<p>The class was alright at the beginning of the semester but I have noticed that he is starting to act very ignorant towards me for no apparent reason whatsoever.</p>
<p>I do all of the required readings and assignments that are on the syllabus and when it comes time for me to answer questions about the works, he often downgrades me if I do not give him an answer that is good enough for him. I do not consider myself a genius when it comes to analyzing literature (is it rather difficult for me to do sometimes) but I do read all of the works required regardless because I did desire to pass his course and I do not know if I can do so at this time because of his unacceptable behavior.</p>
<p>I am pretty good at analyzing the novels that me and my coursemates are required to read, however I have MAJOR issues with analyzing some of the poems that my course has to read ESPECIALLY ones by Robert Frost.</p>
<p>I feel that he is contradicting himself a lot because he even said out his own mouth that there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to analyzing literature. He also said that he doesn't expects students to know everything.</p>
<p>I realize that class participation is a large chunk of my grade for English 102 but I do not feel comfortable anymore with participating. I also have issues with one of my coursemates in that class who thinks that I am dumb.</p>
<p>I'd answer a question and he'd just burst out laughing (he'd be the only one laughing) and apparently him and the professor are all buddy buddy.</p>
<p>“apparently him and the professor are all buddy buddy”</p>
<p>inappropriate. </p>
<p>Anyway, just go up to the professor after class or during office hours and have a discussion with him. Tell him how bad you want to turn a good grade in this class and ask for his suggestion on bettering what you already have.</p>
<p>Apart from the one classmate who is acting inappropriately, this really doesn’t seem to be the professors fault at all. If you don’t do the work well, why would you expect a high grade? You should maybe talk to the professor about the classmate, but don’t come off as self-entitled as you sound here.</p>
<p>English classes tend to be very subjective in college. It seems that professors are grading the person and not the work, which is unfortunate. </p>
<p>If you don’t pass, you should look into taking an online English class (if possible) at your school.</p>
<p>I’m not really understanding what this professor’s “unacceptable behavior” is - can you clarify? Without the specifics, it sounds to me like the professor simply doesn’t agree with your analyses of the works being discussed. While it’s true that English is a lot more subjective than other disciplines and that there is often no “correct” answer, one analysis can be stronger/more persuasive than another. Furthermore, some ideas are more compelling - and therefore easier to center a discussion around - than others. </p>
<p>Can you also clarify the “buddy buddy” behavior? Perhaps the professor knows this student from another class, so they have more to talk about. Of course, it’s not appropriate for the student to laugh after your comments, and the professor should definitely be making an effort to stop that.</p>
<p>I highly suggest that you speak to the professor about the difficulties you’re having in his class. You might want to start the discussion with something like, “Hi Professor, I’ve been putting a lot of effort into this class, but I’m still having a lot of trouble with analyzing Frost’s poems, and I feel that this has had an effect on my class participation. I was wondering if you could help me to become better at analyzing poetry?” You should, of course, also talk to your professor about the disruptive student.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, everyone. I did not realize that English was subjective. I think that what demeter said in his/her first paragraph explains exactly what I am going through.</p>