm quite happily married, shelala. Maybe in another life, NP.
FP
September 8th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
This guy is hilarious but I really hope he's just being funny and not completely serious
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Nice post! Just one question, is this linked to what Alex Johnston was speaking about on his blog?
December 31st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I hope you never have kids…no, wait, I hope you do. So then, when your kid goes to college and the professor makes THEM cry in class, YOU have to deal with the aftermath. Then again, you're the type of person who wouldn't care at all for their children, so this scenario probably wouldn't give you pause for thought anyway.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I hope you never have kids…no, wait, I hope you do. So then, when your kid goes to college and the professor makes THEM cry in class, YOU have to deal with the aftermath. Then again, you're the type of person who wouldn't care at all for their children, so this scenario probably wouldn't give you pause for thought anyway.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I've noticed a pattern with you, sir. Are you planning to become a lawyer? You're the perfect devil's advocate.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Interesting that you would rush to others to tout your accomplishments…or to comment at all. Are we so vastly important to you that you can not simply ignore us? Frankly, it's flattering, but also disturbing; much like the stalker who says he's been admiring you from afar for the past seven years and he can't help but tell you how nice you smell.
If you want a profession in which you can pretend to be someone else and use this persona in a performance, go to drama school.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Best to everyone visiting this ghost planet. Am on Twitter now as FJPopper.
FP