Dear Mom,
What do I do when I have the worst teacher ever? He is unorganized, his subjects are sporadic, and he expects us to have a photographic memory.
I am frustrated and want to quit this class.
Sincerely,
Boxed in (and wanting to scream)
Dear Boxed,
Obviously, human beings aren’t hardwired the same way. What works for the goose doesn’t work for the gander. And it looks like this is the case with you and your “unorganized and sporadic” instructor.
Your instructor may be of the spontaneous kind. He may think to himself, “Let me see, what kind of fun will we have today?” Or maybe he has been teaching for so long that his ideas are simply floating at the back of his head waiting to be used. Perhaps you’re the organized type.
There is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, I have to agree with your frustration.
In my mind, you have three choices. Either you live with his style of teaching (and do some deep meditation at home), drop the class (sometimes there is nothing else you can do, you’re going so crazy), or speak to him about what “you” can do to better understand and retain the information he is giving out.
Unfortunately, you can’t change your teacher. All you can do is express “your” personal frustration and ask him for help. Make it “your” problem. You may just be surprised at the help he gives you.
If you’re lucky, you may even find him changing a bit of his teaching methods.
