You can't Learn when the Teacher can't Teach

We all had those teachers that bring up the question "Why are you even teaching?" and still come up with no good answer. You know the types, the ones we can't stand or think of unfairly? Some are strict, mean/attitude, or just not good at teaching you. Well I had a variety of teachers like this and even though I like the personality of few teachers, their teaching skills need improvement.

This particular rant is about those teachers not good at teaching or they don't see that they left a couple of their students behind in the dust when teaching the other students. Since I been in college (In a Sophmore) I've had least two teachers like this. One was last year where she piled assignments on us and told us to do them, she breifly went through a tutorial of the new lesson for that day and handed out directions for us then let us loose on the work. That's fine but my complaint with her is she gave out too much assingments with short deadlines where some of the work couldn't be completed unless you had the program at home (it was a computer class) but I did not. So I earned a C in that class (a decent grade but low due to the assignments I had no time to complete). Though as bad as that sounds, what's worse is all her students expect for very few actually complted all the assingments, the rest, like me, hadn't the time. Was this poor teaching skills or she just over-estimated our abilities? But I passed the class so my complaints are low on this teacher since I am pleased I wasn't left behind the other students.

This semester (2012) I have another teacher who sadly left me behind and set the bar way too high for me where I feel my best isn't good enough. It's a Art History class (something on Reinassance) where the teacher didn't teach me where I could learn what I need to learn to pass the class. He's the type to make you read on your own and listen while he lectured in class about things you should already know, but for those who first time taking this specfic type of class has no clue what he's talking about. He is a nice teacher personality wise, but his teaching is strict and precise. He wants you do what exactly the directions say without any lee-way, such as "Discuss using the proper art vocabulary of how this painting works in this time period" or "compare and contrast using proper art vocabulary these specific artists" and he will count off if you do not exactly do that. He assumes you will know this by reading the book, but the book is a history-like book that doesn't explain the simple words you need such as telling you what the hell is "proper art vocabulary". This whole class went over my head and I was left behind failing this class. but what pisses me off the most and what I seem so unfair, is we had an assignment due where we had to write a four page essay on a theme comparing & contrasting three artists who uses this theme. I did this as best as I could with what I knew (though I did not know how to do his exact wants) and I turned this in on time. I got a fucking zero because my theme I picked wasn't the correct topic he wanted.

His exact words in his email to me were: "I return to you your art history paper but you will not recieve credit for this assignment, You handed in a report about Romanticist art but the question topic was to compare and contrast themes such as the crucifixation, entombment, susanna and the Elderes, or other choices. Your paper does not answer the question." Now the assignment sheet I recieved said nothing about the specific themes he had said, it just said "themes" so I picked a theme thinking it was what he wanted then I did my best comparing & contrasting the three artists' work that used Romanticists, including the three paintings and I had it least four pages. I turned this essay of mine in on time hopeing least for a C since I know I didnt' use "proper vocabulary for art" but I hoped for partial credit. So this morning when I recieved the email back after a few days of sending it in, my heart dropped finding out I will be getting a zero instead just because I incorrectly did the wrong "theme". How the hell is that fair? I did the work and turned it in on time! Don't I get something? Shit, I feel like I put all that effort in for nothing. What was the point in even doing it if I knew I was just going to get a zero? This pisses me off so much because I seriously tried and get tossed to the side as nothing. My teacher doesn't seemed to care that I did the work, but that it wasn't exactly what he wanted. I would accept a D on it, but not a zero. It's like a slap in the face for me cause I am a hard working studnet who does try her best.

This teacher of mine seemed to not notice or care that he left a student behind. He only assigned three assingments (with the essay) which I completed those too (those were easily done) but I hadn't learn the material to pass the tests so I flunked those. As I said before he never truly taught me the basics, he seemed to assume that the whole class knew what he was talking about (though most of the class did since they majored in that subject). I was just left behind and my best wasn't enough. He assinged no extra assignments to interact with the material to least pull the grade up, he just lectured in front of a screen about specific paintings and assumed we would read in our large book about the material which doesn't explain the basics.

I never truly had that happent to me, I've had teachers who talked down to me, assigned too much work, or not enough work, but never one who gave me a zero due to teh wrong work done. Once in 5th grade I did get lectured for doing the wrong homework in a math class because I copied down the wrong work on the board, and did the wrong pages. But that was elemetiry school, this is college so shouldn't I get partial credit for that essay? I just see it as very unfair since he never exclaimed what themes he wanted, and just marked it as a zero because it wasn't the correct theme. I got tossed aside as I was nothing, not even a 10% that it got turned in on time finished.

I know others have had teachers like that, but why do they teach when they set the bar too high where they leave students behind? Teachers' job is to teach us, right? Well can't they do a better job where students can least pass the class? Some students do try their best but they can't survive on being thrown into the wild without proper directions, they will get eaten alive and fail. But I am a good, successful studnet for this class is only the 2nd class I ever failed in my life (first was Chemistry in 12th grade). That has to say something about me and the teachers who teach me.

This is the end of my rant and I will continue to try my best even if it's not good enough for some teachers.