<p>My D and I discussed this experience twice yesterday and I have made an honest attempt to extract the truth from the angst. I am repeating the 'do not call the prof' mantra to myself but am fuming internally. Here is the story. . . . . </p>
<p>D had her first day of classes yesterday. In the very first class of the day the prof announced - you will all fail my tests, expect to get 8 out of 20 correct, maybe 12 if you are a genius. He added the fact he grades on a low curve. These gems were followed by - if you are a freshman (this is a freshman class with one 5th year senior in attendance), you don't know how to write so just expect a 'C'.</p>
<p>Wow, what an encouraging start to the college experience. She is questioning her abilities and whether or not she should be there!!! My reaction is - if this dude gets failing tests from all his students - what the heck is he teaching!</p>
<p>Hard to know if he means it, or if it’s just for show. Have you tried checking his ratings or grading history on myedu or one of the professor rating websites?</p>
<p>I would encourage my D to ask around about the teacher. Have her move past the injustice of it all, and determine what action to take so that she doesn’t screw up her GPA her very first semester.</p>
<p>Did you check the ratings on [Rate</a> My Professors - Find and rate your professor, campus and more - RateMyProfessors.com](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessor.com%5DRate”>http://www.ratemyprofessor.com) to see if there are any comments for this prof? I remember professors like that when I went to college but it’s never quite as bad as they make it sound.</p>
<p>This is a very old-fashioned approach that, theoretically, is supposed to motivate students.</p>
<p>But for some students, unfortunately, it doesn’t work. It can lead them to change their majors to avoid the professor and the course.</p>
<p>There are more modern and sophisticated approaches to getting students to do the work for a course, and I wish more professors would adopt them.</p>
<p>Last year in my son’s high school AP Hist class the instructor said," Those of you who are used to getting A’s and B’s will get C’s or lower in the beginning weeks of my class. Tell your parents not to worry." </p>
<p>This year in Physics AP my son came how and said his physics teacher said the exact same thing as the history teacher last year. </p>
<p>Why teachers learn to say such stupid demotivating things is beyond me but clearly this reverse logic method must be taught to some teachers somewhere.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to Batllo, threats are what people use who are unable or unwilling to figure out how else to motivate students.</p>
<p>I dislike this motivation method at least in part because it has different impacts on male and female students.</p>
<p>Some boys/men, when faced with such a teacher (or sports coach or military drill instructor), react by deciding to respond to the challenge. They think, “So you think I can’t do it. I’m going to prove you wrong.”</p>
<p>But a lot of girls/women, when faced with the same approach, think “I’m in a situation where things will not work out. Time to switch directions and find a Plan B.” </p>
<p>I don’t believe that either way of thinking is superior to the other. They’re just different.</p>
<p>My daughter used to play in a soccer league sponsored by a community organization. I remember a conversation between an experienced coach and a new one (both male), in which the experienced coach said, “Don’t try the ‘drill sergeant’ approach with these girls. It doesn’t work the way it does with boys. They’ll all quit and find some other activity to join, and you’ll be left without a team.”</p>
<p>Good point – and not just for community soccer teams.</p>
<p>I have had professors say those kinds of things before and second the suggestion to ask around and check ratemyprofessors and see it can be gleaned whether this guy is for real. In my experience these professors are all talk and are either a) trying to motivate kids to work hard, or b) trying to scare off the kids who aren’t committed to the course. We usually have a much smaller class the second day and the professor will make some comment about how it’s much nicer now with the smaller group. Your D’s professor sounds more dramatic about it than mine have been, but I wonder if she is relaying it with more passion than the professor did because she is upset.</p>
<p>This sounds like an extreme version of a common first class strategy used by some professors in their attempt to weed out students so they get closer to their ‘fantasy’ class: a small class with just the strongest, most motivated, not afraid to fail students who don’t mind harsh feedback, are there to learn, and don’t care about the grades.</p>
<p>I don’t think this is an attempt to motivate at all. I think it’s a (fairly obnoxious) power-trip from an insecure little teacher who gets his jollies through intimidation, put-downs, and fear tactics. Do check him out, as others have suggested, and maybe write (but don’t mail…yet) a letter to the prof expressing your views on the approach and the effect it had on your student. Then wait. At the end of the semester you’ll know more about whether this blowhard is even worth the stamp to mail it.
Great example of somebody who’s in the wrong profession.</p>
<p>This professor sounds like a real horses ass. there are plenty of them out there. Anyone can design a test that nearly everyone would fail but this is not the sign of a good teacher. So, check the reviews, ask around, etc. Then think about getting out. that’s what drop/add period is all about.</p>
<p>Why would you think of calling the professor? My kids HS AP English teacher said the same thing. I wouldn’t think of calling him. Result was both kids worked their butt off to get above a C. I really don’t understand why a parent would think of calling an expert in a field and telling him/her to teach differently. You sent your child away to school for an education. College should be all about challenge, questioning your abilities, and rising to the occasion.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do anything except assure your dd that some profs like to use tough love and intimidation tactics to see whether students will rise to the occasion and that you’re not surprised that she’s shaken. Only she can determine whether she will learn/be successful in an environment like that. She should check out above-mentioned site to see whether he’s all talk or serious, and then decide whether she wants to drop his course.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your suggestions. I will check this person out on the rating websites. Ironically, I’d asked D if she checked out her profs before school started. She didn’t because - she wanted to go in with an open mind!.</p>
<p>This just screams of the old child rearing techniques where if you call someone stupid and useless they will rise to the occasion to prove you wrong. That theory didn’t hold up to well.</p>
<p>I’m glad it worked out for them, but how many other students with the potential to master the content of AP English dropped down to regular English in response to this teacher’s approach? </p>
<p>I had a high school chemistry teacher who took this approach. He destroyed many competent students’ interest in science. Perhaps some of those students would have gone on to scientific careers and made significant discoveries – or would have pursued and done well in other types of careers where a knowledge of science is necessary, such as medicine – if not for this teacher’s attitude.</p>
<p>OP, you should definitely call the college. Then you should drop a quick email to each of your D’s professors to let them know that Mommy is on top of things. Then you should remind your D that for what you’re paying for college, her professors damn better motivate her to do her best and not ever give her negative feedback or try to scare her. And then stay on message for the next 4 years. That for sure will empower her to enter the workforce a confident and capable young professional.</p>
<p>I’m not saying I like or approve of the approach. It was a terrible experience for my son and great for my D. But, in the working world they will encounter all sorts of supervisors with differing expectations. Kids need to learn how to adjust under different environments. I would consider writing to the undergraduate dean (or principal) if I thought the teaching was inappropriate such that it killed a love for any particular subject. But, harsh grading would not rise to that level.</p>
<p>Well, when you complain on an online forum about the pronouncements of an obnoxious jerk, there will always be a few people who side with the jerk.</p>