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Characteristics of Bad College Lecturers

Version 0.6
Copyright © 2008 by Zack Smith,
All rights reserved.

What have I seen bad teachers do?

Note that this is not a list of any one teacher has done. It is a list of bad things that various teachers I have encountered have done. In some cases, the teachers were bad people, in some cases, they were incompetent teachers, and in some cases they just made isolated mistakes.
  • The teacher makes highly controversial and unsupportable remarks leading to loud arguments between the teacher and students.
  • I have seen multiple teachers do this. In each case, the teachers made pro-corporate comments to students who have been screwed by corporations and who are concerned that corporations have stolen control of our democracy.
  • Makes fun of certain students when they are not in class.
  • Brings up potentially embarrassing issues like the ages of particular students.
  • If a student says an ignorant sweeping generalization that is likely to offend other students the bad teacher exerts no authority to correct the student. Therefore (s)he effectively ratifies the ignorant statement.
  • Actively encourages dumbed-down or ignorant viewpoints. For example the statement that "if you do not read about it on TV then it is not true".
  • Has a distrust or dislike of students that leads to arbitrary grading.
  • Is not clear about grading policies i.e. causes worry for students that they will be graded unfairly; lets that worry linger over students' heads.
  • Uses class-time to push certain ideological ideas, e.g. that corporations are always good.
  • Uses slides that contain a large amount of small print, so that they are barely visible on the overhead, but completely illegible when printed out. Then blames students for even trying to print them, and tells students to view them on a computer. Refuses to print zoomed/expanded versions.
  • Uses slides that are organized differently than the textbook.
  • Issues orders to students, e.g. change your seating, without saying why leaving students visible confused as to what's going on.
  • Imposes assigned seating.
  • Teacher draws attention to his/her own forgetting of students' names.
  • Suggests to a student that they might not do well, i.e. like a braggard competing with student, as if to say "I know the material but you never will".
  • Judges students by appearance e.g. clothing or age, to draw the conclusion the student will not do well. Then the bad teacher feels tempted to tell the student that, if not directly then alludes to it.
  • Gets angry when a student of a particular type speaks up, e.g. female, male, non-feminist, older, black, white, etc.
  • Plays to the mob, e.g. if one student is up against a number of bigoted people (even the majority) tells the student to drop the course and encourages bullying by the group.
  • Becomes paranoid that all of the students are out to get them.
  • Becomes paranoid that specific students are out to get them. Recruits unethical students to attack those specific students outside of class or even in class.

What have I seen good teachers do?

  • Thanks students for offering useful comments.
  • Provides outlines of course material that the student fill in during the class, rather than writing one's own notes. (Writing helps remembering.)
  • Never uses slides except for showing diagrams.
  • If using slides containing text, keeps the number of words low and the size of the font large, since slides typically do not print well.
  • Offers extra credit periodically.
  • Lets foreign students take exams at a different time, since their English is not so good.
  • Warns students multiple times ahead of due dates.
  • Offers carefully crafted exams that may ask tricky questions, but are not ambiguous or illogical.

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