I find my college instructors boring and lacking teaching ability, am I being over-critical?
I feel like the level of discourse at my school is high school, and that I’m not really experiencing college (and maybe couldn’t handle the real thing).
I’d especially appreciate suggested reading on college and teaching that can help me evaluate my school and get more out of it (and its teachers).
Favorite Answer
However, I have some personal experience of this sort of thing. I did the following things:
1. Chose my courses based on who was teaching them not only on what was offered on the syllabus.
2. Made sure that I got with the very best available tutors for tutorials and supervisions. Just tell them you have a timetable conflict with the ones you are assigned to aren’t possible for you so you need to change.
3. Did all I could to raise the level of discourse by asking intelligent questions. If you spark your lecturer’s interest, he or she usually rises to the challenge.
This is a really important question because if you feel like your course was too dumbed down, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering whether you really made the grade. That’s the kind of insecurity you don’t need. If this course is going to rob you of the sense of accomplishment you deserve from taking a higher level course maybe you should ultimately consider going somewhere else.
I was lucky – I went to an English red-brick university (like ivy league in the states) so had confidence in the institution. My first class degree from there set me up with confidence and having chosen difficult courses with the most demanding lecturers available keeps me certain of my achievement.
Everyone deserves to know that they did well in a difficult arena so make it as tough as you can and excel at your goals.
In Britain there is the Best University Guide – get it from the library if you’re in the UK. Don’t know about the rest of the world though. In general, just make sure a university has a good research record and you’re half way there.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Make a move to your problem… act.
Tell him frankly about your observations together with your classmates. If he does not change remind him again. If he does the same then thats the time you confide to his superior.
