How to Deal with a Demanding Professor

Take a deep breath., Don't drop the class immediately., Decide if it's toughness or bad teaching., Understand professors challenge you to do better.

4 Steps 2 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Take a deep breath.

    Plenty of professors like to act tough up front to weed out anyone who doesn't belong in the class.

    Keep in mind that it's often just a tactic.

    Of course, the class may still be plenty difficult, but you may find that your professor drops some of the toughness act later on., When you clash heads with a professor early on (or just find that you don't like the professor very much), it's best to try to stick it out for at least a week or two.

    If the professor teaches classes in your department, you may not be able to avoid them throughout your college career, so it's best to try to get along with them now if possible.

    Also, if you try to take the class again another semester, you may find that a different professor is even worse., It's important to make this distinction.

    You can learn a great deal from a tough teacher, while a bad teacher may just be a waste of time.

    Bad teachers may not explain the material well, may assign busywork, or may just be rude.

    Any of the above may be a good reason to drop the class.

    With a tough teacher, you'll find the class difficult, but you'll also likely find that over time, you're learning a lot from them., That is, you may think your professor is being especially demanding of you because they don't like you.

    However, it may be that the opposite is true.

    They may enjoy challenging you because they see your potential and because they like seeing you grow.

    While this realization won't change how they treat you, it can change how you feel about it.
  2. Step 2: Don't drop the class immediately.

  3. Step 3: Decide if it's toughness or bad teaching.

  4. Step 4: Understand professors challenge you to do better.

Detailed Guide

Plenty of professors like to act tough up front to weed out anyone who doesn't belong in the class.

Keep in mind that it's often just a tactic.

Of course, the class may still be plenty difficult, but you may find that your professor drops some of the toughness act later on., When you clash heads with a professor early on (or just find that you don't like the professor very much), it's best to try to stick it out for at least a week or two.

If the professor teaches classes in your department, you may not be able to avoid them throughout your college career, so it's best to try to get along with them now if possible.

Also, if you try to take the class again another semester, you may find that a different professor is even worse., It's important to make this distinction.

You can learn a great deal from a tough teacher, while a bad teacher may just be a waste of time.

Bad teachers may not explain the material well, may assign busywork, or may just be rude.

Any of the above may be a good reason to drop the class.

With a tough teacher, you'll find the class difficult, but you'll also likely find that over time, you're learning a lot from them., That is, you may think your professor is being especially demanding of you because they don't like you.

However, it may be that the opposite is true.

They may enjoy challenging you because they see your potential and because they like seeing you grow.

While this realization won't change how they treat you, it can change how you feel about it.

About the Author

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Aaron West

Brings years of experience writing about DIY projects and related subjects.

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