So… one of my teachers had a complete mental breakdown early this semester. He basically accused the whole class of cheating and stopped teaching relevant information for the rest of the semester. This made the tests damn near impossible for everyone.
Anyway, I’m a junior and taking his class destroyed my GPA, even after working my ass off all semester in that class. I went from a 4.0 to probably somewhere between 3.6-3.8. The rest of my grades are all As. I have to take this teacher’s class next semester too, and I’m not expecting anything better. I’m probably not going to do well on the AP test either if my teacher continues to act this way.
I have a 35 ACT, lots of AP classes, and (I think) plenty of leadership, ECs, etc. How much will this class hurt my chances of getting into top schools? Would writing about my experience in an essay help me out at all?
What would you say in the essay that would show you in a good light? Maybe if you took it upon yourself to learn the material on your own. But not just explaining why you couldn’t possibly do well in this class – it’ll come across whiny.
Has even a single student in your class contacted school administrators over yhis issue? That seems a natural first step in resolving this situation - and far more useful than cursing your poor luck and dreading the next semester.
I had a teacher undergo a complete breakdown a few years ago, and give half the class failing grades (she also told several artistically minded students they had no future in the subject, in terms that reduced more than one to tears). Administrators heard from us before the week was out, and we gladly would’ve seen her fired.
She’s still teaching, with ironclad job security the chief reason, but the school kept a very close eye on that class the following semester. After moderation by another art teacher, almost everyone’s grades rose substantially. The students with artistic ability got the grades they deserved, and the average students (read: me) passed.