<p>We had written a paper for today's class, about why it musicians who are beginning to deal with genres that are associated with a race not their own. In class, he asked us to describe why what we had written mattered. He gave us an example first, saying something about blurring of color lines leading to greater equality. When he turned to me, I said quite honestly that I didn't know how to put my opinions in better words than he had, but tried to construct an argument anyway and fumbled a little in doing so. He didn't even respond to what my defense of why what I'd written mattered. What he said to the class was something along the lines of, "You can just pass if you can't think of anything to say [..] Also, I want you guys to say what you believe, not just what you think the professor wants to hear."</p>
<p>I actually believed what I was trying to express and wasn't just trying to regurgitate his views. And I would have liked it if he had tried to work with me and help me figure out what I was trying to say. I'm furious because I felt his comments were assuming, alienating, and hurtful, and immediately after saying them, he turned to the next person and never even addressed anything I said. For god's sake, he can't even give more constructive feedback than to make the decision for me to "pass," and basically skip over me entirely?</p>
<p>Perhaps if I hadn't been so shocked, I might have said, "Wait, hold on. I never said I wanted to pass. Could you work with me to figure out what I'm trying to say?" (Of course, what I'd really like to say is "For f---'s sake, don't be an ass.") As a professor teaching a discussion based class, I don't think he acted appropriately at all. I really don't know about this, but I'd like to be honest and say, "I would have really appreciated it if you had tried to help me work out my ideas, rather than making the decision for me to pass. I'm sure in some cases, a student might like to pass, but it's good to make sure they do before making the decision for them." Should I? It might just be catharsis for me, but I do want him to know that I was being genuine and his assumptions were offensive and completely off-base.</p>
<p>Your professor kinda sounds like a jerk…so yeah, I’d probably be a little frustrated too.</p>
<p>My son had a high school teacher like this in a discussion based history class (AP US History). It was a very difficult year for him - he had the experience of his teacher looking at him after he pitched an idea and saying, “No.” And moving to the next kid. Awful! This teacher only encouraged kids who spoke clearly and forcefully on the first try. He Never helped a kid form ideas or clarify a fuzzy statement. He Never drew a kid out. In the end we realized he far and away favored extroverted kids over introverted kids. Introverts tend to be in their heads more with the ideas, and sort of speak in the middle of the idea and then need to go back and clarify and start again. Extroverts tend to be in the flow of the other people (they are tuned outwards, not inwards) and so have an easier time pitching ideas in a way that meets others’ expectations and needs. Teachers who only teach to extraverts are painful for introverts to have.</p>
<p>I think you would do him/her a favor to express your frustration. You are a clear writer and I think you have a valid point. However the teacher may not appreciate hearing this on the first round. It might be best done one to one (not in class in public) perhaps in office hours. Also it might be good to recognize that you might not have presented your point well at first and would appreciate being drawn out - that is to say, it might be good to be humble towards the teacher, too.</p>
<p>Good luck and on behalf of all introverts, I support you and stand behind you 100 percent!</p>
<p>Your teacher sounds like a jerk and you should definitely call him out the next time this happens (I would have done it right there, but thats a moot point). Either do it the next time or go see him in private.</p>
<p>I hate professors who are arrogant with students when students have to pay far too much money to take their class.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that happened to you. If that had happened to me, I would’ve felt alternately humiliated and infuriated (probably more of the former). I think the worst part was his aside about students needing to speak their own minds (without even waiting to hear what you were trying to articulate - and as if agreeing with him on one point meant you were incapable of individual thought!). Even if he didn’t have the inclination to work with you, he could have given you a pass with something gentler like, “I can see you’re still thinking about what you want to say, so I’m going to go to someone else and give you more time to think. We’ll come back to you.”</p>
<p>On the other hand, I can imagine a scenario where your professor was just clueless and chose a bad time to emphasize the value of diversity in opinions. He clearly had you in mind, but he might not necessarily have been personally annoyed with you (if that makes sense). Your comment might have just prompted a reflection about the importance of having different opinions in discussions, but he might not have meant to make it sound as jerk-ish as it did. (Obviously, I wasn’t there, so I’m just speculating here.) In any case, he handled the situation poorly.</p>
<p>I think you should definitely talk to him in person (not over email) about your concerns and tell him what you really wanted to say. If he’s simply inexperienced with leading discussions, your feedback will definitely make him more self-aware. If he actually thinks you don’t have your own opinions, then your standing up for yourself will hopefully reverse that impression. Based on his body language and tone of voice, you will probably get a better idea of what he actually thinks. </p>
<p>Personally, it takes me awhile to articulate my argument/opinion when I’m called on in class, even if I’ve prepared ahead of time (this is why your thread struck a particular chord in me). And I find that the best professors are able to rephrase what I’m saying to make it more articulate (and sometimes more intelligent), or they ask probing questions that help tease out my argument. Their ability to do so means that they are actually listening. And for what it’s worth, one of my first-year professors (who had a very distinguished career in academia) once told me that he could see that I used speech as a way of working through my own argument and how I struggled to find the right words. This was meant as a compliment (the way he phrased it, it was actually one of the nicest compliments anyone had ever paid me), and I know he wasn’t being snarky because he himself spoke in the same way.</p>
<p>I’ve been very lucky to have teachers in HS that are so great at fleshing out students’ ideas and thoughts. I usually have trouble explaining things to people because my mind is racing much faster than my mouth can move and I usually start in the middle of whatever I’m thinking… and then I realize I never explained what the hell I was trying to talk about in the first place. :D</p>