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Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:16 pm
by Red
This is more for me to vent, but feel free to share your experiences with good/bad teachers, and general discussion about them. Also advice for dealing with these types would help.

For much of my high school life, about 90% of my teachers are (honestly, some of the best people I've met), at the very least pretty good, most of the rest are about a little above average, one very bad, one absolute shit.

I'll tell you about the absolute shit one, as that one's more interesting; My Earth Science teacher.

This guy didn't teach. I don't mean that in the 'He tried and utterly failed at teaching' way, NO, I mean that in the 'This guy didn't teach' way. Lemme elaborate.

Freshman year. I had to take a year of Earth Science as I already took Biology in Middle School, so I was like 'Alright whatever.' I was interested in various sciences since I was a kid, and Earth Science was my favorite after Astronomy, so a part of me was looking forward to it. First day (which was more of an orientation day) I walked into the classroom; The place was filled with Earth science-related things; Rocks, sediments, topographic maps, diagrams, posters, etc. I was like 'Damn, this shit goin' be good!" I also noticed several pictures of the teacher, smiling with his previous classes and his family, and I thought "Wow this guy's outgoing too! This class is gonna kick ass!" (For the teacher, just imagine a lighter-skinned, bald, more round-headed version of Richard Pryor, with glasses). Anyway, since it was just orientation day (not even like a syllabus day), the teacher came in, we'll call him Mr. Green (if you knew his actual name you'd know why :mrgreen: wait does that give away too much who cares) and he seemed to be a laid-back guy: Made jokes, talked informally, and you can just tell he loved Earth Science. I was like "Alright, cool!"

The details are very foggy, but I still remember the essentials of the first few days of class. We walk in, sit at our desks (which were at an incline, which was awesome), Mr. Green would open up the notes, (which is basically just lifted from the textbook, mainly the definitions and key points) talk for about five minutes about it, then eventually he would ramble into some asinine story about his girlfriend, his daughter, or his friends, or he talks about how he knows a lot of people who have good money, and he usually told about two per class (and no doubt he embellishes the details; the stories weren't outlandish, but given how many stories he tells us, I think he was full of shit half of the time), each took up about 12 minutes or so. I remember thinking 'Okay that's cool, but we have to get started here dude. We have regents at the end of the year.' I thought that he was just still easing into school, so I didn't think much of it.

Along came October. Same thing day in, day out. I was getting a bit worried, so I went up to him and asked him and he said 'Don't worry, we're getting to the stuff!" We were still on Chapter One, and I think there were about 25 or so chapters? A sense of unease was coming onto me. He gave like one homework every few weeks, and it was usually just a scourge through the textbook for a grade out of 20. The tests were asinine, and I did crappy for the first marking period (the second marking period I started studying on my own, and quickly started passing with 90s), as you'll see.

November came, same thing. Then December. Around Christmas Break, I was like 'OK shit has to change. We're only on Chapter 5. Something has to happen now.' I think he had the same epiphany, since when we got back, he started to attempt to teach. He told us not to take notes, since his notes were good enough, and all of us were stupid enough to believe him (though I know most were temped to take notes). He just kind of stated something from the notes with a tiny bit of elaboration, then just moved on, without allowing questions or time to absorb what the fuck is going on. Again, I just skimmed the textbook (not his useless notes) every night, and that's what kept me afloat in that class. Then we did about 4 chapters by February, so I think he calmed down since he thought he was up to date, which he believed gave him permission to tell us more stories and other crap I did not give a shit about.

Of course, May came, one month until the regents. 10 Chapters left. like 2 tests every week. Barely went over anything. Just kinda stated things then moved on, trying to get things done as fast as possible.

Regents came, I did pretty well on them, no thanks to Mr. Green. I loved basically every other class that year, but I grew to despise that class. That class for me was about a B overall, which kept my GPA from going much higher than a 91. I was just thankful that hell was over.

I have more to add since I have him again now, along with not including some other juicy details, but that's another story for another time. I think I'll add my closing thoughts.

If you've ever had a job, Mr. Green is that guy who just doesn't do his job. If I were a teacher at this school (a possibility I do humor), if I worked hard as hell everyday planning and researching lessons, trying to teach many concepts to tons of different types of kids, grading homework, tests, projects, and overall trying my hardest, just to have this asshole slack off like he always does? I'd be pissed and probably complain to the overheads. He obviously thinks highly of himself (he even said he's a good teacher :lol:), and is probably narcissistic. I don't think he ever came prepared, and overall, while definitely loves earth science, is not fit for teaching.

Another amusing anecdote: Once, he had to step out of the class real quick, so one of the Biology teachers had to watch over us for about 15 minutes. He went into a pretty interesting lesson about how if water is perfectly clear, it's dangerous to drink because it's dead. When the class was dismissed, we all said how we learned more in that 15 minutes with the biology teacher than we have in an entire year with Mr. Green.

What really pisses me off is that my Physics teacher I had last year now also teaches Earth Science, and he would have been AWESOME to have (physics was fun with him). C'est la vie.

So that's what I'm dealing with here any thoughts?

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:43 pm
by GoldenWatch1809
Interesting post, Red. It sucks you had to have a crappy teacher for the class, Earth Science is a very interesting field in science. I think you've said you want to study the sciences at University, right? There, you'll almost definitely have more qualified and useful teachers. :)

Coming from Wyoming, there isn't much of an appreciation for education (I think there are like less than five 4 year universities in the state :shock: ), so I have had my share of crappy teachers.

I wasn't as lucky as you to mostly get teachers that I would view as pretty good, most of them were eh, some of them I liked, but the absolute worst one I had was my Senior Anatomy teacher. I would've had him for Biology Freshman year, but I also took Biology a year earlier.

I don't want to get too much into the details (traumatized :lol:) as you did, but you can basically sum up my issues with two words: Evolution denier. Yes, even in a Public School. Also creationist. Not sure how the hell he got the job there, since most of the other teachers were not as hyper-religious as him, but whatever.

I'm not sure what the Biology class was like for those who had him, I've heard he was a bit of a Jesus freak before I went in for the class. Needless to say, the whole year he was just going through bullshit about how God created humans unique from other animals, how the human anatomy is fundamentally different from the anatomy of every other animal (including apes), and I swear I remember him saying something about humans not being apes since they don't have tails. :shock: I hope most of the kids in that class were skeptical of him. I tried complaining to the school board, but I'm not sure if they gave a shit.

I also think he may have been a pedophile... I remember I dropped my book, and after I bent over to pick it up, I noticed he was... staring at me. :? I think it was in the region I was least comfortable with... I like to think it was just happenstance.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm away from that creep. I wouldn't want to file my first sexual harassment case in high school.

But Red, I want to get to this part:
If I were a teacher at this school (a possibility I do humor),
You honestly want to become a teacher Red? I'm not sure how much you'd like it though, but there are some benefits I think. It may not have the best pay, but you seem like someone who would enjoy it (based on your posts here). What would you teach? Maybe you should become an Earth Science teacher so you can be considered 'The Good Earth Science teacher' at the school. :lol:

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 am
by Jebus
I was lucky having excellent professors during university. It was not until my very last class in graduate school that I had a bad one. My professors always appreciated difficult questions and were honest if they did not know the answer. My finance teacher, however, got frustrated and angry when I challenged him or asked tough questions. He also had no idea how to make an exam that fairly and accurately judges a student's knowledge in the field. I was one class away from a perfect 4.0 GPA and this dick ruined that goal. This was the only time I filed an official complaint with the academic dean.
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:43 pmI've heard he was a bit of a Jesus freak before I went in for the class.


As an undergrad I went to a Christian university. Every class started with a prayer and pretty much all the profs were Jesus freaks. Surprisingly, they were all still very good.
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 12:43 pmI also think he may have been a pedophile... I remember I dropped my book, and after I bent over to pick it up, I noticed he was... staring at me. :?


What??? A Christian being a pedophile!!! I've never heard that before.

Did he make his students play Leapfrog?

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:06 pm
by GoldenWatch1809
Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 am I was lucky having excellent professors during university. It was not until my very last class in graduate school that I had a bad one. My professors always appreciated difficult questions and were honest if they did not know the answer. My finance teacher, however, got frustrated and angry when I challenged him or asked tough questions. He also had no idea how to make an exam that fairly and accurately judges a student's knowledge in the field. I was one class away from a perfect 4.0 GPA and this dick ruined that goal. This was the only time I filed an official complaint with the academic dean.
Yeesh, sorry about that. I'm not sure how you can make tests in a financing class difficult, it seems as though this guy really tried. :? \
If you don't mind me asking, what did you study in college?
Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 am As an undergrad I went to a Christian university. Every class started with a prayer and pretty much all the profs were Jesus freaks. Surprisingly, they were all still very good.
Haha, even the science ones? Did you learn about evolution and other sciences?

Did you go to Bob Jones University? :lol: (JK JK)
Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 am What??? A Christian being a pedophile!!! I've never heard that before.
:lol: Well he wasn't a pedo for boys, I'll tell you that much!
Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 amDid he make his students play Leapfrog?
:lol: He probably had some fantasies about it.

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:28 am
by Jebus
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:06 pmDid you learn about evolution and other sciences?
Not a word about creationism outside of chapel. I was amazed how the professor spent the first minute of the class talking about the lord and then turned into a genius shortly after. In my country, the religious people are not the smartest ones. This is what's remarkable about the U.S.
Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 amIf you don't mind me asking, what did you study in college?
Industrial&Organizational Psychology

Jebus wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 1:21 amDid he make his students play Leapfrog?
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:06 pmHe probably had some fantasies about it.
For Arnold Friedman leapfrog was more than just a fantasy.

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:02 pm
by GoldenWatch1809
Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:28 am Not a word about creationism outside of chapel. I was amazed how the professor spent the first minute of the class talking about the lord and then turned into a genius shortly after. In my country, the religious people are not the smartest ones. This is what's remarkable about the U.S.
Well, not all of the US is so progressive and scientifically literate (a pretty sizable majority don't accept evolution), and a significant part of the population denies climate change and use alternative medicine. Sure, in some states like New York or California, they are generally more scientifically literate, whereas states like Mississippi and (my home state) Wyoming care little for science and academics.

I recall reading somewhere here that you're from Mauritius? What are the general attitudes surrounding religion and science like there?
Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:28 am Industrial&Organizational Psychology
Oh, seems pretty interesting!
I know I'm probably annoying you with these questions, but what level do you have it at? Associates? Bachelors?

Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:28 am For Arnold Friedman leapfrog was more than just a fantasy.
I will pretend I did not read that.

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:10 pm
by Jebus
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:02 pm Well, not all of the US is so progressive and scientifically literate (a pretty sizable majority don't accept evolution), and a significant part of the population denies climate change and use alternative medicine. Sure, in some states like New York or California, they are generally more scientifically literate, whereas states like Mississippi and (my home state) Wyoming care little for science and academics.
My point was that in the U.S. there are a lot of really smart people, such as professors and scientists, who are religious. I have not seen that phenomenon elsewhere.
GoldenWatch1809 wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:02 pmI recall reading somewhere here that you're from Mauritius? What are the general attitudes surrounding religion and science like there?
99.9% of people here are religious. They are also very superstitious with little thought or care given to actual science. The country prides itself as one of the few where multiple religions live peacefully side by side. Any criticism of religion is punishable by prison time.
Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:28 amwhat level do you have it at? Associates? Bachelors?
Masters

Re: Worst Teachers/Professors You've Had?

Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:15 pm
by GoldenWatch1809
Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:10 pm
My point was that in the U.S. there are a lot of really smart people, such as professors and scientists, who are religious. I have not seen that phenomenon elsewhere.
Well, it depends on the school and the subject. A lot of my professors are atheist, especially in the math and science departments.

Have you been to countries like England? Politicians are openly atheist there.
Jebus wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:10 pm 99.9% of people here are religious. They are also very superstitious with little thought or care given to actual science. The country prides itself as one of the few where multiple religions live peacefully side by side. Any criticism of religion is punishable by prison time.
:shock: Haven't you been critical of religion here though?