I’m sure that almost every student has had a rude professor at some point in his or her college career. It can be heard in almost any conversation on campus, “My teacher is so mean, they got mad at me for asking a question.”
When looking for classes, students tend to enroll in any class they can find that fits General Education (GE) requirements. A majority of the time students will take a class regardless of who is teaching it, just as long as it’s convenient. Then they ask their friends “Have you heard about this professor, or this one, or that one.” That’s when your friend will look deep into your eyes and say, “Your professor is mean, get out now!”
Regardless of your friend’s advice, usually you’re stuck in the class, so you show up the first day and the scenario goes something like this:
You enter a classroom with no windows, minimal ceiling lighting and everyone is motionless. Your teacher walks in, starts to go over the syllabus and they make a comment like “I have to change things to my syllabus every year because students are too stupid to follow rules.” From that point the rude name calling keeps pouring out of their mouth for the duration of the class.
“I felt like I didn’t belong, because I wasn’t interested in the topic and they (her professor) knew, and looked past me,” Brittany Balanesi (senior, Kinesiology) said.
When students feel that an environment is too hostile, they often leave and take another class that fits their requirement, or wait until the next semester to try the same class but with another teacher.
However, there are many students who don’t have that option. There are student, like myself, who are athletes or work full time, and don’t have the luxury to fall behind from dropping a class.
Here are some steps that students can take to ensure his/her voice is heard, and that classroom experiences and student to teacher relationships are the best they can be.
First, the student can go on ratemyprofessor.com to see what other students have said about previous experiences with a professor.
Second, go to professors’ office hours to talk with them about how their words are making you feel and affecting your learning environment. Keep a notebook of the inappropriate things a teacher says during class, so you can be as specific as possible while confronting them.
No student should have to dread going to class because their teacher is rude or is not very approachable. Don’t be afraid to speak up about a rude professor. Your classroom should be a safe and fun learning environment, this is your college and you can help make a difference.