"How do you handle the situation of being cornered in a room with the professor, then they begin yelling and screaming at you? In my case she continues to make me cry, and talking doesn’t seem to help. I have talked many time with this professor only to think the problem is solved. When returning to class again she does the same things, always singling me out. There seems to be no end to whatever this professor's problem is. I refuse to quit and I have only one semester to go before I graduate, so it is either try and make amends or have a nervous breakdown, which is not a option. I willing to try anything at this point."
Wow. I am so sorry to hear you are in this situation--a situation no student should ever be put in. What your professor is doing is totally inappropriate on so many different levels and nothing should excuse such behavior. This professor has also forfeited the right to "make amends" and I feel that you need to escalate this situation by reporting the professor.
Because this is an extreme case, you must, repeat MUST, do these things immediately to protect yourself:
First off, if you feel you are on the verge of a nervous breakdown, please get help to deal with those feelings as soon as possible. Try to reduce any stress in your life. Look for both on- and off-campus resources.
Next, avoid this professor as best you can. If you absolutely have to interact with the professor, do not go alone. Bring a friend with you.
You must absolutely tell someone, like a trusted advisor, a higher-ranking faculty member, or someone in the dean's office. As I've said before, sharing your side of the story is a good way to protect yourself. When you tell that someone, make sure you discuss what you have done to try to remedy the situation and that it has been an ongoing problem. Be specific about the ways the professor makes you uncomfortable.
Definitely figure out what your rights and responsibilities are concerning professor conduct and what your next steps should be. Find out if there is a formal complaint process, a student advocate, review board, or ombudsman at your campus. Then you should engage that process and make it official.
Consider talking to your classmates about this too. Chances are that a professor who behaves so inappropriately with one student also behaves poorly with other students. It even sounds like this may be happening openly in the classroom, in full view of other students. If that is the case, I bet other students feel really uncomfortable with this professor too. There can be power in numbers if multiple students are joining your grievance. It also helps to have a support network in place to help you along in this process.
If you are not comfortable taking this most extreme step, honestly, I can't see any other viable option. As you've mentioned, talking to this professor doesn't work, which is what necessitates this extreme step in my opinion.
Again, I'm really sorry to hear about this. I really hope this works out for you! You should never have been placed in this situation in the first place.
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
I remember that when I was in college there was a rating system that rated the professors at the school. When I selected my courses I always tried to make it to the classes that had the "nice" prof's :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like Rate My Professor, which can be a good source of information but should be looked at with healthy skepticism. In my work with students, even professors who other students rate as "nice" on sites like Rate My Professor have turned out to be "horrible" to students.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the previous post "Rate My Professors: Use with caution" at http://www.askanadvisor.org/2011/01/rate-my-professors-use-with-caution.html for my thoughts on that issue.
Thank you for cautioning students about RMP, a good idea that has been poorly executed. Quite often, the information is incorrect, to the point of listing classes a professor has never even taught. Often, too, it is simply a place for students to vent, which would be fine if all of the information were anonymous (not just the posters' information).
ReplyDeleteThere is no information about how often RMP posters attended class, what their grades were, how much effort they put in, etc., in order to provide some context to their ratings. There should be more self-assessment before one can post a mean-spirited or patently untrue public comment about another person, whatever the relationship (student-teacher, employee-boss, peer-peer, etc.).
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ReplyDelete