The 5 Benefits Of Having A Terrible Professor
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Student Life

The 5 Benefits Of Having A Terrible Professor

When your professor tests you on more than one level, it's important to look on the bright side.

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The 5 Benefits Of Having A Terrible Professor
Pixabay

Having been involved in the American education system for an absurd number of years now, I am no stranger to terrible teachers. In fact, I'm sure that every last one of us has probably had a miserable experience of some kind with an educator. I'm not saying that the bad ones are the norm by any means, and I'm not saying every person has had identical experiences, I'm just gonna put it out there that at one point or another, there was definitely a teacher who was seemingly out to get you for no discernible reason. Honestly, I think maybe having a teacher that makes your life hell is actually a requirement of the American educational program. After all, it's not like you don't learn some fairly valuable life skills from interacting with an educator who tests you in every possible sense of the word.

In fact, I'm willing to wager that there are actually some positives that can arise from dealing with a terrible teacher based on a few of my own experiences this semester. At this point you might be asking, am I writing this as a way to blow off steam while not-so-discreetly complain about my professor frustrations? Yes, absolutely. But am I wrong about some of these benefits of having a terrible professor? Maybe not.

1. Strengthened solidarity with your classmates

A tried and true statement: nothing unites people more than a common enemy. In fact, sometimes intense shared hatred is all you really need to create a lifelong bond. In this case, you and your peers will likely form a united front against the unstoppable force of your terrible professor. Not only do you not have to worry about having things to talk about with the people who have had the same miserable luck to be placed in the same class as you, but you definitely have one thing you can agree upon time and time again. Honestly, nothing will get students talking more than a chance to complain about an unfortunate educator. Even as a senior in college, I am still making friends this way.

2. Practicing patience

None of us are saints (probably, anyway), so you definitely know what it's like to hit your limit when it comes to putting up with unfavorable conditions. No one has unlimited amounts of patience, I don't even know how anyone possibly could. Unfortunately, human beings are not complex enough to have hidden spaces/compartments for keeping excess patience, and we don't yet have the technology to start trying to manufacture them. If we could get on that as soon as possible, though, that would be great considering how helpful it would be to not feel like you're being singled out of all people on this earth to deal with the specific suffering wrought by your teacher.

3. Understanding the true meaning of perseverance

It's often hard to gauge from the beginning if you're going to mesh well with your educator or not. Unfortunately, by the time that you do realize it, it's simply too late to make any schedule changes and you're left resenting the girl who dropped two weeks ago for not letting you in on whatever insider knowledge she had that encouraged her to jump ship before the iceberg was even in sight. While you will likely be pushed to your breaking point several times over the course of the semester, if you do manage to somehow survive to the very end, you can achieve anything. Like, seriously, nothing will seem impossible to accomplish ever again, and every other professor you might have in the future will be a piece of cake compared to what you just dealt with.

4. Learning self-reliance and solid judgment skills

While you will have your fellow classmates to rely on for some solid complaining sessions, when it comes down to actual assignments they're probably just as clueless as you are. This is quite comforting to know that you at least aren't alone in your confusion, though it doesn't help you actually get any of the work done. You might try asking your professor point-blank about what they expect from you, but if they are anything like those I have dealt with, the response will be in riddle form and require the acquisition of several ancient artifacts to be sacrificed in an elaborate ritual to comprehend. This is where you come in. Or, well, your personal judgement. At the end of the day, you just gotta do right by you (or right by what you think the professor expects from you). You just gotta trust your gut and do your best, even if it ultimately ends up missing the mark like it always inevitably does.

5. You've always got something relatable to complain about

To reiterate my point from earlier, I'm pretty sure everyone that has been through the American educational system has faced down a terrible teacher at one point or another. Due to this universal experience, if you're currently saddled with this incredible burden, all of your friends will totally understand and probably validate how miserable your life is. In the end, even though you're struggling, everyone else definitely gets why you are extra grumpy before/after/during class and when you're working on homework for that class or even simply remember that you're going to have to see the professor again at some point in the near future so that you never have to explain or apologize. What a sweet deal.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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