Question

Bad to exclude a difficult peer from continuing a reading course into the summer?

Answer 1

I understand where you're coming from but be careful. In my masters I once worked on a project with two others, *convinced* they were letting me do all the work and I protested greatly. Long story short, I was very harsh with  them (as I'm very inclined to stand up for myself) but in retrospect I realized they were probably really trying and I was just an ass. I still cringe about it to this day. So understand sometimes people really are trying but it may not look like it depending on your relative preparation. Of course it could be they really aren't putting in effort. I've also had that happen (the person was ironically also a complete racist.)

Personally, I'd find a way to address their effort in a way that doesn't corner them into feeling inferior if it turns out they're actually trying. You could say that you're really trying hard and that it's hard work and indirectly ask them how much they are trying for example.

Answer 2

If you'd rather meet with the professor alone, just let them know and let them handle the situation.

Personally, if I had a really good and a really bad student, then I'd also prefer meeting them separately. More importantly, if any of the students are unhappy with the course, then I'd strongly prefer them telling me.

Answer 3

I get where you’re coming from because I had a similar experience with a reading project where the other student had much less of a calculus background than I did and had a hard time picking up the material. However… they were definitely putting in the same amount of time as I was, and slowly, there were picking up on the key ideas.

How we solved this is via separate meeting and projects with the same math mentor. I would meet on one day and the other person would meet on the other, and both of us were able to get much more done. I totally get where you’re coming from, and it may appear that Reagan isn’t doing the readings but their background may just simply be less. Try asking the professor about this because when I was honest with my mentor about it, we found a solution that worked.

Answer 4

There's a possiblity that you're just a more capable student than "Reagan" and he/she is saying he/she is only spending 1-2 hours per week because of being shy about admitting understanding less than you. I could be wrong, but if I'm not wrong, it would be an opportunity for you to start teaching someone something substantial. Anyway, if you enlighten someone, it doesn't mean your own knowledge gets decreased in the process. And no matter how lazy or hopeless a student is, isn't it worse to have them not to be there at all, than to have them being there and trying to follow what you explain to them? Yeah, it's lonely at the top, but it's even more lonely if you kick the fingers of those hanging on beneath your feet, and they fall, right?

 

I mean, if you end up in a position of leadership in a seminar in a couple of years, are you going to be challenging the ones at the back, "YOU. OUT! You know nothing!"

 

I'm tempted to tell  a story about a homeless guy who would come to particular seminars in NY city in the early 1980's. He would sit in the back row and fall asleep within 1 minute, and snore the whole time, and somehow wake up again towards the end of the hour. The only thing he ever said was, when a lecturer mentioned that the complex plane (with one of i or -i labelled) has a natural orientation, this man woke up and shouted "Counter Clock-wise!" and fell asleep again.

Answer 5

Can’t you dominate the tutorial with your “informed” questions? If Reagan keeps asking ignorant questions, it’ll be clear to the prof he isn’t doing his reading. You also aren’t obligated to invite Reagan to meetings that you arrange with the prof.

Answer 6

You've got a lot of responses, but throwing in my take: is Reagan actively ruining your learning experience? It doesn't sound like it, unless you're going to pretend like Reagan asking bad questions is directly harmful to you. If you're the one who's properly engaged with the material then you presumably playing a larger role in the discussions when you meet with the professor; if this is the case it should also be clear to the professor that you're properly engaged and they're not (in fact it might actually be making you look better by comparison, though I don't claim this is really the best way to think about things).

Basically, if you're hellbent on bringing this up to the prof, there's no stopping you, but I urge you to think more carefully: you're putting yourself at serious risk of looking like a jerk, or alternatively the prof might have deliberately set this reading up as a group to save themselves time, in which case you run the risk of annoying the prof by demanding them to split this time up. I think a smarter strategy would be to start reading up on more advanced topics or papers and start asking about those, and see if you can make this organically develop into a situation where you're meeting w the prof one-on-one.

If you get to a future point where you are looking to start research and you still find that the meetings occur between you, Reagan and the professor, I think at this point is when it would be appropriate to tell the professor (in a way that doesn't come off arrogant) that you think you'd be better off working on a project separately from Reagan.

Answer 7

Try to take it less personal what other people are doing. If Reagan thinks it benefits her and the professor has no objections, it's not your call. What is your main concern - that she's eating time so you don't reach topics you usually would with your professor if he was progressing at your speed? Or are you just annoyed by her attitude?

Answer 8

Consider trying to find a way to make the request without throwing your peer under the buss.

Answer 9

You're fine. Depending on your relationship with Reagan I may suggest asking them why they care about the topic, if anything in their personal life has gotten in the way of them working seriously on this reading course. But I'm afraid that might come off as a put-down, at which point it's better to just say nothing.

Answer 10

> I tried getting them to read with me for a few hours a week outside of the meetings, but they weren't interested or were flaky.

I'd keep pushing on this.  Would it be too much to suggest _in front of the professor_ that the two of you meet to compare notes, prepare questions, and maximize the time you both have with the prof?

My biggest leaps in mathematical thinking/ability have always come from tutoring a topic.  Even if I'm just barely struggling through, having to drag someone along with me always sharpens my own thoughts.  Your mileage may vary; I'm a relatively layman in terms of this forum and math isn't my primary area of focus.  But if I were in your situation I think that's the next play I'd make.  If it works, great, you both get something out of it.  If it doesn't, the issue is out in the open.