Teacher Trouble

Q: I have this teacher that I don't really like because they are mean to people in the class, what do I do?

A: Dear Anonymous, I understand your struggle. Throughout your high school and college careers, you are going to face a lot of difficult teachers and professors. Once, I had a teacher whom I believed to be showing favoritism towards certain students in the class. While they were rarely ever straight-up mean to me, they hardly knew my name, they wouldn't call on me if my hand was raised (instead calling on me when my hand was not raised), and would not grade my assignments fairly. For example, once, I had experienced technical difficulties on an assignment, and so had another student. We both sought them out for help on the day it was due (at the same time), and the other student was given a 100% and I was given a 90% for late credit, though we had done the same quality of work. At one point in the year, it had gotten to the point when I had had enough. This is when I decided to meet with the teacher, voicing my opinions. Actually, I wrote about it in a letter first, since i don't really feel comfortable approaching authority figures. Afterwards, he sat and talked with me peacefully, and for the rest of the school year, I could really tell they took my advice to heart.So, maybe all you need is to confront the teacher-- they cannot change anything that they don't realize they are doing. If this doesn't work, then you may feel it necessary to talk to administration (but only if this is truly serious, and you aren't just mad at the teacher for a few low scores or a detention that you deserved). I wish you the best of luck! Sincerely, STEMmie