Students of the forums, what was the worst excuse of a teacher you have ever seen?

[Nuke]

8 hours ago, Lewie said:

How’d you get through life without one?

Do you live in a big city with like subways and busses?

i live on a small island in southeast alaska, population < 3k, but everything is in walking distance. i have lived in big cities before, but i dont really like it.

 

 

 

[ShakeNBake]

This was many years ago and I hope things are better now, but I once had a teacher tell me effectively that I deserve to die because of my disability. That’s pretty much the only thing I remember from middle school.

[Lewie]

14 hours ago, Nuke said:

i live on a small island in southeast alaska, population < 3k, but everything is in walking distance. i have lived in big cities before, but i dont really like it.

 

 

 

Wow, that’s pretty cool!

[adsii1970]

I comment here, not as a moderator in any official capacity. The view expressed on this thread is entirely my own.

Now, with the disclaimer in plain view, hopefully no one here will mistake my opinion as being an official forum moderator opinion.

I've taught seventh and eighth grade for two years in Louisiana. Since 2004, I moved from the junior high classroom to the college classroom. I've nearly 20 years invested in my chosen occupation as a history teacher of some degree or another. I currently teach at both a community college and a regional university as an online instructor and traditional, lecture-based courses. I've seen students come and I see students go. And I will be the first to say that this thread only looks at half of the question. The other half most people never bother to think about is why does this teacher suck?

This question needs to be asked. Sure, I have had students write some pretty bad things on their evaluations of me as a college professor. Things like, he's too uptight or he takes his subject way too seriously. My personal favorites are he's a difficult instructor and assigns too much work or he doesn't think I have anything else better to do than his coursework. Oh, there's also the students who hate me but because of the forum rules and not wanting to get political or offensive, I will just stop there.

For a majority of the time, when a student writes a negative review of my or my course, I can tell you why. THEY had issues with the course long before the course ever began. I cannot tell you the number of students I've had in my lifetime utter the words, "I hate history and this class is gonna suck!" And yes, for them, it sucks so bad it become the toughest class they ever had in college. Your perception of the course, the instructor, or combination of both affect the quality of work you submit and how you treat your teacher/instructor. It's a simple correlation which most people do not get. So, in the question of "why does this teacher suck?", the obvious answer should be because I approached this teacher with a sucky attitude. But it's so much easier to disavow any faults of our own and assign them to the teacher.

Teachers are people, too. I've had students who acted like they cared about the course, came to my office hours, and tried to be a "friend." Sure, there are some former students of mine that have become good friends since they are no longer taking any of my classes. But then there are those who seek to use friendship to their own ends. And after a while, you get to know the suck-ups because they all follow a certain script in how they handle the course. After a while, a teacher becomes cold to any student even hinting at friendship. Why? we've been down that road too many times and have been hurt or betrayed too many times. What do I mean by hurt and betrayed? Behind your teacher's back, discussing how clueless they are or that the reasoning for your "friendship" is to jockey for a better grade and not because you see the value of the teacher as a person. So, the question of "why does this teacher suck?" has a second answer. They've grown callus to those around them, especially their students.

And being a teacher is like any other job. There are semesters where I cannot wait for the class to end. They are rough semesters filled with challenges, just like any other job has its challenges. I have a good friend that lives about four hours away from me who is a computer programmer. There's been projects he's shared with me where he will say, "I'll be glad when I don't have to deal with Company X anymore. This contract really sucks!" As for me, at the college/university level, when you have 48 students registered for a class yet only 29 show up, it's one of those classes I cannot wait to have end. Why? One of the criteria I am evaluated on is the completion ratio. And when students do not show up, they fail the class and do not count towards the completion ratio. So, sure, I have a 35% failure rate in any given course I teach. But I cannot force a student to come to class or to complete the assignments. Yet too many people will say "you suck as a teacher or college professor" based on the numbers and not on student activity in the course. So the question of "why does this teacher suck?" has a third answer. Students do not care about the course or in their own future to participate in the course.

I take every failure of students personally. for a three semester hour course (which means it meets for three hours a week), I put in about 18 hours a week in preparation, grading, and the administrative functions of the course. It's what makes higher education work. The summer semester is my lightest semester of the year and if I were to track hours I work, I'm teaching two classes at the community college and one class at the university - for a combined total of 9 hours. So I'm putting in about 60 hours a week (two are the same course, so the prep work is reduced) to serve the educational needs of the students and to assure the course meets the standards of TWO different higher education systems. And the pay I get for doing the work would be around $15 per hour for the summer semester. During the Fall and Spring, I teach more classes, slightly more pay, but that number drops down to about $8.22 per hour. I'm not in higher education for the money.

And finally, yes, I have read many of your comments on this thread. And let me tell you about something I've noticed. Many of the teachers you describe have "burnout." They are mentally exhausted and it has had a toll on who they are. Let me explain:

On 6/7/2020 at 1:54 PM, Earthbound Spartan said:

A friend of mine was late for a PE class. He said his clock was 30 minutes late. The teacher ground him there for 30 minutes more after the class dismiss.

So, your buddy was 30 minutes late for class. And the teacher made him stay 30 minutes later. Your friend caused this, not the teacher. Your friend needs to learn time management and to make sure he's on time for every class. His teacher was taking punitive action the only way they can. Attendance for a certain number of educational hours is mandatory by law. And this is one way to compensate for it. The other way is to simply fail the student for not having the number of educational hours necessary to receive a passing grade. The teacher's actions demonstrate burnout and anger because they've heard all the lame excuses for students not being on time. And they know that they will be blamed by the student...

On 6/6/2020 at 11:06 AM, Kerbart said:

I had a professor in Discrete Mechanics whose lectures were an absolute disaster. Questions to explain something because we didn’t understand were dismissed with “that’s because you’re stupid.”

After each lecture he was mobbed with students asking for extra work, or books we could study, mostly just waved away.

Burnout at the university level. He was probably an older professor, too. He's experienced students asking for help but then ignoring his advice. So he's decided to build a wall around his expectations and emotions and adopt an attitude of "they are all morons, the lot of them!" When a student approaches me right after class and tells me they are having problems, I know they are meeting out of convenience. They don't want a long answer or suggestion. They want a thirty-second soundbite on how they can pass the course. And that's what they get. But when a student comes to my office during my office hours, I will move Heaven and Hell to make sure they get the help they need. They've gone out of their way to come to me for help and I will always respect that.

On 6/4/2020 at 10:53 PM, Nuke said:

my whole college experience felt like kindergarden. instructors would read to us and most of the tests were multiple choice. i did have to write a few papers, but they werent that many and they werent that good either. most of the time i found that so long as i actually read the textbooks i could ace the tests. this inevitably led to my distrust of educational institutions, its all one big scam. they didnt do anything for me that i couldnt have done on my own. ended up with a huge pile of debt and a degree that wasnt worth the paper it was printed on.

This is because we've had to dumb-down higher education courses because most students entering an American college/university are functionally illiterate past the seventh grade. A year ago, I even had a special needs student who was functionally illiterate past the fifth grade level AND had a high school diploma. And they want her to take an Introduction to Foreign Policy course - and PASS?! There are times treaties cause me to scramble for a Latin or English dictionary... and I have a Ph.D.!

Because of federal student financial aid being all about the statistics, we have been told that not more than 25% of our class should fail at any one time. To do so runs the risk of losing federal money. And this makes it hard for us. I teach four core classes - World Civ I and II, U.S. to 1865 and U.S. since 1865. And I have backed way off what I once did as course standards - and I still have between a 30% to 39% fail ratio. Nothing I can do about students not showing up for class OR doing the coursework. And each semester I am told by the retention specialist at the regional university to "find a way" to pass more students. I suspect your professors have to deal with the same garbage.

Well, this turned out to be a Great Wall of Text. Guess I will stop my rant now...

[Earthbound Spartan]

2 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

So, your buddy was 30 minutes late for class. And the teacher made him stay 30 minutes later. Your friend caused this, not the teacher. Your friend needs to learn time management and to make sure he's on time for every class. His teacher was taking punitive action the only way they can. Attendance for a certain number of educational hours is mandatory by law. And this is one way to compensate for it. The other way is to simply fail the student for not having the number of educational hours necessary to receive a passing grade. The teacher's actions demonstrate burnout and anger because they've heard all the lame excuses for students not being on time. And they know that they will be blamed by the student...

Well, this is Cuba. We may have a lot of bad things, but educational system isn't one of them. This measure is supported by the system. I found it extremely fair...

PD: We are in a Medical University. Not in a primary school. If so, it would be almost fascist.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Earthbound Spartan

[Nuke]

7 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

This is because we've had to dumb-down higher education courses because most students entering an American college/university are functionally illiterate past the seventh grade. A year ago, I even had a special needs student who was functionally illiterate past the fifth grade level AND had a high school diploma. And they want her to take an Introduction to Foreign Policy course - and PASS?! There are times treaties cause me to scramble for a Latin or English dictionary... and I have a Ph.D.!

Because of federal student financial aid being all about the statistics, we have been told that not more than 25% of our class should fail at any one time. To do so runs the risk of losing federal money. And this makes it hard for us. I teach four core classes - World Civ I and II, U.S. to 1865 and U.S. since 1865. And I have backed way off what I once did as course standards - and I still have between a 30% to 39% fail ratio. Nothing I can do about students not showing up for class OR doing the coursework. And each semester I am told by the retention specialist at the regional university to "find a way" to pass more students. I suspect your professors have to deal with the same garbage.

Well, this turned out to be a Great Wall of Text. Guess I will stop my rant now...

most of my instructors were good though. for example i went into psyche 101 with no interest what so ever, but the instructor made the subject very interesting. but i do agree many of the students were brain dead. i had to help many other students who were falling behind, which took time out of my studies, and i also had a job building computers as part of a paid internship and between 8 hours of that and the 3+ hours a day of commuting i was tired before i even got to class. i was living on 6 hours of sleep and doing my studying on the bus. pol-sci was something else entirely, combine student disinterest with nebulous subject matter and boring teacher, its not a forgone conclusion where that's going. that was in 2002, i can only imagine it being a hundred times worse now because reasons that would break forum rules discussing. 

still i think my worst teachers were in elementary school. some of them no doubt caused me some severe developmental issues and it didn't help much that mom couldn't settle down anywhere. i had like five different 4th grade teachers. and what my second grade teacher did was inexcusable, and would have got her fired these days. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Nuke

[linuxgurugamer]

For me, a 4th grade teacher who was truly horrible, encouraged kids to pick on classmates but not her.  Same level was a calculus teacher in college who actually fell asleep at the blackboard.  Really old , shouldn't have been teaching 

[Dman979]

1 hour ago, linuxgurugamer said:

Really old , shouldn't have been teaching

@adsii1970

[linuxgurugamer]

14 hours ago, Dman979 said:

@adsii1970

?????

[Keithv708]

In the 7th grade I had a teacher that would mark off points for doodling in the margins and I was in a special ed class to.

[Spacescifi]

On 6/17/2020 at 6:01 AM, adsii1970 said:

I comment here, not as a moderator in any official capacity. The view expressed on this thread is entirely my own.

Now, with the disclaimer in plain view, hopefully no one here will mistake my opinion as being an official forum moderator opinion.

I've taught seventh and eighth grade for two years in Louisiana. Since 2004, I moved from the junior high classroom to the college classroom. I've nearly 20 years invested in my chosen occupation as a history teacher of some degree or another. I currently teach at both a community college and a regional university as an online instructor and traditional, lecture-based courses. I've seen students come and I see students go. And I will be the first to say that this thread only looks at half of the question. The other half most people never bother to think about is why does this teacher suck?

This question needs to be asked. Sure, I have had students write some pretty bad things on their evaluations of me as a college professor. Things like, he's too uptight or he takes his subject way too seriously. My personal favorites are he's a difficult instructor and assigns too much work or he doesn't think I have anything else better to do than his coursework. Oh, there's also the students who hate me but because of the forum rules and not wanting to get political or offensive, I will just stop there.

For a majority of the time, when a student writes a negative review of my or my course, I can tell you why. THEY had issues with the course long before the course ever began. I cannot tell you the number of students I've had in my lifetime utter the words, "I hate history and this class is gonna suck!" And yes, for them, it sucks so bad it become the toughest class they ever had in college. Your perception of the course, the instructor, or combination of both affect the quality of work you submit and how you treat your teacher/instructor. It's a simple correlation which most people do not get. So, in the question of "why does this teacher suck?", the obvious answer should be because I approached this teacher with a sucky attitude. But it's so much easier to disavow any faults of our own and assign them to the teacher.

Teachers are people, too. I've had students who acted like they cared about the course, came to my office hours, and tried to be a "friend." Sure, there are some former students of mine that have become good friends since they are no longer taking any of my classes. But then there are those who seek to use friendship to their own ends. And after a while, you get to know the suck-ups because they all follow a certain script in how they handle the course. After a while, a teacher becomes cold to any student even hinting at friendship. Why? we've been down that road too many times and have been hurt or betrayed too many times. What do I mean by hurt and betrayed? Behind your teacher's back, discussing how clueless they are or that the reasoning for your "friendship" is to jockey for a better grade and not because you see the value of the teacher as a person. So, the question of "why does this teacher suck?" has a second answer. They've grown callus to those around them, especially their students.

And being a teacher is like any other job. There are semesters where I cannot wait for the class to end. They are rough semesters filled with challenges, just like any other job has its challenges. I have a good friend that lives about four hours away from me who is a computer programmer. There's been projects he's shared with me where he will say, "I'll be glad when I don't have to deal with Company X anymore. This contract really sucks!" As for me, at the college/university level, when you have 48 students registered for a class yet only 29 show up, it's one of those classes I cannot wait to have end. Why? One of the criteria I am evaluated on is the completion ratio. And when students do not show up, they fail the class and do not count towards the completion ratio. So, sure, I have a 35% failure rate in any given course I teach. But I cannot force a student to come to class or to complete the assignments. Yet too many people will say "you suck as a teacher or college professor" based on the numbers and not on student activity in the course. So the question of "why does this teacher suck?" has a third answer. Students do not care about the course or in their own future to participate in the course.

I take every failure of students personally. for a three semester hour course (which means it meets for three hours a week), I put in about 18 hours a week in preparation, grading, and the administrative functions of the course. It's what makes higher education work. The summer semester is my lightest semester of the year and if I were to track hours I work, I'm teaching two classes at the community college and one class at the university - for a combined total of 9 hours. So I'm putting in about 60 hours a week (two are the same course, so the prep work is reduced) to serve the educational needs of the students and to assure the course meets the standards of TWO different higher education systems. And the pay I get for doing the work would be around $15 per hour for the summer semester. During the Fall and Spring, I teach more classes, slightly more pay, but that number drops down to about $8.22 per hour. I'm not in higher education for the money.

And finally, yes, I have read many of your comments on this thread. And let me tell you about something I've noticed. Many of the teachers you describe have "burnout." They are mentally exhausted and it has had a toll on who they are. Let me explain:

So, your buddy was 30 minutes late for class. And the teacher made him stay 30 minutes later. Your friend caused this, not the teacher. Your friend needs to learn time management and to make sure he's on time for every class. His teacher was taking punitive action the only way they can. Attendance for a certain number of educational hours is mandatory by law. And this is one way to compensate for it. The other way is to simply fail the student for not having the number of educational hours necessary to receive a passing grade. The teacher's actions demonstrate burnout and anger because they've heard all the lame excuses for students not being on time. And they know that they will be blamed by the student...

Burnout at the university level. He was probably an older professor, too. He's experienced students asking for help but then ignoring his advice. So he's decided to build a wall around his expectations and emotions and adopt an attitude of "they are all morons, the lot of them!" When a student approaches me right after class and tells me they are having problems, I know they are meeting out of convenience. They don't want a long answer or suggestion. They want a thirty-second soundbite on how they can pass the course. And that's what they get. But when a student comes to my office during my office hours, I will move Heaven and Hell to make sure they get the help they need. They've gone out of their way to come to me for help and I will always respect that.

This is because we've had to dumb-down higher education courses because most students entering an American college/university are functionally illiterate past the seventh grade. A year ago, I even had a special needs student who was functionally illiterate past the fifth grade level AND had a high school diploma. And they want her to take an Introduction to Foreign Policy course - and PASS?! There are times treaties cause me to scramble for a Latin or English dictionary... and I have a Ph.D.!

Because of federal student financial aid being all about the statistics, we have been told that not more than 25% of our class should fail at any one time. To do so runs the risk of losing federal money. And this makes it hard for us. I teach four core classes - World Civ I and II, U.S. to 1865 and U.S. since 1865. And I have backed way off what I once did as course standards - and I still have between a 30% to 39% fail ratio. Nothing I can do about students not showing up for class OR doing the coursework. And each semester I am told by the retention specialist at the regional university to "find a way" to pass more students. I suspect your professors have to deal with the same garbage.

Well, this turned out to be a Great Wall of Text. Guess I will stop my rant now...

 

I never worked as a teacher but have worked with students both in elementary,  middle school, amd high school.

My experience was:

Elementary: Students level of respect is generally higher, and disruption is lower. Attempts at gaming the system are easily detected as students are'nt very good at it... yet.

Middle School: This is where students know just enough to be a problem. With the advent of the internet it makes it ten times worse. Students literally ask the teacher about NSWF things they have seen which staff are not even trained. To respond to. I just shut it down and they generally hated me for it.

High School; More relaxed than middle school, but I get the feeling that many of the students can't wait to leave, and I don't blame them.  Unless one has picked interesting courses thatactually challenge them high school can be a near rehash of middle school.

 

[Guest]

Back in 9th grade biology. I had one of the best teachers ever. Unfortunately, she would get side tracked all the time. Here is one of my conversations:

"Alright today we will be talking about..."

*sees someone on thier phone*

"Hey! Did you hear about the new phone rule!"

---Spends 25 minutes talking to the class about if we should have no phones or not---

"Okay now to get biology any more questions"

*Student asks about where the rule comes from*

--spends 15 more minutes talking more about technology in school--

 

[s_gamer101]

My first grade teacher told my parents something like "He won't be able to calculate. But that's alright, there are also other people who cannot calculate." (Today I go to what we call "Gymnasium" in german and is equivalent to a high school and my math grades are pretty good.)

I once had a teacher who replied to a question from another student with "Yeah that's a good question" and walked away.
Edit: She also told me once that it's my duty to help other students when I already understood the subject.

Am I the only one with an english teacher that likes reading journals so much that we are always writing reading journals?

Edited August 29, 2020 by s_gamer101

[s_gamer101]

The head teacher of my old school denied that there was bullying at his oh-so-perfect school.

[kerbiloid]

10 hours ago, s_gamer101 said:

something like "He won't be able to calculate. But that's alright, there are also other people who cannot calculate." (Today I go to what we call "Gymnasium" in german and is equivalent to a high school and my math grades are pretty good.)

The draft office. The recruitment commission is interviewing a recruit.
"Can you read? Can you count to one hundred?"
"I have graduated from the (...) School with golden medal, I have the diploma of (...) University, and I'm a PhD in quantum mechanics. How do you think, can I?"
The commission writes: "The recruit can read and count to one hundred.".

Edited August 30, 2020 by kerbiloid