The Worst Things Professor Have Said to Me

I have my masters. No, not in creative writing or classic literature, but biomedical sciences. I have had more than a few professors, and not all of them were good. They have said sentences to me that have stayed with me. These statements made me change how I went about picking classes, approaching professors, and studying. So this story is about how critical “Rate My Professor” can be.

Top three terrible phrases professors have said to me:

• “You are not doing well in the class; you should drop.”
• “My job is not to teach you — if you have any questions, ask the T.A.”
• “I am preparing you for medical school.”

“You are not doing well in the class; you should drop.”

I will never forget my first semester in college. I had to take calculus. Math was my best subject, but this class was very different from my high school precalculus class. The professor talked gibberish, and when I could understand him, he didn’t make any sense.

I had gotten a B and C on the first two exams, but a D on the midterm. I wasn’t doing well in his class, but I knew I wasn’t failing. After receiving a warning halfway through the semester that I was failing, I went to talk to the professor.

After I asked why I was failing if I got a B, C, and D on the exams, he explained that he submitted midterm grades as overall grades. I pointed out that I wasn’t failing…