<p>Yeah, I have a problem. I really respect most of my teachers, but I'm seriously scared to talk to them sometimes. I hate making eye contact because I always feel like they can tell what I'm thinking, and I can't hold a non-class related conversation with any teacher for more than five seconds. This, naturally, affects my participation (which has much improved this year but is still lacking), and I don't want my participation to bring down my grades in participation-heavy classes (namely AP Eng, in which I could've gotten an A- had I participated more first term).</p>
<p>Part of the problem is that some teachers intimidate me, and every time I speak up, I feel like I'm being judged. This always happens in my English class because there's this clique of English teachers at my school. They're all incredibly intelligent and opinionated people who always know what they're talking about. They're great teachers, but I feel really stupid and clumsy around them. This naturally serves a problem because English is my favorite subject, and I really wish I could be a little more vocal in that class.</p>
<p>So, any suggestions on improving my relationship with teachers? Advice for overcoming with fears?</p>
<p>Up 'til now, participation hasn't heavily impacted any of my grades, but now that I'm in AP, things aren't going to work out so nicely anymore.</p>
<p>I'm not sure i really have any useful advice, but i tend to have this problem sometimes. I wouldn't say i'm 'terrified' but for some weird reason if i'm either not getting at least an A- in a class or i did badly on the last test/essay/project, i feel really uncomfortable around the teacher.. i guess like you said, I feel as if they're judging me, even though i would hope that's not the case..</p>
<p>anyway, basically i just try to remind myself that my teachers are just as human as I am, and if i feel stupid i just tell myself that the teacher of that particular class has difficulties in other areas (example: my english teacher is amazing with words but is absolutely horrible with any kind of math or science).</p>
<p>Like sapphire said: remember that they're human and that they have lives outside of school, and that if you say something stupid they probably won't remember for very long, and if they do, they won't care or hold that judgment against you.</p>
<p>i have been a high school teacher, a junior college instructor, and now a 4-year college instructor. i am a mom and just a regular person. i enjoy it when students come by my office to ask a question. i like to ask where my students are from. i really enjoy getting to know my students. i am a pretty normal person--and i bet a lot of your teachers are just like me. give 'em a chance. say hi. or just give them a nod and a smile. we really are just like everyone else you know!</p>
<p>don't be afraid of teachers. most are teachers because they like teaching. i'm sure that even if what you say is the stupidest thing in the world, no one (including the teacher) will remember the next day. however, the bad grade can easily haunt your applications. once you graduate, no matter how dumb the things you said were, it won't matter because you're going to a new school anyway for college.</p>
<p>I've got the same problem. They always seem to look at me like I'm the dumest thing in the world, and it kinda intimidates me. I've also got a problem speaking in English class for fear that whatever I say will be laughed at. It prevented me from getting an A+ this year and last.</p>
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i enjoy it when students come by my office to ask a question.
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Is this really true? I always feel as if i'm wasting thier spare student-free time. and I always feel disruptive when I email them a question or asking few questions after class..
Maybe some teachers differ</p>
<p>Oh, thank you for all the replies. Wbow, you hit one of my main issues perfectly. Sometimes when I say something stupid in class, I tend to remember it for days and even weeks, and I forget to be rational.</p>
<p>I guess it's just that I've been carrying my elementary school impressions of what teachers ought to be for too long. I do have a tendency to think of them as absolute authority figures and not-quite-humans. (:</p>
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Oh, thank you for all the replies. Wbow, you hit one of my main issues perfectly. Sometimes when I say something stupid in class, I tend to remember it for days and even weeks, and I forget to be rational.
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<p>I agree. I don't speak much at all, and I hate to do presentations since it seems like everybody is judging every word I say and every gesture I make.</p>
<p>when a student has attempted their work, and for some reason, gets "stuck"; i feel honored when they want to ask for my help. if they just come in and say they don't understand something (usually without even attempting it in advance) i do find that annoying. good teachers want to help their students learn--and we don't know what you don't know until you tell us! </p>
<p>have you ever thought that your teacher might be beating themselves up over something they said that didn't come out quite right? </p>
<p>happens to everyone! students are too preoccupied with worrying about themselves--they rarely take time to notice what others are saying!</p>
<p>I use to be. I came to this new boarding school this year, and all the teachers are PhD's. Yes, this year I'm pulling B+ in AP Chem and AP Physics. But those are my favorite classes, and I participate as much as possible. I think my teachers might actually like me. I always try to smile and nod outside of class. I figure, if I live at this institute, it's vital to have as many friends as possible. When you live such a public life, enemies are horrible. Similarily, the attitude among students here is to collaborate, rather than compete.</p>
<p>gahhh I feel intiminated by my english 2 honors teacher. I NEVER talk in that class because I'm scared that my brain will fart and I'll just stand there stuttering like an idiot. The teacher expects us to come up with an answer in like one second and to be prepared to back up our answers...gahhh i'm going to die in this class!!!!! But other than the discussions, everything else since easy so I'm ok with it</p>
<p>yeah, my english teacher this yr is like that too... literally, the other day she handed out this essay question and as soon as my friend got the paper, the teacher was like, "ok, michelle. so what would your thesis statement be for this essay?" and actually expected a good thesis in the 2 seconds she gave my friend to answer. a bit frustrating.</p>
<p>OhCrapItsAudrey and sapphire07 - Sorry to hear that. =/ It does sound frustrating, and I know I'd be at a complete loss if my teacher's like that.</p>
<p>My English teacher isn't so much strict as...well... He's kind of hard to explain. He's really lazy and laid back (takes weeks to get back essays), but at the same time, he's a very intelligent person. What I find frustrating is that he just prods the discussions along in the general direction - I can never get out of him what he considers valid and what he considers overanalyzing. He's also very good at anticipating our problems. For example, when we started reading As I Lay Dying, he told us to pick a passage that we thought was meaningful but didn't know how it was meaningful. And he sometimes gives us time to talk to each other about the previous night's reading before starting class discussions.</p>
<p>Sounds like I should be having a blast in his class, right? Well, no. My natural reservations get in the way, and he's also really really tall. I know this is completely irrational, but I've always found wide open spaces in classrooms (like if desks are in the formation of a rectangle with a large space in the middle) and tall teachers intimidating. Not to mention the fact that I feel like I'm feeling around in the dark in that class. Like I said, he just guides the discussion. I never know if I'm talking about what he wants to talk about.</p>