So…our school got a new physics teacher. Last year, our old one broke her hip and retired 3 months into the year, so our school was left without one.
This teacher is absolutely terrible. The only reason he’s teaching is because he got suspended as a lawyer by our states court for a major violation. He doesn’t know physics; every week he gets our AP physics teacher to give him lesson plans and tell him what to do. Even worse, he has a terrible temper and a lack of respect for the students; he routinely makes students feel stupid for asking questions and insults them. He teaches problems a certain way, and then, once the test comes, he expects you to be able to solve them in a way that was never touched on in class.
My problem is that I am not doing well in this environment, and nearly everyone else is not either. People did so poorly first quarter that he had to buff people’s grades up so he wouldn’t look bad (if most of the class failed). There’s one girl in my class who is the top student, but she only accomplishes that by outright ignoring him and learning things at home. She tutors for the class often to help out. On this past test, even she was upset because he didn’t teach some of the work on the test.
What do I do? This is a very glaring grade on my otherwise awesome transcript, and come mid year report I know it won’t look good. I also understand that an “explanation” by me in the additional information slot won’t cut it, because someone could easily just think I’m lying. I’m really worried and angry at this situation, but I don’t know what to do.
By the way, I am a senior and I’m worried about my midyear report @ good colleges.
I experienced a similar situation with a really awful physics teacher last year, and I guess what I can suggest is buying AP Prep books for your physics ap and basically learning from those. Look into free online classes too if you are worried, like edx, or something else. I still didnt end up doing particularly well on my physics c APs, but oh well, maybe you can do well.
My son was bullied by his AP physics teacher all year long. My son self-studied for that class for the year. I don’t know why the teacher picked on my son so much. It got to a point where I had to go in one day and talk to him and I said:
“I understand you ran out of copies of the today’s test and my son never received one; he asked you for a test, and you told him to wait until someone finished his/her copy. He waited the whole period and no one could finish, so he told me he probably received a zero. When will he be able to take the test today?”
He told me, (lied to my face; I was on staff) your son wasn’t in class today, so he missed the test."
I said, “No, I spoke to my son, before your class started today; he was in his seat when I left. I can check the computer attendance record for you.”
“Additionally, I was also in the staff copy room earlier, and the copier staff indicated that the copier died and remembered that you were short one test; you never returned to pick up the last copy.”
He replied, “You run your classes your way, and I’ll run my classes my way.”
My response: “Okay, I have a meeting set up at the district today. I will be having a conversation with them about this.”
Apparently the principal had to get a sub for him for the afternoon. The district called him in. They had a proctor give my son the test and a teacher at another school graded the test. The principal stated that the teacher thought my son was a habitual cheater and never trusted any answers that my son provided on any quizzes or tests. Our son didn’t have to cheat, he was a natural at physics. The final grade for the year was a “C”. This killed my son’s perfect GPA, but son didn’t care, he wanted out.
This man actually told staff that he “hated” my son. Thankfully, he told enough staff members, who knew my son, and many were outraged and spoke on my son’s behalf. (son: Eagle scout, food bank worker, Math and physics tutor). Was he fired? No, because he was tenured they gave him a warning.
Long story short: Self study for the AP tests. Keep documentation of your notes/quizzes. Your teacher doesn’t know the subject matter and is angry that the kids know more than him.
I was once in a similar situation. First, you should try your best to get on your teacher’s good side then you should shoot him an email asking his best advice for preparing for the tests. Be sure to show that you are concerned. Say something like this:
“I noticed that after each test, I received less-than-satisfactory grades. I do not think that these grades accurately reflect my mastery of the concepts. Do you have any advice as to how to prepare for future assignments?”
Most likely, if he is a bad teacher than he won’t give you much help or work in your favor. This is when you bring the issue to your guidance counselor. Say “I am having an issue with a teacher, and I need some advice on how to confront it.”
I’ve had a bad physics tecaher last year too. He hated our class until the last two weeks of school.
Anyway, like others have said, and what I have done as well, is self teach. I survived off of physics lessons on YouTube and help from friends. If you can, you can try some of these resources or look for a tutor. Talking to your teacher can help as well so he can remember that you put an effort into your work when you ask for help. If you don’t act engaged or like your trying to improve, they might not want to put effort into you as well.
My daughter is currently suffering with a terrible physics teacher as well. The options you have are to: seek out another teacher for extra help, watch videos on Kahn Academy (free), hire a tutor (if your parents can pay), buy a self study guide; of course this is all in addition to reading the book itself/doing extra problems etc. As folks on here can tell you, this is probably not the last time you will encounter a terrible teacher and you just have to find ways around it. Good luck.
UPDATE!! So, my physics teacher likes me a lot. (I know, ironic!) But a part of the reason he likes me so much is because I am one of the few people in his class that tries. I am always asking questions, always attentive, rarely off-task, and he clearly sees that I put in a lot of effort outside of the classroom as well. I asked him if he could write me a recommendation to at least let the colleges know what I’m like in the classroom despite my grade. Do you think this is good? Will this benefit me?
It sounds like your only option is to self teach. I’ve found Khan Academy to be helpful. Good luck!