How is This Acceptable?

One of my tutors is currently taking physics in College. She has worked diligently to prepare herself for this class as her previous experience in physics was poor. We started working together a few weeks before the class began. After the first test, which she did well on, the professor told the class that this was the lowest average he had ever seen and that they should be ashamed.

Why would anyone say this, and for what purpose? Is it to make them better? If so, it doesn’t work.

Think back to the last time someone chastised you. Did it work? Did you feel good? Was it an experience you want to share with others? The only reason to criticize others is to “verbally prove” your dominance. It is not to make people better.

If this professor were working for me, it would be a short tenure. I have no patience for academics who berate and chastise students thinking that it will lead to learning. I am not interested in putting my students in front of someone who uses students for their self-satisfaction.

If this professor led from the front, he should tell his class the truth about their performance (Honesty). He should then foster a conversation about ways that the students could improve their performance (Improvement). Then, he should foster a discussion about how he could improve his performance (Ownership). These actions are what I would expect from someone I work with or someone who wants to teach my children.

Fast forward a few weeks, the class took their second test. The class did better, and my tutor did very well. Her performance reflected her hard work. The professor’s responded, “The second test is harder than the first test, and these grades are too good. The class must have cheated.” And all this time, I thought it was his yelling that improved the students’ performance. Regardless, he accused his class of cheating without tangible proof, just numbers with a small sample size based on a few years of experience. Blaming his charges using causation when the numbers barely imply correlation

This professor should no longer be in the classroom. His students need to report him. People need to complain to his supervisor. His supervisor needs to get into the classroom and determine why there is a disconnect (Hint: poor teaching methods with a need to prove one’s worth at the expense of the students. Dominance over others, even at the collegiate level, does not make for good teaching). Unfortunately, most college administrators do not go into the classroom and do not help their teachers teach. The University needs to remove this professor. The parents and their students pay too much money for an awful teacher. The students are not growing, and their relationship with the subject is in jeopardy.