This all boils down to consistency.
Unfortunately, it takes attending multiple classes to determine whether your Professor is mean and angry or is just having a bad day.
A lot of the signs that your teacher is having a bad day can translate to them being angry all of the time if they are shown on a consistent basis.
Signs that your Professor is having a bad day:
- They share a personal anecdote from prior in the day or earlier in the week which suggests that luck isn’t on their side.
- They tend to lean heavily on student-teacher interaction (for instance calling on people who aren’t raising their hands).
- They have an angry tone, are overly critical of student answers, and tend to speed through topics
- In most cases, professors have the awareness of self to recognize their mood and inevitably apologize for their behavior
Signs that your Professor stinks:
- Purposefully calling on students that they believe do not have the answer to the proposed question. Typically, a bad professor will practice this behavior to gain more power over their students.
- They continuously mention the poor work ethic of students, their inexplicably fantastic teaching skills, and why they deserve better from their students.
- They have an angry tone, are overly critical of student answers, and tend to speed through topics (without regard for student feedback). If a Professor practices this behavior it is likely that students will respond by asking for the pace of the class to be slowed, to go back to previous topics, and if there will be a review of the materials in the future. If you have a bad Professor they will either not provide answers to those questions or suggest that it isn’t necessary for them to do any of those things.
- In most cases, bad professors tend to have poor days every day.
If you notice any consistency in these signs you have two options:
- Pray it gets better. (or)
- Drop the class.
I would recommend option two. A bad Professor can potentially ruin a semester. It isn’t worth the hassle.