Difficult Professor advice

Forealzchola said:

I have a very difficult professor ( personality wise) either way I feel like this woman has a grudge against me and idk this is an online class however she has seen my picture those really are the only basis of why she doesnt like me..my mom thinks she might be racist or this lady "doesnt want a pretty girl to make it".and i shouldnt have had my photo in the class roster option...

shes already dropped me from the second class I had with her and in the remaining class I submitted a paper and she gave me a 0 but I had introduction reexplaining my topic to her and then i moved into the heart of the paper and she said this was the wrong assignment and I emailed her 2x now and 1x on discussion class board and I told her I Was reexplaining my original thesis in the first part of the paper so that my paper would make sense( we did it on a family constellation which she said didnt make sense to her in my last paper) so i asked her did you read my entire paper because you would have seen that this was the accurate assignment as it went on..the 2nd page moved into the heart of the assignment...either way she has not responded now and its been alil over a week...i will probably try to call her this week but after this im going to contact the dean because now i feel that this teacher is ignoring me intentionally..just pray she responds so that i dont have to take it that far but i will if i have to...this is the last class i need towards my degree and it is just a simple child development class. thanks.

But any additional advice?

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Going to the dean is the right choice. I'd make sure I had a copy of all of the interactions/e-mails you've had to show him/her. They may just let you drop the class considering if it is after the drop date.

I've had the experience of being in a class where a professor disliked me because of my faith- we were required to talk about our faith- so that's how she knew. It was a Women's Studies class called Women in Religion. I was one of a handful of non-lesbian, non-pagan students taking the class (yes, really). My only ally was an atheist- we took on her unsubstantiated sources and received much hostility. It was a very uncomfortable environment, but my grade wasn't affected.

Prayers for Both of you (teacher & you)

At the risk of sounding heartless, maybe your professor has a thing for punctuation. Based on your opening post, you don't.

It's been my experience that this kind of thing is a little on both sides. Teachers/Professors are stickler's for correct writing form, punctuation, not having run on sentences etc. ( we can get away with handling these skills more informally in a forum like this I think)

The other aspect may be that the two of you just "got off on the wrong foot" so to speak. Either way, go to the dean, humble yourself with this professor as well.

She may not want a "two part" paper, but rather a paper that is put together and runs smoothly from introduction, body, summary and conclusion, if this is her preferred format.

Even though this is "just a child development" class. It's still important because the impact you will have on young minds will be great. Remember, the majority of our personalities and perspectives are in place at around 5 years of age

I know you are frustrated, again, pray, humble yourself and seek G-d in this.
Blessings

Vasallus said:

At the risk of sounding heartless, maybe your professor has a thing for punctuation. Based on your opening post, you don't.

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That was my first thought. Or maybe you did not actually address the topic as required?

John
NZ

Course management systems are set up so the right assignment needs to go into the right dropbox, or else it can't be graded. She probably has rules in her syllabus for this, because it can cause great chaos in an online class. The grades are linked with the dropboxes.

Not responding in a week is not unusual, from what I hear. I know someone who took an online course and never heard from their professor. (That is not usual or consistent with contact-hour expectations.)

Most online professors have many students contacting them throughout the week, many of them asking for exceptions to the rule. I would suggest you move forward on this week's projects, so your reputation stays intact.

Very few professors have personal vendettas- they really don't have time for them. Close to 40% of professors are adjunct, working at other jobs during the week. If you don't hear from them, they might be on a business trip or buried in grading. You also might be inadvertently spam-blocked, so make sure you contact them through the cm system.

-But- she already explained to you that what you perceived to fit the assignment, did not in fact fit the objectives. She wrote and maintained the requirements for the course, so she would know. It sounds like you replied with a declaration that she did not understand her own assignment.

School follows standards, and is not a place to negotiate your education. Especially for Child Development, which has state standards. If someone wants you to learn content, and has established a way for you to accomplish that, then they are not being unreasonable by holding to their standards.

Going to the dean is not the way to get your problem resolved. The grade is completely in the hands of the instructor, and cannot be changed by any other authority in the school. You can talk to the dean about the teacher not responding to your mail, but the admins will not be on your side if it was only a week.

In the old days before course management systems, students sometimes waited weeks for results on assignments. Some courses had two tests, and no negotiation.

It can feel very frustrating to not have face time with instructors, but just persist. Use the discussion board to try to learn from the other students and show what you have gained, and you will rebuild her respect for you.

heron said:

School follows standards, and is not a place to negotiate your education. Especially for Child Development, which has state standards. If someone wants you to learn content, and has established a way for you to accomplish that, then they are not being unreasonable by holding to their standards.

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I got the impression from reading her post that this class was not related to her major or employment.

Forealzchloa, I think your professor was bothered that you asked her if she read your paper. Other than that, I don't know if it's possible to tell what made her ignore your email, which was rude. In a situation like this, it might be best to meet her in person, during office hours, and explain where you're coming from, but it's important not to appear confrontational; professors can sometimes worry because if it comes down to going to the dean, the student doesn't have as much to lose.

I got the impression from reading her post that this class was not related to her major or employment.

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Even if it isn't, a Child Development course is part of someone else's major -- usually Education, Social Work and Psych. Ed and SW have certifications, so the course everyone takes is standardized, to a certain extent.

In a situation like this, it might be best to meet her in person, during office hours, and explain where you're coming from, but it's important not to appear confrontational

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She probably has office hours on her syllabus, or other ways to contact her. I agree, confrontation is not the way to get things done. Professors are not the enemies of the students -- they push to make sure the students are able to learn what they need to learn.

I might not have been clear; I'm trying to learn to talk in a way that isn't so understated. I don't think that any student approaching a professor about an assignment is confrontational, but the professor might see it that way.

Most of what instructors complain about is their students not following directions, turning their work in on time, and complaining when it comes back to bite them. Not to say that's you, but double-check and make sure you did all of that. Did you miss any lessons or handouts? Also, many campuses have writing centers for the students to get help with their papers - if yours has one, go there and will work with you to tighten up that paper.

If after all that your instructor is still giving you this kind of treatment, then it might be personal. But first, you want to shut the door on every possible academic excuse she might have to treat you this way.

I would have to wonder why you are writing about Family Constellation in a beginning childhood class? I wouldn't think that would fit in that level of class at all.

Especially, after the professor gave you the heads up on the first paper that it wasn't a good topic. You seem to have thought you needed to educate the professor or something and went into it again.

I would think you would realize that about 98%, maybe higher of childhood development professors would completely reject the theory of Family Constellations. It's pretty New Age with a reliance that how the people are stood in relation to each other will somehow have an effect on the families behavior.

You can try and be a missionary for those teaching such stuff, but I would think you would realize that missionaries sometimes die on mission trips.

And one big tip. Don't belittle the class like you did here. That won't win you any points with either the professor or the dean.