Why are Professors Always Grumpy?

[qspeechc]

Ok, not all professors are grumpy, and those that are are not so all the time. But I mean give me a break! Today I asked my prof. for my dynamics course about a certain question in the tutorial, and he replied "Do you go over your notes aat the end of the day?" To which I said no, as I usually do that over the weekend. He then started telling me how, that if I summarise and go over my notes everyday, ones' marks will go from 30% to 80%.
He justified this remark by saying it had happened to a girl in a course he was lecturing, who got 20% in the mid-year exam to 80% in the final exam by following his advice.
Now that's all good and fine, and I certainly believe him, but was he insinuating that I am stupid with that comment? I mean, I got eighty-something in the mid-year exams.
And further, he was also helping out some other bunch of people who were stuck on the same problem, but he never made such a comment, and I had actually gotten further in the problem than them.
So what's the deal, does he think I am stupid or not? Or just grumpy?

 

[cristo]

Perhaps he'd just got sick of telling everyone the same thing. There could be a million and one reasons for his being grumpy. However, I'll give you one piece of advice: never answer such a question as you did with "no." That's like him asking "did you do your homework tonight" and you answering "no!"

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

He justified this remark by saying it had happened to a girl in a course he was lecturing, who got 20% in the mid-year exam to 80% in the final exam by following his advice. ... I got eighty-something in the mid-year exams.

Take his advise and you will get 320% in the final.

 

[Cyrus]

Go over your notes before you speak then.

 

[Moonbear]

Go over your notes before you speak then.

That's more likely the point, and what was bugging him, if he was just inundated by people all asking the same question if the approach to the solution was covered thoroughly in the class notes and nobody has bothered to read them before asking him for help.

 

[qspeechc]

Hey, I had gone over my notes, it turns out, I was just missing a scaling term in my solution, ie. an 'r' somewhere, then he goes on this long rant about cramming the night before, and ''you're going to fail, and second and third year will be impossible'' blah-blah-blah.
And tutors too, usually cranky when you ask thm something, even though they are paid to be there. Anyhoos, it's all hunky-dory.

 

[Cyrus]

Just point out mistakes he makes on the board, constantly.

I will say this. I had one professor who was like that. He was a good teacher, but pretty arrogant. Actually, very arrogant. It was a junior/senior course so he didnt say the things your teacher said, but he was very arrogant. So I made it a point to correct him in the middle of the class of 60-70 people as much as possible. Eventually, he stopped calling on me when I raised my hand because he knew what was coming. I still got an A in the class too.

 

[moose]

Just point out mistakes he makes on the board, constantly.

Haha, it's unbelievably how many tiny mistakes professors or anyone else who is explaining something makes. They usually fix them within 10 or 20 seconds, so it would be devastating if the instant they made a mistake "HAHHAHA YOU IDIOT, THATS SUPPOSED TO BE A TWO NOT A ONE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA LOOK OVER YOUR NOTES BEFORE CLASS, YOUR RATE OF ERROR MAKING WILL GO DOWN FIVE FOLD AHAHAHA MUAHA!"

 

[siddharth]

IMO, he's just trying to help you do better. Just take the advice, and ignore the rest.

 

[George Jones]

So what's the deal, does he think I am stupid or not? Or just grumpy?

I really don't know.

Is it possible he was paying you a compliment? Maybe he thought you were more capable of learning by self-study than the others.

Just trying to look at things from all angles.

 

[Cyrus]

Some teachers are simply A-holes. The teacher I had *no one* liked. Not a single person in the class. I don't even think other faculty liked him.

 

[George Jones]

Some teachers are simply A-holes.

So are some students.

Any category - teachers, students, engineers, doctors, etc. - runs the gamut (from bad to good) in terms of characteristics and qualities of people. Also, it's fairly easy (for anyone) to have a bad day, hour, or minute.

 

[Cyrus]

No, this guy was an A-hole the entire semester. You'd go to this office and ask him a question and he would respond with a question, "I don't know, you tell me?"

 

[George Jones]

No, this guy was an A-hole the entire semester.

I was thinking more in terms of gspeechc's example. Maybe his prof had a bad couple of minutes. You (or anyone) can say that it shouldn't have happened, but everyone is human, and thus gets frustrated at times.

 

[scorpa]

You'd go to this office and ask him a question and he would respond with a question, "I don't know, you tell me?"

Oh that is a pet peeve of mine! I had a prof that did that to. I would go to his office to ask him a question, thoroughly explain to him what the problem was, what I thought about it, showed all the work I had been able to do at the time, and ask a specific question about where I was getting hung up and his response..."I don't know, you tell me?!" Needless to say I didn't get much help from him.

On the plus side I am really lucky this year. All of my professors are amazing so far!

 

[Cyrus]

Makes you want to smack them in the face, eh?

 

[mathwonk]

*** you! what do you mean??!

we are never grumpy!

and if yuou don't like that you can ^^&&%%$$$$##@!

and never come to my office hours again!

 

[Moonbear]

Hey, I had gone over my notes, it turns out, I was just missing a scaling term in my solution, ie. an 'r' somewhere, then he goes on this long rant about cramming the night before, and ''you're going to fail, and second and third year will be impossible'' blah-blah-blah.
And tutors too, usually cranky when you ask thm something, even though they are paid to be there. Anyhoos, it's all hunky-dory.

Ah, but when he asked you if you went over the notes, you answered "no." That's all he had to go on. As George Jones pointed out, maybe he knows you're capable of doing better and this was his way of pushing you to achieve your maximum potential. He might expect you're pulling a B and thinks you're doing that without really working, so figures if he pushes you to review your notes more often, keep up on things and not wait until the last minute, etc., that you could be the A student in the class. It may be why he was shorter with you than the other cluster of students asking essentially the same question...he might be resigned to them being mediocre students, but wants to push you harder to be a top student.

 

[qspeechc]

Yea, I think he's not the grumpy type. He was just grumpy at that moment at me, which is unusual, because I had never seen him grumpy with anyone else before. What is it with Applied Maths professors? They're always angry at me. I've had 3 so far this year, and omg, the 2nd one really had it out for me. Shouting at me in tutorials and telling me to shut up. Yes, he really said 'shut up' to me. I don't have any problem with the professors from other departments. Are Applied Mathematicians a special breed of professors or what? Makes me think twice about majoring in Applied Maths.

 

[Chi Meson]

...I had never seen him grumpy with anyone else before.

OK.

How many professors and TAs etc get annoyed with you, specifically you? IF it is more than one, and especially if it is more than two, then you might want to look inward.

I don't have any problem with the professors from other departments.

Speculation: Are you you particularly interested in your math classes, so much that you regularly ask questions, and then pursue the answers with ongoing details? While in other classes, you sit with a more mild attitude? Unless that one professor tells a lot of kids to "shut up," then I'm thinking there's one student who isn't aware of how interrupting he can be.

In my experience, some of my most exhausting students have been the ones most interested in the subject; they can continuously drag out a simple concept and consume vast quantities of class time with inappropriate detail.

 

[HallsofIvy]

If your experience is that professors are always grumpy, perhaps the question you should be asking is "Why are professors always grumpy when I'm around"! In other words, think about what you might be doing to make them grumpy. (Or maybe it's a matter or timing- do you always show up at their offices before they've had their morning coffee? I strongly recommend against that!)

 

[Cyrus]

*** you! what do you mean??!

we are never grumpy!

and if yuou don't like that you can ^^&&%%$$$$##@!

and never come to my office hours again!

I think you would punch me in the face if I came to your office ...awesome.

 

[Moonbear]

If your experience is that professors are always grumpy, perhaps the question you should be asking is "Why are professors always grumpy when I'm around"! In other words, think about what you might be doing to make them grumpy. (Or maybe it's a matter or timing- do you always show up at their offices before they've had their morning coffee? I strongly recommend against that!)

Very true! Or, if you're frequently interrupting in class with questions that should be saved for office hours, or have more than a quick question at the end of class, that again would be better discussed in office hours rather than when the professor is trying to get through the long line of students waiting to ask the quick questions and needs to get to another meeting, class, appointment, lunch, or just plain get out of the room for the next class to get in, you might be wearing out his patience (and perhaps that of all your classmates too). Also, if you're showing up at their offices outside of office hours and without an appointment on a frequent basis, and/or with lengthy questions, they may be getting annoyed at the interruptions. If you have a lot of questions, attend office hours, or make an appointment to talk to them, and do so only after you've reviewed your notes and the text chapters to make sure your questions aren't something trivial that you could answer yourself with a little reading.

I had a classmate like that in my chemistry class when I was an undergrad. He was one of the top students in the class, but irritating as all get out, because he'd interrupt with a question at least 3 times in every class, and they were always such quibbling, picky points that there was no need to interrupt to ask rather than save the questions for after class. I never knew his real name, we just all called him "Weasel." (He kind of looked like one, and his personality seemed to fit.) He'd raise his hand, and we'd all groan that Weasel was interrupting again. If you're frequently inspiring grumpiness among your professors, make sure you're not being the Weasel of the class.

 

[scorpa]

I had a classmate like that in my chemistry class when I was an undergrad. He was one of the top students in the class, but irritating as all get out, because he'd interrupt with a question at least 3 times in every class, and they were always such quibbling, picky points that there was no need to interrupt to ask rather than save the questions for after class. I never knew his real name, we just all called him "Weasel." (He kind of looked like one, and his personality seemed to fit.) He'd raise his hand, and we'd all groan that Weasel was interrupting again. If you're frequently inspiring grumpiness among your professors, make sure you're not being the Weasel of the class.

Lol I had a guy like that in an ochem class I took in first year, we weren't as creative with names as you were though, the rest of the class just called him "annoying question guy".

 

[ekrim]

I don't blame professors, when so many unmotivated students think that they can get private tutoring if they didn't go to class or can beg for a grade change at the end of the year. I think I'd set my office hours to be 5-6:00 am on sunday morning

 

[Moonbear]

I don't blame professors, when so many unmotivated students think that they can get private tutoring if they didn't go to class or can beg for a grade change at the end of the year. I think I'd set my office hours to be 5-6:00 am on sunday morning

You realize that means you'd actually have to be there from 5-6 AM on every Sunday morning for that one student who really will show up, right? *shudders*

 

[Chi Meson]

You realize that means you'd actually have to be there from 5-6 AM on every Sunday morning for that one student who really will show up, right? *shudders*

As James Clerk Maxwell once said, "Aye, I think I can stay up that late."

 

[ekrim]

As James Clerk Maxwell once said, "Aye, I think I can stay up that late."

Exactly, infomercials don't fall asleep in front of themselves you know

 

[Chris Hillman]

Look to your own house?

Maybe I'm taking this thread too seriously, but I feel there are some important points here which I hope some of the students who have been "venting" here will take to heart:

So what's the deal, does he think I am stupid or not? Or just grumpy?

Sounds to me like your professor simply offered some sound advice, probably based upon his own experience taking math courses. Why did he not offer the same advice to the others? Possibly he doesn't think of them as "self-starters".

Hey, I had gone over my notes, it turns out, I was just missing a scaling term in my solution, ie. an 'r' somewhere, then he goes on this long rant about cramming the night before, and ''you're going to fail, and second and third year will be impossible'' blah-blah-blah.

Sounds to me like he thinks you are capable of doing better work, and it sounds like you agree with him.

And tutors too, usually cranky when you ask thm something, even though they are paid to be there. Anyhoos, it's all hunky-dory.

I dare say that just about everyone with teaching experience will attest to the fact that teaching is a whole lot harder than it looks. I'd suggest restraining your rants against the faculty until you have stood in their shoes.

No, this guy was an A-hole the entire semester. You'd go to this office and ask him a question and he would respond with a question, "I don't know, you tell me?"

Sounds to me like he was trying to teach you that with a bit more effort you can figure out things for yourself. If true that would be a far more valuable lesson than the answer to one specific question.

Oh that is a pet peeve of mine! I had a prof that did that to. I would go to his office to ask him a question, thoroughly explain to him what the problem was, what I thought about it, showed all the work I had been able to do at the time, and ask a specific question about where I was getting hung up and his response..."I don't know, you tell me?!" Needless to say I didn't get much help from him.

Same comment. I bet he could see that after all your work you were almost there, and tried to help you take the last step. Is it possible that you stormed out of his office when he said that? Too bad, if so.

I note that George Jones and Moonbear had the same reaction to these stories.

Shouting at me in tutorials and telling me to shut up. Yes, he really said 'shut up' to me.

Were you possibly being so disruptive that in the interests of your classmates he finally told you to pipe down?

Makes you want to smack them in the face, eh?

Just as I suspected--- this thread is about grumpy students, not grumpy teachers.

 

[scorpa]

Same comment. I bet he could see that after all your work you were almost there, and tried to help you take the last step. Is it possible that you stormed out of his office when he said that? Too bad, if so.

.

Nope I stayed and continued to try to work through the problem with him while he stared blankly at me and made the situation extremely uncomfortable. Eventually (after about 10+ minutes) I gave up trying to get any help from him, thanked him and left. I hardly consider him staring at me and only repeating exactly what I said back to me helpful. I came with a specific question and a ton of work and received no help at all. He was a decent enough lecturer just terrible when it came to asking questions, which was the general class opinion. He didn't seem like he really cared about seeing students outside of classtime.

 

[Chris Hillman]

Was this at an American university where he might have running for tenure? Demands upon young university instructors in the U.S. are often so heavy that people are trying to function on a few hours sleep per night for years on end.

One other thing most people with teaching experience report learning once they started teaching (besides the fact that's harder than it looks!) is that most students underestimate their own limitations and overestimate those of others. It's possible that your questions weren't as clearly expressed as you thought.

 

[Astronuc]

I've had a few grumpy professor. The worst one was very short with the students. It turned out he had a brain tumor, and once it was removed, he had a completely different personality.

Some professors have bad days, and some just don't seem to relate well to students.

I occassionally talk to professors I had about 20 yrs ago. They mentioned how competitive academia is these days, and I imagine some do get stressed out.

The best thing for a student to do is be prepared for class, take good notes, do the homework and turn it in on time, and read the textbook (I wonder sometimes about students in HW forums).

When I was a grad student, I enjoyed teaching and my door was always open - even outside of office hours.

 

[Moonbear]

Was this at an American university where he might have running for tenure? Demands upon young university instructors in the U.S. are often so heavy that people are trying to function on a few hours sleep per night for years on end.

Another problem that is growing, at least at major research institutions (less so at smaller colleges) is that faculty are hired and promoted based on their research activities, and while they are supposed to teach, teaching is given considerably less weight in things like tenure decisions, and especially during the hiring process. Unfortunately, that means there ARE lecturers who don't want to be lecturing, and quite simply aren't very good at it and lack the motivation to improve at it. I don't know how much this impacts math and physics departments, but I'm definitely seeing it in the biomedical departments, and there has been a noticeable cultural shift among faculty of different levels in their willingness to take on teaching responsibilities. I can't personally wrap my head around the mentality, because if I didn't like teaching, I would have never pursued a career in academia, but it seems a lot of people are applying for and obtaining university faculty positions who treat it more like a research institute than a university.

So, it may be true that some students are encountering more "grumpy" professors who are being pressured to get their research publications out and grants in while feeling "stuck" with teaching a course they don't have time or interest in teaching.

But, it may also be that there are also a lot of grumpy students who feel entitled to spoon-feeding and need to realize it's time to take more responsibility for their own learning. I've certainly seen plenty of that as well, and it's something you may not realize is so prevalent until you're standing on the other side of the lectern.