“Playing on such inaccurate stereotypes [that of the socially-inept math professor] doesn’t make for a strong argument.” There might be room for improvement, I agree. But let me ask you two questions: 1. Why are you sure the stereotype is inaccurate in this case (Berkeley math professors)? 2. What would be a better approach for a student advisor to take, to replace the one you don’t like?

I love the stereotype about math professors having poor social and communication skills. Playing on such inaccurate stereotypes doesn’t make for a strong argument. It says more about that particular advisor than anyone else.

The problem with lower lever math classes is that they are the classes most math professors like to teach the least and they are full of students who have little real interest in and less respect for mathematics. When I was an undergraduate engineering major, once upon a time, I had the experience of listening to an engineering professor mock the mathematics professors in an engineering class lecture. That kind of attitude doesn’t lead to comfortable conversations between engineering students and math professors. (Of course, I also had the experience of listening to an engineering professor mock liberal arts students for being outside and enjoying a warm spring afternoon. That’s the point where I realized engineering wasn’t the major I wanted.) In my experience math professors become a whole lot more friendly to students they see in upper level classes taking mathematics seriously. Of course, even that is going to be difficult in a math department where faculty growth hasn’t kept up with student growth.

I’ve wandered a bit, but you really don’t provide enough for anyone to do more than wander and wonder what you’re talking about. Over on the Huffington Post, and here on your own blog apparently, you’ve done a good job of presenting anecdotes about various problems in various different situations but you consistently provide insufficient details or analysis to determine what you’re really getting at, if anything. You seem unsatisfied with college education but you don’t seem to know why.

there are no excuses, but I wonder if part of it is a product of undergraduate student size. As Dennis commented above, when professors can’t develop personal relationships with students, its easier to be rude. also, with large class sizes, Berkeley might attract professors who don’t want to develop positive relationships with students. At my small liberal arts school, with less research opportunities, I could tell that the professors loved interacting with students.

Is it possible that professors who are often educated at smaller, elite private institutions showcase snobbery towards a larger, public student body? I have trouble comprehending this because UC Berkeley is such an elite institution. but maybe.

I have never understood the “learning how to learn” argument. Everyone learns all the time — babies, animals, young children, apprentices. That’s what the brain is mostly about: learning. Surely we used our brains effectively before colleges came along.