
College Student Outsmarts Professor Known For Humiliating Others: “Makes Me Chuckle To This Day”
It’s a rite of passage for every college student to have at least one professor who thrives on being unnecessarily strict and making everyone’s lives harder. And most of the time, students have no choice but to endure it, quietly counting down the days until the semester ends.
However, one Redditor who found herself in a similar situation decided to handle things differently. Her professor was notorious for power trips and public humiliation, and when he tried to drop her from the course for missing the first class due to illness, she made sure he regretted it.
Read all about it below.
The professor wanted to punish the student for missing the first class
Image credits: drazenphoto / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
But she had a lesson of her own to teach him
Image credits: Dom Fou / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Time-Concentrate845
Image credits: LightFieldStudios / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
Over half of students say their professor’s teaching style has made it harder for them to succeed in college
No one said college is supposed to be easy. After all, the goal of higher education is to equip students with the skills they need to succeed professionally, and a few challenges along the way are part of the process.
That said, there’s a big difference between struggling to master a tough subject and dealing with a professor who turns their authority into a weapon, making the classroom feel more like a punishment than a place to learn—just like in this story.
Unfortunately, many students aren’t satisfied with their academic experience. According to Inside Higher Ed’s 2023 Student Voice survey, which gathered insights from 3,004 students across 128 two- and four-year institutions, over half of respondents said their professor’s teaching style made it difficult to excel in class.
This puts “teaching style that didn’t work for me” as the number one barrier to academic success, based on the survey findings. This issue is even more pronounced among certain groups, such as those with learning disabilities or related conditions.
It’s no wonder students are eager for change. Half of the survey participants said they’d like professors to experiment with different teaching styles. This was the second most desired faculty action for promoting success, with only flexible deadlines being more popular. Moreover, around 44% of students said they want more leniency with attendance and class participation, ranking it as the third most helpful adjustment professors could make.
A big part of what makes studying engaging isn’t just the content or the workload—it’s also the human connection with the person teaching. Sadly, many students feel this is missing. About a third said they’d thrive if professors showed more interest in getting to know them.
Of course, it’s not realistic to expect professors to cater to every single student’s needs, especially in larger classrooms. But that doesn’t mean their concerns should be ignored. Open communication between students and faculty can help create a more supportive and effective learning environment for everyone involved.
Commenters were impressed with how she stood her ground and agreed that professors like that can make college a real headache
Poll Question
What would you do if a professor threatened to drop you from a course due to illness-related absences?
Appeal to the administration
Accept it and retake the course
Seek advice from peers
Confront the professor directly
I do want to say THIS professor suck. However, as someone who works in academia, I want students to remember that most professors aren't tenured and therefore treated like c**p and paid like c**p (where people think professors make money baffles me). They have put up with students treating them like c**p, lying, not doing the work and then complaining their grades suck. So it sucks but sometimes have professors have to become jaded because they've been burned so much by others.
What does this have to do with her story? He was a s****y professor and his situation didn't grant him the right to treat students like c**p. He got what he deserved. Whether he has tenure or not doesn't excuse him being an a*****e.
Load More Replies...There are s****y doctors, teachers, cops, lawyers, etc. Yes there are good people in all of these professions, but stop trying to excuse this a*****e because his job is tough. Grow a set of balls and get another job if your job sucks, but taking it out on students is just ridiculous. The woman was sick, at least she didn't show up and infect the rest of the class. My cousin has been a teacher for 30 years and I showed her this and she said outright, "That guy's an a*****e and should stop teaching."
I had a teacher last year who would dock a lot of points if you were late to/missed more than 5 classes. That would have been alright except if you were ever 5 seconds late it counted as late and excused absences counted as missing class. I had to have surgery (nothing major) and missed a couple of classes then a tree fell on my dad's car WITH HIM AND MY SISTER IN IT. They were mostly unharmed thankfully but it was sheer luck they weren't killed and because of that I was up most of the night and ended up being a few minutes late due to sleeping through my alarm. A little later I was sick and missed a class because I was worried it might be covid and I wanted a better test than a rapid. Then the final time I was late was mostly my fault but still reasonable enough. I had a meeting with a college counselor and it ran long. Anyway I was at my 5 so if I was even a second late I'd lose half a letter grade. This came to a head when I was walking to school and slipped on wet grass and cont...
fell into the street. I narrowly avoided being hit by a car but I sliced a two inch gash in my arm as well as injuring my elbow idk if I broke it I never bothered with an x-ray. The nurses office was on the other side of the campus and I couldn't be late. However if you were already in class you could go to the nurse without penalty. So I walked to class sat down waited till after attendance then asked to go to the nurse. You'd think that would have taught the teacher something but NOPE she had that attendance policy until she left.
I do want to say THIS professor suck. However, as someone who works in academia, I want students to remember that most professors aren't tenured and therefore treated like c**p and paid like c**p (where people think professors make money baffles me). They have put up with students treating them like c**p, lying, not doing the work and then complaining their grades suck. So it sucks but sometimes have professors have to become jaded because they've been burned so much by others.
What does this have to do with her story? He was a s****y professor and his situation didn't grant him the right to treat students like c**p. He got what he deserved. Whether he has tenure or not doesn't excuse him being an a*****e.
Load More Replies...There are s****y doctors, teachers, cops, lawyers, etc. Yes there are good people in all of these professions, but stop trying to excuse this a*****e because his job is tough. Grow a set of balls and get another job if your job sucks, but taking it out on students is just ridiculous. The woman was sick, at least she didn't show up and infect the rest of the class. My cousin has been a teacher for 30 years and I showed her this and she said outright, "That guy's an a*****e and should stop teaching."
I had a teacher last year who would dock a lot of points if you were late to/missed more than 5 classes. That would have been alright except if you were ever 5 seconds late it counted as late and excused absences counted as missing class. I had to have surgery (nothing major) and missed a couple of classes then a tree fell on my dad's car WITH HIM AND MY SISTER IN IT. They were mostly unharmed thankfully but it was sheer luck they weren't killed and because of that I was up most of the night and ended up being a few minutes late due to sleeping through my alarm. A little later I was sick and missed a class because I was worried it might be covid and I wanted a better test than a rapid. Then the final time I was late was mostly my fault but still reasonable enough. I had a meeting with a college counselor and it ran long. Anyway I was at my 5 so if I was even a second late I'd lose half a letter grade. This came to a head when I was walking to school and slipped on wet grass and cont...
fell into the street. I narrowly avoided being hit by a car but I sliced a two inch gash in my arm as well as injuring my elbow idk if I broke it I never bothered with an x-ray. The nurses office was on the other side of the campus and I couldn't be late. However if you were already in class you could go to the nurse without penalty. So I walked to class sat down waited till after attendance then asked to go to the nurse. You'd think that would have taught the teacher something but NOPE she had that attendance policy until she left.
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