My professor is horrible and I’m not imagining it!

First things first, it is possible that this advice will not be helpful. Power dynamics being what they are, there is often very little you can do without experiencing repercussions. Professors who harass or otherwise abuse students have often put a lot of effort into insuring that their bad behavior is hidden from colleagues, or anyone who has enough power to disrupt their careers. This post will be about professors who truly stink, but it may not be helpful if the problem includes sexual harassment or other types of abuse beyond garden variety horrible. With that out of the way, here are some steps to take when dealing with terrible professor if withdrawing from a class is not an option.

• Withdraw emotionally as much as possible. This includes deciding what the lowest grade you can tolerate is, skipping the maximum number of classes, and finding appropriate (i.e. discreet and professional) distractions in class. If it’s a class where note taking is common, use the time to write handwritten letters to friends or family, write the lyrics of your favorite song, heck, write your own song. If you’re doing this with every class or with one class every term, something else is wrong (it could be you!) However, this may be the only way to get through two or three classes during your years in college.
• If you know other students who are struggling, form a study group. Try not to vent the whole time; the idea is to compensate for what you are missing by skipping classes or ignoring the professor.
• If there is a professor you trust in the department (and you need to be sure they are trustworthy – if they have gossiped to you about other students or professors, do NOT talk to them about a problem colleague) tell them privately that you are struggling, and ask them if they have advice for “working with” the problem professor. Many will insure that they are only abusive to students, but many others behave badly in and out of the classroom. Their colleagues can help, if you choose one who is prudent.
• Write it all into the performance review at the end of the class and do so anonymously. Later, when the professor can no longer hurt your grade or your studies, you may choose to follow up and make a formal complaint.
• Finally, of course, you can pass some of the assignments along to us. If you find that you are pouring yourself emotionally into a problem class, the more ways you extract yourself from it the better.