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Problems with a professor

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Chronos
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31 Aug 2016, 7:05 pm

aloofdeer wrote:
First off I apologize if this is in the wrong forum. It might belong in the school and college life forum but I just want to vent so I thought it belonged in The Haven.

I have a college professor who made it his mission to "mess" with me, in lack of a better term. He noticed I was really quiet and awkward so he decided to start antagonizing me.

He will be lecturing and out of nowhere he will suddenly call on me by yelling my name loudly, which in turn scares me to death and my brain stops. He knows the loud yelling scares the crap out of me and makes me unable to answer or even process his question, he finds it very funny that I am unable to speak and that I look like I am on the verge of tears. I am the only person in the class he does this to!

He also likes to scare me by slamming a textbook on my desk. The loud thump has the same effect as when he yells my name out. I don't know why he does it, he just thinks its hilarious. Everyone else in my class thinks its funny too and I feel as if I am the laughing stock of the entire class. Before every class I have with him I feel the need to take a bottle of Xanax because my anxiety is so high.

Today, I was in the college lounge trying to work on some homework and he suddenly jumped in front of me and asked if I had turned in an assignment, He was really close to me and it made me uncomfortable. He stared me down with an angry look. I told him no, because it was not due for a few more days and I would get it in and he started to laugh and said "Ok." as he walked away.

I could try asking him politely to stop but I think he would just laugh at me and tell me to get over it, he doesn't seem like a friendly guy. I hope I never have him for a class again because he drives me crazy! :cry:


He's probably trying to get you to come out of your shell. He might think you have potential you are not expressing. Perhaps he might have even been like you once. If you are shy and quite, it would do you some good to work on overcoming it.

I used to be shy and very quiet but I got tired of it, and the situations it would put me in. I had a classmate who was the same way, and decided to get over it, and he is now doing very well in life.

Try raising your hand in class when your professor asks a question, even if you don't know the answer. When he calls and you don't know the answer, say "I don't know, I knew you were going to call on me anyway so I decided to beat you to it." He will probably get a kick out of that because you beat him at his own game.



Shardrenee
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02 Sep 2016, 12:13 pm

I just clicked on this thread because I happen to be having problems with a professor, but not the kind you are having. I first attended University in 1990. I was in a higher level french class with a real b**ch of a teacher. I'm not even sure how I got to that level since I always had trouble with the part of the class where you are required to speak out loud--in a foreign language. This teacher hated me, because I wasn't exactly excelling in class. One day it was my turn and my brain froze. We all know that feeling and how not possible it is to just snap out of it. She then told me she was going to stand beside me until I stopped crying and decided to answer her question--en francais. After what seemed like days I ran from the classroom never to return or take another french class. I did not know then that that was abusive at best. Now I would list my mental health diagnoses--in english--and march straight to a counselor's office. Being 47, I have shed any need to hide my mental health resume, and I have discovered that you can scare the crap out of authority figures when you mention disability. Not always, but when it works it makes you feel some of the power we are robbed of daily.
Good luck with this icky situation. I hope you can at least get this jerk in some trouble.


_________________
Asperger's with extreme sound and heat sensitivity. Also jerk sensitivity.


fluter
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02 Sep 2016, 1:41 pm

Yes, please write it down, and read it to your counselor if you need to, or allow the counselor to read it. The professor is out of line slamming books. This isn't a respectful way to address a college student.

It might be that you are sending false signals of disinterest to the professor inadvertently--for example, if you are looking down for most of the class, or stare at your book instead of what the professor is writing on the board, etc. (I know there are times where I just can't look at someone if they're a very active person, so I close my eyes and listen, or just look down at my books so I can focus on their words--)

If this is the case (if you're looking down a lot), the professor may be reacting defensively or maybe pro-actively but wrongly (attempting to force your attention or engagement in the class).

The professor needs to understand you better, and this can happen if you communicate through your counselor. If your counselor doesn't help you, find someone that will--the professor's chair, the dean, the ombudsman.

I'm so sorry you are struggling with this. It's hard to know whether the professor is being a jerk or is really acting on good intentions (trying really hard to develop a learning relationship with you). But either way, what he's doing is not effective, and is making learning harder and less enjoyable. So if his intentions are bad, he needs to be reported. If his intentions are good, he needs to understand in order to find a better teaching strategy.



Last edited by fluter on 02 Sep 2016, 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

fluter
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02 Sep 2016, 2:13 pm

Also, when the students are laughing, try to keep in mind that some of them may be laughing out of discomfort, not because it is funny to intimidate and alienate a student. Laughter is sometimes used by people to dispel nervous energy.