Teaching of the Flaws

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Irritation

Have you ever had to deal with a professor who you felt just did not take the time of day to listen to any problems you may have?  Well, believe it or not, teachers are human beings who make mistakes and are not perfect.  This is in no way intended to be disrespectful to certain parties or specific events, but it is the honest truth.  Anyone who has been in school has had a conflicting problem with a teacher’s methods or even with their attitude, perhaps even enough to have the parents involved.  At first, no matter the age, a student may try to ask a teacher for assistance on homework or project, specifically for more direct instructions.  Unfortunately, some teachers may view their classroom as one whole unit or may even just see their occupation as just a job with no passion or care into a single second of effort. Whether it’s from a problem in their personal lives or a radical change in mood, there is really no excuse for a teacher to merely ignore when a student is conflicted with their work.

Conflict

In my recent college years, I had an elderly professor who was on the verge of retiring the following semester.  While she was enthusiastic about the subjects she taught, it became clear to us over the weeks that she was developing Alzheimer’s disease.  She would forget when homework was due, tests being scheduled and even neglected to give back most of our papers.  Even when I set up special accommodations for a difficult exam, she called me back to class the day of the test, saying she had changed her mind at the last minute about a silly test and proceeded to give us an improvised Jeopardy game to test us!  While her forgetfulness did greatly irritate me (and other students), I knew it was not her voluntary doing.  Age catches up on everyone.  However, the remainder of the semester went by smoothly despite the fact that I never found out what grade I received on a 10+ page paper.  I got out of both of her classes with an ‘A’ and ‘B’. 

Solution

There really is no clear fix with a difficult professor.  If they are the only ones available to teach a certain required subject, then the students need to take a deep breath and take it with each day.  After all, it’s not a legally binding contract where you sell your precious soul for eternity to this professor.  It’s only a few months and barely a year at the most.  Perhaps when you look back on those miserable days on that classroom, trying not to zone out during a lecture or watching the clock waiting for the hour to finally end, you may remember that teachers are human beings with quirks, eccentricities and flaws just like any other person.  Give them a break since we never know what is happening in their lives.  Maybe the students drive them crazy more so than they are driving the students mad with inconsistency.