We’ve all been there; I have been anyway. I try my hardest, but no matter how hard I try, sometimes I’m just not going to like a certain teacher. There’s something about them. It could be the professor’s teaching style, the way they speak, or just their general vibe. Whatever the case, my mind is made up.So, how do I deal with it? I can’t just approach this person who holds a major portion of my GPA in their hands and tell them that he or she sucks. This situation requires a little bit of subtlety.

Teachers are not here to pander to students. They’re not here to please us or take care of our needs. They’re here to teach us things no one else wants to.

With that said, the teacher-student relationship requires a bit of give and take. If I don’t like a teacher then I have to work harder to get over my distaste for him or her. For example, if I don’t like the teacher’s policy of assigning work the same day that it’s due, I can request a calendar.

This doesn’t necessarily mean I will get what I want, but, in this situation, all I can do is try. I have to look at this situation from the teacher’s perspective. They have to put up with 50 or 60 immature kids just like me every semester. That’s got to wear on them. But that strain is also not an excuse for being a bad teacher.

I also try to keep in mind that some people probably genuinely like what this teacher does. While I might hate this particular teacher’s once-a-week office hours and his or her habit of returning papers three months after getting them, another kid might love it.

I have to work through how I feel. It doesn’t help to be bitter or spiteful; the best medicine is to simply grin and bear it. I’ll fake it until I make it. It also helps to kiss a little butt. Never under any circumstances would I let the teacher get wind that I dislike him or her. That is a death wish. If anything, I would rather pretend to be crazy about them.

I find the butt-kissing method particularly effective when trying to raise my grade. Are teachers going to give the kid who scowls and sleeps in class an extension on a paper or round his or her 89.8 up to a 90? I don’t think so. Are they going to do that for the kid who pays attention and does the homework? Maybe not, but it’s worth a shot.

It’s all about attitude. The more I focus on how much I hate this teacher, then the more I will. I have to force myself to play nice and work hard to gain his or her respect. Or I could cry about it, have a bad attitude, and get a D. Gosh, that’s an easy decision.