How to do well in a class taught by a crappy teacher
We’ve all been there at some point, and it especially sucks if you’re interested in the subject. Sorry this is long but I really hope it helps!
These are some things that bad teachers have in common, in my experience.
Qualities of a crappy teacher
relies entirely on videos to teach lessons
rarely, if ever, gives notes
doesn’t give reviews for tests either or any clues as to what is actually on the test
if they do give notes, they are disorganized, scrappy, and ultimately meaningless
doesn’t give straight answers when asked questions / answers questions with questions that don’t even make sense
loses your homework/essays all the time
they are genuinely surprised when their students actually do well
tells students not to study a certain thing because it won’t be on the test. Then it’s on the test and you’re screwed.
when showing how to do a problem, they only do the easiest examples ever. Honestly. You would be blessed to get a problem that easy on the actual assignment, where there are now super complicated problems that you have no idea how to do!
the homework assignments they give don’t help you understand the lesson better, it’s just a bunch of busy work.
they hand out a sheet, no explanation whatsoever, and say “alright. go do this” what? Go do what? Rip out my hair? I don’t even know what stoichiometry is and now I have 55 minutes to do it. Fabulous.
if someone does something wrong, the teacher just makes them do it over again and again, without helping the student understand or explaining anything
they hand back your tests five decades after you actually took it. What was the test even on? Same deal with homework and worksheets
They often have a condescending behavior towards students and make students feel stupid when they get something wrong or ask questions
Now that you’ve verified that you indeed have a crappy teacher, here are some tips to actually do well in their class. Impossible? Nope. But it will take more effort to get a good grade in this class and understand the material because you are now both the teacher and the student. (Sorry I talk about Khan Academy a lot, but at the same time, not that sorry because it’s a life saver).
Teach yourself lesson by lesson. If they won’t, you will. Make sure that you are learning the right material, so that you can ace your quizzes/ tests. Yes, it takes time, but it will be worth it once you can finally understand the class, I promise. You can teach yourself by relying on other sources to learn the material, such as the textbook you already have for the class, Khan Academy, and other online resources and study aids.
Don’t rely only on their notes, study materials, or worksheets to study off of or understand the material. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them, you should definitely pay attention to them, as it might give you a clue as to what is on the test. However, you should probably invest some time into making your own notes and study materials outside of class, whether the material is from your class textbook or online resources.
Khan Academy!!! (It’s completely free and amazing) I honestly can not stress how many times Khan Academy has saved my life and my grades, especially in math and science subjects. If there’s a lesson (or, let’s be honest, an entire class) that you’re having difficulty understanding, just go to KA and find the lesson and they will have videos that take you through it step-by-step. Also, you can pause and rewind the videos if you need to understand something better (unlike crappy teachers) and they do plenty of examples (unlike crappy teachers). I swear I’m not sponsored by them or anything, it’s just a life saver! You can take classes on there in your free time too. For example, I couldn’t fit a personal finance class into my school schedule, so I’m taking it on KA.
Use online sites and resources to help you understand the material. Quizlet is an app for creating sets of flashcards. In my opinion, they are way more helpful than notecards, because they have games using the terms you put in and different methods of studying the material (by spelling, term, definition, etc). Duolingo is great for learning languages and maintaining your vocabulary in a language you are taking in school. You can use SparkNotes to better understand literature and poetry (they also have great studying/ test prep materials). Shmoop is another great resource for poetry. Khan Academy has lessons on math, science, art, music, history, and economics. The Purdue OWL is a life saver when it comes to writing essays; it has everything you need to know about grammar, writing techniques, format (especially MLA format), and mechanics. Basically, it has all the info your crappy teacher failed to give you.
STUDY. Good teachers go over the material enough to ensure that their students understand the material and they make sure the students are familiar with it. They will also usually go over the same materials in different ways, so that students with different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) can benefit. Crappy teachers? Not so much. Therefore, the material is not ingrained in your mind, so you need to work harder than in other classes to familiarize yourself with the material and make sure you understand it enough to recall the information and be tested on it.
Practice what you’ve learned. Try to find practice quizzes and tests online on the subject and material you are learning. Sometimes there will be mini quizzes at the end of chapters in class textbook. Also, some of the online resources above have quizzes on the specific material.
Talk/ study with other people who are taking the same course or people you know who have taken the class in the past. If your friend is taking the same class as you but they have a different teacher, study with them and ask them for help and notes. If you know someone who has taken the class a previous semester or year, as them for help with the material and advice on tests and passing the class with a decent grade. You can also study with other people in your class, because it is likely that they are in the same position as you and you can all help each other out.
Good luck in your class and thanks for reading, I hope this helps somehow!
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