How to deal with Bad Professors

I find this article by Rent Scouter is really interesting, and all students should read this.

As with any organization, you will get good people and bad people, people you get along with well and people that you clash with, that’s just the way of the world.  Well College is no different, there will be classes when you have a really great professor and there will be classes where you simply don’t like the professor.  It’s How to Deal with your Bad Professors in college that can be a little tricky.
Having a good professor can make your college class meaningful. On the other hand, a bad one can have it easily ruined. Now, how would a college student avoid such ghastly professor or how can he handle the situation when they end up with one? As a parent, what can you do to help your student if they are having trouble with a bad professor?
With the advent of the Internet, gathering information about your child’s professor is now easy to do. But that doesn’t mean that everything is smooth sailing. The following things can help you out to assist your child in dealing with a bad professor.

1. Hear your children: Your child needs someone who can listen to him especially when everything gets tough. You may not help him in his academics but you can aid and support him emotionally. Just simply listening is sometimes the best way you can help. You could also ask him questions that would help him get down to the root of the problem and just maybe you and your child will be able to work out some strategies without having to be confrontational.
2. Share your experiences: Sharing what you have experienced during your days in dealing with such types of professors will help your student. He may have got some good points to come up with a solution to his problem. This seems to be more effective since you have gone through this yourself. Just tell your story and your thought patterns which might enlighten your child to a resolution themselves.
3. Avoid getting in into the situation: If things are not too serious, then try and stay out of the situation.  Support your childs decisions and actions, but if they seem to have things under control it is a good lesson for them in dealing with difficult people.
4. Give the situation time: Usually, when a student sees that kind of professor he opts to drop that subject and never would try attend that class again. But this is not the best option most especially when that subject is a major one. There will be no guarantee that you’ll have a better teacher the next semester. Maybe you would have him again and the situation may resolve itself if you give it some time to pass.
5. Speak to the College Dean or Counsellor: If things are unable to be resolved just by talking with your child and you feel the situation is getting out  of hand.  Speak with the Student Support people, such as the college dean or counsellor services.  They may be able to discreetly speak with the professor in question or work out some strategies to have classes re-scheduled etc.

If you feel that these above steps have not worked and that you need to speak with the professor directly, here are some tips for speaking appropriately with professors.

1. Talk to your professor out of hours: Don’t hesitate to have a talk to your professor and be honest with him. Some of them may be reasonable to adjust their teaching styles to meet the needs of his students.  But do not approach the professor during class hours, be sure to make an appointment or catch them in the college grounds outside of class time.
2. Know when you’ve hit the deadlock: Assess if after taking a week or two and after talking to your professor you still find them impossible to work with. That would be the time to consider dropping that class or talking to your adviser about having a different instructor. You may also consult your school’s guidance counselor asking for any advice. It would be hard to convince most of your college professors but being true to yourself, will not cause you a lot.