having a terrible teacher

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i can't exactly say that this guy is a professor because he's not!

i'm currently taking stats for a summer 5-week course.

and i'm not completely terrible with math.

yet, i'm having the hardest time understanding stats.

i hate to blame the teacher.

but i think he's the main problem here.

you see, he makes everything so much more complicated than it has to be.

the way he talks doesn't make anything easier, either.

he jumbles his words a lot and sometimes doesn't even complete his sentences.

i spent $600+ for this class.

and i am not getting any solid knowledge out of it.

in fact, i'm learning more from youtube videos than i am from him.

1. his tests are terrible. questions are worded differently from the problems we have done in class. it's only 8 questions and our grade heavily depends on the 3 tests and 1 final that we take. so basically, if you get a few wrong, you're done.

2. he never answers his e-mails at a reasonable time! i'll send him an e-mail and he'll get back to me.. like 2 days later. and sometimes, never.

3. i'll ask him to explain something to me via e-mail. so i'll ask him if the answer is correct. he'll write "WHY" and "HOW CAN I HELP" and "YOUR ANSWER IS INCORRECT." and that's it. he won't try and help me figure out the right way of doing things.

4. he always goes off into these tangent rambles which have nothing to do with math. they're his life stories. sure, they're entertaining, but hey. i didn't pay $600+ to hear his stories.

5. even if i ask him to explain something again, it STILL won't make sense. he seems like a smart guy, but he is NOT put out for teaching. he just doesn't seem like he likes teaching people. i think he just does it get a few extra bucks.

plus, he was suppose to fax an important paper to me today. and it has yet to come. i e-mailed him twice along with other questions. he completely ignored the fax question and answered my other questions with "your answers are wrong."

and i've studied SO hard for this. and yet, i might end up getting a 'c' in the class. everyday after class, i go to the bookstore and study until 9pm. so that's 5 hours everyday. statistics is all that's on my brain right now. i don't even go out to hang out with friends.

so, i've kept with a 3.8 gpa. and i'm nearly done with the main pre-reqs. and along comes this guy. i know this class will ruin my gpa. and it sucks that bringing down a gpa is so much easier than bringing it back up. it's WAY too late to withdraw. i have my final this upcoming monday. and i really don't want to have to take this class again. spend another $600 all because of an incompetent person.

i'm on the verge of crying because.. ugh. i just feel so stressed out. and the teacher isn't helping at all. he's just an overall terrible teacher.

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Specializes in Peds; Cardiac, NICU, PACU.

im sorry you are going thru this. I had a situation like this at school before with chemistry. do you have a on sight tutor at your school or a lab you can go to? maybe someone else can explain it to you a little better.

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im sorry you are going thru this. I had a situation like this at school before with chemistry. do you have a on sight tutor at your school or a lab you can go to? maybe someone else can explain it to you a little better.

i did go to the math tutoring center. the helpers are usually paid students who excel in math. and there is another teacher there. i went in, the teacher directed me towards one of the students, even though i specifically asked him to help me. neither of the two people could help me either.

i found it absolutely ridiculous and a waste of my time.

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How are the other people in the class doing? Do they have the same complaints you do, or are they doing okay in the course?

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How are the other people in the class doing? Do they have the same complaints you do, or are they doing okay in the course?

i haven't asked anyone.

but i'm assuming from all the "wait.. what?" comments, they don't think this guy makes a lot of sense either.

i think he assumes that we are following along just great. he goes fast.

people have asked him to explain it twice, but even then, there is a silent response.

but i guess he thinks that's a "oh, i get it" response.

and even the teacher has said, "...why are all of your faces looking blank and confused? that's not good..."

what's really bothering me is how he barely replies to e-mails! our final is on monday.

he even told the class to email him with questions.

and he has been everything BUT helpful in his responses. :(

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lovesickles, I really understand what you are going through. Im in A&P 2 now and getting an A so far but I am losing hope. I have not heard 1 person in my class have anything postive to say about how this class is being taught so I know it isnt just me.

What can you do? Its so hard. As for myself I am sticking it thru trying my hardest and see how far it gets me. I hope my GPA is wrecked because of this.

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lovesickles, I really understand what you are going through. Im in A&P 2 now and getting an A so far but I am losing hope. I have not heard 1 person in my class have anything postive to say about how this class is being taught so I know it isnt just me.

What can you do? Its so hard. As for myself I am sticking it thru trying my hardest and see how far it gets me. I hope my GPA is wrecked because of this.

i've manning it out as well. since there's only one more day left - the final. dun dun dun. i've worked hard. harder than any other class i've taken! this guy is making stats harder than microbio!

well. good luck to the both of us!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Have you tried calling or going to his office? We had a teacher like that and you had to physically show up to their office to ever get a response that was beneficial. It might be too late now but something to think about for next time through.

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Have you tried calling or going to his office? We had a teacher like that and you had to physically show up to their office to ever get a response that was beneficial. It might be too late now but something to think about for next time through.

whenever i had trouble with something, i'd always go to the teacher's office hours. call me a teacher's pet... but i'm very anal when it comes to my grades.

this guy doesn't really have.. real office hours. he doesn't even have an office here. he teaches at the tutor center, however, it's not one on one. there's about 20-30 other students in there with questions. :/ and he's only there once a week. argh.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

OP, welcome to college. I've had several terrible teachers. I had a horrible Micro lab teacher. Every year people complain about her in their reviews and nothing is done. Why? Because she's tenure at the college. They have absolutely NO plans to fire her. She will retire there. So, people have been posting "beware" on Rate My Professors - Find and rate your professor, campus and more - RateMyProfessors.com. I however, didn't know that website existed when I chose her for lab.

All her quiz answers were setup like this: A) xx B) xy C)A&B D)None of the above. Are you kidding me!!!:banghead:

On top of that, you were not allowed to raise your hands and ask her questions, if you did, she will make you regret it and will make you feel like an incompetent fool. I kid you not.

I believe 2 people got an A in her class (I of course was not one of them). The people who got the A loved her. Go figure.

My lecture teacher was bad, but not that bad. You were given 2 tests as your grade. If you failed the first test, like most people do, you have a slim chance of walking away from his class with a A. He often went off topic for 1 hour during his 2 & 1/2 hr lectures.

My chemistry lab teacher usually took an hour to spew his political beliefs on us. I never knew how I did in his class, because he never had time to grade papers, because he spends his time going to political social gatherings off campus.

The only prerequisite teachers I absolutely loved was my lecture and lab teachers for A&P 1. Wish they taught all my prerequisite classes.

Boy, it was nice to vent.

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One thing I always did with a math class is I bought the study guide in addition to the text book. This way, if I got stuck while at home, I could work out the problem and be back on my way. (The study guides usually only have the answers to half of the problems, but it is better than merely an answer key: the steps taken to solve the problems are all there.)

I realize this solution is too late for you, though. :(

I would advise you to complain to he powers that be -- maybe even ask for a refund OR to retake the class with a different instructor.

Good luck on your final! Maybe you know more than you think! ;-)

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Another thing to keep in mind for next time, is to be acutely aware of the drop dates, both with and without a W. Nobody should be in this predicament the day before the final with so much riding on your grade. As soon as you determine that there is something wrong in a major way, drop the class and look for ways to remedy it for next time, even if you have to make plans to take the course at a different school.

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