We've all had that teacher that we can't stand for whatever reason it may be. Sometimes it can be hard to determine the barrier between a sensitive student and a teacher who dislikes you. Like most people, I have had my fair share of dealing with professors that know exactly how to get under my skin and still manage to get an A in their class.

With every new year comes new classes with new people and new professors. Recently, I transferred to a new university which has given me the opportunities to experience a completely different environment than the one I was in before. In one of my classes, I have found that a professor of mine does not fancy me at all. They constantly beat down my work and challenge my technique.

As the semester progressed, I began to see myself internalizing the constructive comments I was receiving from her which made me feel as if my work was not good enough. I would spend hours on my homework and felt that the caliber of my work was exactly what she was looking for, just to find out that she would completely tear it apart. No one likes to be told that their work is below average, but instead of getting upset about it, I began to work even harder at what I was creating.

This gave me the confidence to finally go up to her and ask questions to try to please and engage her in my ideas. The most important thing to take away from this is to not internalize any negative feedback you may think your teacher is giving you because you never know what they’re really trying to do.

Getting a good grade in a class is ultimately something that only you can work on and build off of your relationship with your professor is to make sure you have an open dialogue and kill them with kindness. When they beat you down, smile about it, laugh at your mistakes and failures (in their eyes), beg and plead for help.

Although you’re probably not too fond of them, the more you engage with them and ask for their guidance in your academic endeavors, it shows them that you’re willing to go the extra mile to succeed in their class. Ultimately, your teacher is probably trying to push your mind to the furthest points so your thoughts develop into sincerely well thought out assignments.

While our professors change and challenge us throughout our academic careers, it gives us the experience we need to deal with difficult people in our future lives. Whether that’s your boss, your friends, and sometimes with your family, everything years of school education have taught us can be applied to real-life scenarios. It’s up to you to take everything you’ve learned and apply it in a positive way.