Ever had a college professor who was just too hard?

[ashj1985]

I'm currently an Economics major and up to this point the classes have been fairly easy to understand. This semester I have this one professor who just flies through the lectures explaining the material on a level that he understands, but the rest of the class is clueless as to what is going on. Usually the book helps clarify the mess the professors make of the material in class, but the book is equally as confusing as the professor. Prior to the class yesterday the other students in there were all stressing about the upcoming exam because apparently not a single one of us has any clue what the hell this guy is trying to teach in his lectures. Believe it or not, asking questions in the classroom actually just enhances the confusion when he tries to break things down for further explanation.

I hate to withdraw from a class and have to retake it another time, but I just don't think that it's worth sticking with it and getting a D or a low C and screwing up my G.P.A. Also, what good is sticking with a class that you go into and can't understand the material and leave with a headache each time? The other students in my class have known other people that took him, and the apparent consensus is that you are lucky to even get a C in his course.

Anyone else ever had a professor like this, and if so did you stick it out or drop him/her to take it with someone else another semester?

 

[kurchatovium]

The question to stay or not in a course I think depends always on one thing

Are you learning from the teacher of that course?

If you are then if they are hard you might not get as good a grade as you would like but you will end up learning a lot which I beleve is much more valuable.

If you are not learning anything from that professor and they are being hard just for the sake of being hard then by all means drop the course. I would say.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[ashj1985]

The question to stay or not in a course I think depends always on one thing

Are you learning from the teacher of that course?

If you are then if they are hard you might not get as good a grade as you would like but you will end up learning a lot which I beleve is much more valuable.

If you are not learning anything from that professor and they are being hard just for the sake of being hard then by all means drop the course. I would say.

Hope this is helpful.

No, NOBODY is learning anything. We are all Economics majors in the course and nobody understands this guy. Other classmates were talking about this before the professor came into the room yesterday. He just doesn't know how to teach and seems to be one of those guys that expects you to "get" it at his level. He goes too fast in his lectures rather than taking the time to break things down so that we get the most out of it. What good is taking a course and not learning a damn thing in it, and getting a low grade to top it off?

 

[Bohemianne]

Yes there are bad professors. My tolerance is very high though when it comes to studies that once I start, I finish. My love for the library helped a lot.

 

[ashj1985]

Yes there are bad professors. My tolerance is very high though when it comes to studies that once I start, I finish. My love for the library helped a lot.

Trust me, I read each chapter over twice, study the notes over, email him with questions and everything. The book sucks and just throws fact after fact at you, and rather than breaking the information down for us in class, he speeds through it basically just restating the book.

 

[kurchatovium]

No, NOBODY is learning anything. We are all Economics majors in the course and nobody understands this guy. Other classmates were talking about this before the professor came into the room yesterday. He just doesn't know who to teach and seems to be one of those guys that expects you to "get" it at his level. He goes too fast in his lectures rather than taking the time to break things down so that we get the most out of it. What good is taking a course and not learning a damn thing in it, and getting a low grade to top it off?

Ask around the campus and see if this guy has a history of being like this. If he does and like you say you are not leanring a darn thing. Then I would drop the course and maybe take it another time with a better professor.

There was a calculus professor who had a history of failing 3/4 of his class just to be an ass. I skipped him that semester and waited till a reasonable person taught the course.

 

[Bohemianne]

Trust me, I read each chapter over twice, study the notes over, email him with questions and everything. The book sucks and just throws fact after fact at you, and rather than breaking the information down for us in class, he speeds through it basically just restating the book.

In that case, you shouldn't enroll in his class then...

There was a calculus professor who had a history of failing 3/4 of his class just to be an ass. I skipped him that semester and waited till a reasonable person taught the course.

LOL... Kurch, many of my college professors did the same too. I belong to the % who passed though (coughs-chokes-dies). I call them pure luck. LOL 😀

 

[kurchatovium]

In that case, you shouldn't enroll in his class then...



LOL... Kurch, many of my college professors did the same too. I belong to the % who passed though (coughs-chokes-dies). I call them pure luck. LOL 😀

You iz way smart hun.

The choices I had were limited there was the professor who failed 3/4 of his class, two professors who failed half of their class, and the professor who stuttered badly and did not speak english to well. I chose the latter and got an A.

 

[Bohemianne]

You iz way smart hun.

Thanks, but I attribute it to "chivalry." Imagine sitting in Acoustics class where we are only 2 females attending it. Definitely, I have all the advantage of passing bwahahahahah! 😀 😀 😱

The choices I had were limited there was the professor who failed 3/4 of his class, two professors who failed half of their class, and the professor who stuttered badly and did not speak english to well. I chose the latter and got an A.

LMAO! Wise enough. Silly though. 😀 😀 😱

 

[socktickler86]

If you are at a public university, I believe the evaluations of the professor are public knowledge. Check them out.

Beyond that, get a group of students together and file a complaint against him with the department. However, only do this if you are serious. People CAN lose their job due to complaints and you should only do it if you're certain it's the professor and not just you and fellow students not taking the course seriously. Have you looked into other texts? You're rarely going to find a professor who has no recommendations for texts outside of the one they have assigned. Often there are texts that are better, just more expensive and the professor chooses not to assign the more expensive text. They can be found in the library even so you wouldn't have to buy it.

 

[ndj101982]

In that case, you shouldn't enroll in his class then...

It's funny because my brother warned me never to sign up for a course with a professor whose name you can't pronounce...lol. Apparently he was right.

 

[kurchatovium]

Thanks, but I attribute it to "chivalry." Imagine sitting in Acoustics class where we are only 2 females in the class. Definitely, I have all the advantage of passing bwahahahahah! 😀 😀 😱



LMAO! Wise enough. Silly though. 😀 😀 😱

You are welcome. The important thing is you passed. 😀 and I still think you are way smart. 😀

My life is defined by silly. 😀

I would make another point (mainly to keep the thread on topic 😀 😛 ) that if you are going to attend a college and going to major or minor in a particuilar subject. Check out the profressors in that subject. Had I known what I had known about the math professors at my college I would have gone elsewhere so I could have gotten a math minor.

 

[Bohemianne]

never to sign up for a course with a professor whose name you can't pronounce...lol.

Caught by this... funny.

I would make another point (mainly to keep the thread on topic 😀 😛 ) that if you are going to attend a college and going to major or minor in a particuilar subject. Check out the profressors in that subject. Had I known what I had known about the math professors at my college I would have gone elsewhere so I could have gotten a math minor.

Indeed. But you having PhD in your field is something. The professors have nothing to do with it.

 

[ashj1985]

If you are at a public university, I believe the evaluations of the professor are public knowledge. Check them out.

Beyond that, get a group of students together and file a complaint against him with the department. However, only do this if you are serious. People CAN lose their job due to complaints and you should only do it if you're certain it's the professor and not just you and fellow students not taking the course seriously. Have you looked into other texts? You're rarely going to find a professor who has no recommendations for texts outside of the one they have assigned. Often there are texts that are better, just more expensive and the professor chooses not to assign the more expensive text. They can be found in the library even so you wouldn't have to buy it.

I only took him because there were no other available times for the course offered. I was a late register because I am a transfer student and had to wait until a week before class in order to sign up for courses. I had no idea who my professors were until the day I walked into the classes. I would elect to withdraw and retake the course before costing him his job. I'm sure he probably passes you as long as you stick with the course, but it can really screw up your g.p.a. if you get a C or D in a course in your major. My g.p.a. is currently a 0.0 because I transferred and have to start at a blank slate. However, with only 10 courses remaining to take to graduate, a low C or a D would really do some damage to my overall g.p.a. because it's not like it is just one bad grade out of like 20 classes or something, in which case one bad grade would be much more insignificant.

 

[WorkInProgress]

If you can withdraw and retake the course with someone else without doing damage to your GPA, you're best off doing that. The key is being sure there are alternatives. Find out who else teaches it, and find out if they're any better. I feel foolish saying this, being as I'm a college instructor and I'm officially supposed to find this site obnoxious, but you can look people up on http://www.ratemyprofessors.com.

 

[c7_assassin]

Ever had a college professor who was just too hard?

That's what she said.