Shitty College Professors Options

[Voodoo-Lady]

Before I send a letter I've written regarding the shittiest instructor I've ever met in my life to the department dean, exactly how futile is it? The professor is tenured, which makes him untouchable, right? 15 other students have formally complained already, this semester alone, more than that have just dropped the course and walked away. His rating on Rate-Your-Professor testifies to his shitty reputation dating back as far as 2002, the same complaints over and over. Wish I'd known to consult this in advance. It's not only about protecting my 4.0 - I'd accept the opportunity to earn a B in this course just to be done with it but this sorry son of a bitch is FAILING EVERYONE. I'm not kidding. The average score on the first test was 62, the average on the second test was 49 ! He refuses to accept that his whole class failing (I'm not nearly the only honor student) is a direct reflection of his piss poor teaching skills. He responds that the deficit is in the students' "learning", which I would be inclined to agree since we're not 'learning' a goddamn thing, as evidenced - but what he means, he's quick to add, is that we're failing in our "responsibility" to learn. Again, this isn't a classroom full of flunkies or babes in the woods. Everyone I've spoken with has encountered tough professors, I know I have. This is beyond being tough. This is not challenging, its impossible. I dropped the class today, clearly there is no chance for me to succeed with this asshole.

I wouldn't wish this on anyone but if you've had a bad experience, do tell. Maybe I'll laugh about this someday, right now I could pinch his fucken head off !

[Existentialist]

I guess it depends on how you learn. I don't think I've ever been taught anything from a professor that I hadn't already read in a book. However, I learned some valuable lessons from the ones who made their classes so hard that it forced you to find ways to do better. In classes (all liberal arts) I took in undergrad where the average grade was a B, the lectures were full every day, people learned nothing they couldn't read on their own and that was enough to do well enough on the exams. In other classes (all hardcore science) where the average grade was a D or an F, the lectures were barely attended, people were consulting as many as 20 textbooks to handle the material and that was generally enough to pass the course.

I think the bottom line here is that you won't ever remember most of the stuff you learn in college or even in medical school in my case. What you will remember is how to learn and how to study and those are lifelong lessons. So, when you have a professor like the one you had, you have a great opportunity to do some real learning, even if your GPA takes a hit. Keep experimenting with different methods of studying and I'm sure you'll eventually find something that works, and that will be a real breakthrough in your academic career. The classes where the professors "teach" I think you'll find are surprisingly worthless as soon as you graduate.