I Don't Want A Job - I Just Want to Study

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Early this year, at my University, in a Liberal Arts college rhetoric and writing class, while sitting in the middle of the class, I raised my hand and challenged the professor (who has subjective grading power) on her definition of the word/concept of "community", which was the prompt for the first writing assignment. I told her that I didn't comply with her definition, that I don't belong to any communities and that it was not fair to make me write about something that I can't possibly know anything about, since it has nothing to do with me nor my experience.

Needless to say, from that moment until the end of the semester the mood in the classroom was tense. Once it was clear that I would not be able to work with this professor and that no assistance would be "offered" in essense, I gave up. Since I could no longer realize a perfect grade or at least an "A", I opted to occupied the back left corner seat in the class (my way of communicating with the professor). I suffered through the semester and I failed the class and the writing requirement (just barely).

Does anyone else have any stories about how they finally discovered that they had a "learning disability". Did your University offer you specialized tutoring or anything like that? I have great difficulty in the normal classroom environment, can you relate?

I wish my university would offer some kind of help for me, but I am still currently undergoing testing so that they can re-diagnose me (even though I could just show them the papers from when I was first diagnosed -_-). Now, in middle school, I questioned just about everything the teacher said, and....it didn't end well. I was labeled for the rest of my school career there (about 6 years) and I was received tons of discipline slips from the teachers for "talking back", in other words, I challenged them. Throughout high school I played the smart kid who never disobeyed the rules and never questioned the teacher, although they did look to me as a source of inspiration sometimes =D. Now, in college, I am beginning to question my professors again. It feels fan-freaking-tastic, now I can, and they can't stop me! So in short, yes, I can relate, also, that sucks that you failed that class, people just don't understand some things, oh well =) We as a "community" or society have a severe lack of open-mindedness, in my opinion.

I voted "All of the Above" but I think "Just Weird" wasn't in use here when I was a kid. During elementary and middle school I enjoyed both asking questions and answering them. People thought I'm smart but I had serious behavioral issues at 2nd grade (fighting with my peers, hyperactivity at classes, not listening to the teachers, acting silly, being "clown of the class", once I was almost run over by a car). I was seated in the first row but my hyperactivity continued until high school to a lesser degree.

At the Uni I realized I hadn't learned how to study, and it proved to be a huge disadvantage for me. I was accustomed to listening to the teachers on the classes and learned almost nothing at home. At the Uni, presentations and classes were basically boring to me, and I hardly understood anything promptly... So, I wasn't a real match to any of the professors to actually being able to challenge them.

After I graduated from the Uni with a degree in economics I actually enjoyed participating in a post-gradual program (Master of Business Administration) and a course for training Financial Auditors (this was the harder and less fun), both took 3 years of sitting on the benches, again.

I will relate a story from my university days in the 1980s. It was nearing final exams, and my literature instructor (in a John Steinbeck course) told us that the final exam would at his house over a beer bash party. He said he would have a Steinbeck movie playing while we partied---and then give us an "A." I do not do parties. I cannot stand that kind of social thing. I told him I didn't do parties and could I write a paper or something instead. He said, "No," if you don't attend you get an "F" on the final exam to average against your grades in the course. I took the "F" and got a "C" for the class. Thinking back on this---this was against the rules. Oh well...I still graduated from college with honors---but this professor was unfair.

Uni is unfortunately a play by the prof's rules or leave kind of place. Don't like it, find another prof who teaches the same course, go somewhere else or suck it up and deal with it. If you want a degree, you're going to deal with crappy teachers you don't like, but that's just part of being in the real world. There's always people you don't like and you are going to have to work with them.

Oh and P.S. you do belong to a community because this is a community.

I taught on the university level, and it is against the rules to give a final exam at one's own home while giving a beer bash and telling students who don't want to attend that they will receive an "F" on the exam for not attending. This professor was out of line and should have been disciplined. The final exam is to be given at the university---not off the university grounds in an environment deemed unsafe by certain students.

I put all of the above I was treated terribly at school.

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I would never raise my hand in class......

It seems that a lot of teachers/professors love to give smartass answers if you challenge them in any way. Public humiliation = no thanks

I don't have a learning disability. My AS has never inhibited by ability to learn, it's always been the learning environments to cause the problems. Being at school as a young child caused me great anxiety and I struggled to pay attention, causing me to miss a lot in class. However I always taught myself a lot at home through reading and watching informative TV shows (I liked Nat Geo and Animal Planet). As I said, I don't have a learning disability; I just hate chaotic environments.

When I was younger, the teachers treated me like I was REALLY stupid. Even though I was ALOT smarter than most of the students in my class.

Sounds like all university professors suck. All of my professors have been pretty legitimate in terms of being friendly. Hell the other day one of my teachers showed a video from the 1960s he watched while at uni. and watched with us and made jokes about it. It was a good time. Very smart professor, very insightful as well. I hope to take this teacher until I go to university. From the sounds of it i don't really want to but seems like i'm going to have to if I want to get a degree.