The first week of class is coming to a close, and by now you've begun to get a feel for if you're going to like the classes that you are in this semester. A lot of appeal about classes comes from the professor. He or she can literally make or break the class. For the most part, I am pretty lucky and have nice, caring professors devoting their time to helping me pass, not fail. But every so often I get a professor who is the absolute worst. I mean so harsh and I have no idea why they chose teaching as their profession.
The first time I dealt with a professor I didn't necessarily get along with was last year in a philosophy class. Besides the fact that philosophy is a dicey topic, this professor was rude, egotistical, and thought his opinion was the only answer. After a few weeks of trying to push through his snarkiness and two failed quizzes, I called my mom crying begging her to let me drop the class. She wasn't too happy, but eventually let me drop the class. Looking back, I really wish I hadn't dropped that class. I felt so defeated and let that feeling win.
Now is a new year and I refuse to let my feelings about a professor force me out of a class. As of now, there seems to be only one professor I could see myself having problems with. The difference between this professor and the last one I didn't like is that I have strategies to cope when the times get tough and all I wanted to do was get out of the class.
Along with the help of family and friends, I've come up with a few ways to help deal with teachers who truly do suck.
Sit at the front of the class.
This is such an easy fix. Usually after the first few days of class, you can get a feel if the professor is going to be the death of you. There are two choices: you can sit at the back, tune out, and let go of your grade or you can challenge yourself, sit at the front and try your hardest to succeed. I guarantee it will make the class a whole lot easier.
Stay in contact with your professor.
Even though you already hate this professor (even though you barely know him or her) it's crucial to keep in contact. Put a face to your name. If you end up screwing up on a test or something, if the professor at least knows your name, they are more likely to be helpful and caring.
Take it day by day.
Thinking about the semester as a whole is probably the biggest mistake you can make. A whole semester is a lot of days with a terrible professor, but if you take it day by day, or challenge by challenge, things seem more manageable.
Things will get easier as the class moves along. I promise you will find your groove and figure out your path to success. Most importantly stay honest and open about your struggle with the class. Keeping everything in is the worst way to go about things. The more open the more likely the success!
