One lovely occurrence a lot of college students try to forget about is terrible teachers. While there are teachers that have changed my walk through life, there have also been teachers that have pushed me to my limit.
I consider myself a thick-skinned girl. I’ve been through a lot, so I can handle a lot. I’m a strong independent woman who don’t- okay moving on. MY POINT IS, I’m not a shy person who takes kindly to being pushed around, I’ll stand my ground and if my limit is pushed I will fight back.
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The issues I’ve encountered typically come from teachers who aren’t particularly passionate about teaching. They may think they are, but they are in fact, just not very good teachers. The ones that make you feel stupid, or put you down at every chance, their way or the highway, the ones who feel the need to assert their dominance over you; these are the teachers I’m talking about.
These kinds of teachers grind my gears more than anything. I have a passion to learn, I get good grades, even in the classes with the teachers who I don’t exactly love, so if I’m complaining after every class period about terrible teacher treatment: something is wrong.
What I’m trying to get at is there is a healthy balance of standing up for yourself and keeping your mouth shut. As someone who does not like to keep their mouth shut, I understand how hard it may be to do it. There were a lot of teachers in high school who did not like me because I would ask questions they didn’t want to answer; to the point that they didn’t want to see me succeed and were basically bullying me.
When I started interning the same thing would happen. Being confident and put together makes people challenge you, it comes with the territory. Very frustrating territory, but stick to your guns girl. Arguing a valid point may not even matter if the authoritative figure already has something against you. The first time you do it you may be calm, asking what you can do to improve your relationship. This might help or it might fall to deaf ears. So if you’re still arguing with them after that, let it be and keep your mouth shut. I think teachers forget you get to evaluate them at the end of the semester…
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
1. These older people are already at their peak. They see a young woman with a will to succeed and still have so much to give and it makes them angry. This is going to happen for the rest of college, but also when you start your career. All they are doing is daring you to prove that you have what it takes to make it. Karen from PR will probably still be Karen from PR when you graduate and become her boss.
2. Count the days, the hours, the class periods or the meetings. I used to count the hours I had left with my French teacher and would recite it like a prayer when she made me mad.
3. THEY STILL HAVE TO GRADE YOUR ISH. As I contemplated jumping over a table to give the teacher who called me out a piece of my mind the other day, I calmly reminded myself I have three weeks until they grade my final and then I can lose my marbles.
4. Don’t get mad, get even. This is applicable to basically anyone you get mad at and I don’t mean in a malicious way either. Getting an A when the teacher hates you makes them crazy.
5. Be nice and pick your battles. If I argued every time a teacher belittled me I would probably have a premature heart attack. There just isn’t enough time in the day to constantly be arguing with someone who is going to dislike you either way.
6. Go to the head. If speaking with your actual teacher made you want to split your head open, go to their boss. While teachers don’t always receive the feedback from their evaluations, the head of the department will always receive your email. This is where having a good grade helps as it makes you look better (if your teacher is failing you because they don’t like you, definitely address that). Be so sickly professional in this email, explain your points, and mention how it’s affecting you as a student. I suggest doing this at the end of the semester if you genuinely feel its needed, like if you genuinely think this person shouldn’t be teaching other students.
7. Remember this is temporary. If you are a brave soul that can tough out the storm without complaining, I applaud you. Teachers shouldn’t drive students to have to have this kind of control, but it’s good practice for the real world. You only have to be with this teacher for the semester and then you never have to see them again. If you can get through them, you can get through anything.
In the end, there will always be someone who doesn’t like you or you don’t like them. It’s human nature. How you react to the situation is up to you, just please think about the consequences of launching a book at their head before you do it. That teacher is still going to be teaching at your college when you’re CEO of a successful company, maybe send them a letter and let them know that ;).
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