Dealing with a difficult professor
Back in June, I wrote a piece about how to get a good professor. Unfortunately, all the research and planning in the world likely won’t prevent you from dealing with at least one difficult professor during your college career.
With fall semester classes under way at most colleges and universities, you may already be struggling with an instructor from hell. While you may be tempted to drop your class and gamble on a different professor next semester, such drastic action generally isn’t necessary.
The Web site eHow has two good articles for dealing with difficult professors, one for those encountered in a traditional college environment and one for those teaching in an online classroom.
The advice runs along the lines of what I hear time and again from military education experts I have interviewed for various college stories: The key to solving most education dilemmas is communicating early and often. As Bruce Solheim, a history professor and volunteer veterans coordinator at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., points out, most professors really do want to help you.
