They’re disorganized. They may not be prepared. Or worse yet, they really don’t interact with students.
These are just a few of the qualities of bad teachers, according to a number of Bakersfield College students interviewed.
“A bad teacher doesn’t know how to interact with the students,” said Ed Bennett, a BC student.
He recalled his own time in Teacher Hell.
“He just gets on everybody’s nerves because he doesn’t know how to act around other people. He doesn’t really teach, he takes over,” said Bennett, describing an instructor he once had at BC.
Mark Aguilar said he had a similar experience with a campus instructor who solved problems without explaining them.
“He would just solve a problem and at the end of solving the problem he’ll ask, ‘Is everybody understanding this? Does anybody have any questions?’ It’s like he’s not explaining the process,” said Aguilar.
A lack of explanation coupled with a lack of passion is a deadly combination in the classroom, according to Jason Medlock, who wants to become a teacher.
“If you’re not passionate about what you do, you shouldn’t be doing it,” he said.
Medlock said while he hasn’t had a bad experience with a teacher at BC, he has had them elsewhere.
“I have come across teachers, they just give you assignments, they don’t explain it, they don’t care what their students think,” he said.
For Crystal Kayser, a bad teacher creates problems within the class.
She took one elective as her “fun relaxing class” and it has developed into a nightmare.
“She criticizes every little thing I do and there is more than one way to do things. She just thinks her way is the best way,” said Kayser.
Students who have a gripe with specific teachers can vent their frustration online.
At the Web site RateMyProfessors.com, students can give their opinion of teachers anonymously. This week 167 professors from BC were listed on the site. Teachers can be rated as good, average, poor and “hot.” Professors can even log in and vote for themselves.
The information on the site is by no means accurate because anyone can criticize or compliment a teacher and one student’s opinion of a teacher can differ greatly from that of another. For example, one student writes of a BC teacher, “Makes sure you understand material…never needed help outside of class,” while another writes, “He will destroy you like an academic ninja!”
“When I was an undergraduate student we didn’t have a Web site like that but we certainly had a lot of word of mouth. My only concern is an opportunity for a student who may have some sort of a grudge or a problem with a teacher to unfairly label a teacher,” said Dr. Greg A. Chamberlain, dean for learning resources and information technology.
Chamberlain told of his own experience with a bad teacher.
“I had an English teacher who was more interested in discussing his political views than teaching us to write,” he said.
He described a bad teacher as one who “doesn’t care about the learning of the students.”
Al Davis, an art professor, said bad teachers are those who lack commitment to the subject they teach, such as an art teacher who isn’t an artist, or an English teacher who doesn’t love to read.
Ishmael Kimbrough, history professor, recalled his horror story with a bad teacher.
He had a history teacher at Peoria State University who hadn’t changed his textbook in 50 years.
Kimbrough compared websites like RateMyProfessors.com to homecoming pageants. The person who wins is not always the best person, he said.
– Staff writer Mar Jo Jones contributed to this story.