Studying Not doing well in a class -- Teacher is abusive. help please

[puleknow]

I worked many years as a tool and die maker, as a skilled craftsman, before college and while attending the university. When our apprentices responded as you have we would tell them to grow up. When they kept at it and started complaining that the journeyman and master craftsmen were being jackasses, as you have, they would be told the same thing accompanied by fluent and creative profanity. If they whined to the boss they would be told to get back to work and if they kept it up they might find themselves on the unemployment line.

You remind me of a young EE that I know who would tell her bosses how she needed to be trained and what they were supposed to teach her and how to direct her. She has been unable to keep employment in her field and finally gave up the field rather than recognize the problems would begin with her.

In plain words, you need to grow up and figure your own stuff out. Other people are doing it. If you cannot then you do not belong there. Attempting to read and understand the garble of your posts, I would say that if your physics skills are as bad as your communications skills then you have some serious deficiencies and hard work to do getting up to speed. If you consider this insulting then you have never faced real insults or people serious about doing you harm. If all this makes you doubt your self worth then you need to take a break and figure out what your value is and what you are about. Come back when you understand that and dealing with professors will be easy. From what I have seen in this thread you are going to have a very tough life ahead of you, speaking from a vantage on the downhill side of life..

I'm sorry what? Did you even read the post? Being insultative does not create a productive environment period.

If you can find anything at all that tells me otherwise , then by all means give the latest research paper regarding the discovery of being an ass to make good physicists.

You seem to have no idea what it is I'am saying as you dint even bother to take the time to read what it's about.

Your only further providing me with evidence that the physics community has no empathy for this sort of thing. Sad indeed.

For you maturation is confiment to an non-existent pride and ones self.

Yes , I'm sure this kind of power is exactly what you want over students?

 

[CarlM]

You just proved my point. Have a good life.

 

[puleknow]

You just proved my point. Have a good life.

What point? You din't make any. If anything you just proved my point.

 

[symbolipoint]

Last few posts are not too productive, but maybe counterproductive. Possibly you need to adapt and grow; possibly not you but the professor needs to adjust and grow; possibly both you and the professor need to adjust, adapt and grow. None of the members here really know your situation. Only they read the descriptions and posted discussions. If the professor really is so much trouble, then maybe do not attend a lab section taught by him and do not do research for/with him. If possible, do not be a student in any class or course which he teaches. Including your current class, avoid all further trouble or damage.

 

[puleknow]

Last few posts are not too productive, but maybe counterproductive. Possibly you need to adapt and grow; possibly not you but the professor needs to adjust and grow; possibly both you and the professor need to adjust, adapt and grow. None of the members here really know your situation. Only they read the descriptions and posted discussions. If the professor really is so much trouble, then maybe do not attend a lab section taught by him and do not do research for/with him. If possible, do not be a student in any class or course which he teaches. Including your current class, avoid all further trouble or damage.

He rarely teaches because of this. I personally don't have any quarrels with him it's just that he's a very bad at teaching. Most of my class agees with these . The teacher is considered one of the worst in the physics department. Our department is small so it's not like I have a choice for physics teachers.

 

[John Morrell]

I feel your frustration and it really seems like you do want to do physics for a great reason; you want to understand stuff and you want to learn and you're willing to work hard. But there are some hard truths you need to face.

You can't change the professor. You might go the department and complain, but really they can't change him either and they're definitely not going to fire him in the middle of a semester. He'll change when he decides to, and you can't really do anything about it.

Sometimes, hard work is just not enough. Sometimes, it takes some real gifts along with hard work to make things happen. Not everyone can be Einstein, not everyone can be Feynman. They didn't just work hard, they had gifts and they were in a unique situation that really let them expand on them.

Life's not fair, and unfortunately it's not going to get fair anytime soon. You might be doing nothing wrong and still get punished for it. That just happens, and frankly it's not just a college thing. That sort of stuff will happen to you for the rest of your life.

But sometimes, you'll get lucky when you don't deserve it. You'll get help or you'll understand things that you didn't work for. In fact, i guarantee that that has already happened for you. I mean, you're a student in a university studying physics at a very high level. You've learned more than most people ever will, and if you'd been born in Uganda you might never have been able to learn even that much.

My advice to you is this.
1. Remember what's going well and what you do understand, even (or especially) when you're being discouraged or stressed or have anxiety.
2. Stop trying to "fix" the professor because unfortunately it's not going to happen.
3. Stop thinking of yourself or referring to yourself as stupid; based on your education it's absolutely not true and the pity won't help you.
4. Don't value yourself based on your ability to immediately understand the stuff. That might help with ignoring the professor's comments.
5. Do what you need to to pass, and don't stress about what you can't do.

 

[Mark44]

Thread closed. The OP has complained about his professor being "insultative" but has repeatedly insulted other members of this forum, and is now banned.