| > both were unwilling to lift a finger to help outside of class. > I found both obnoxiously holier-than-thou; very much the condescending academics. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I would urge you to be slower to judgement. I have developed at least a little bit of a reputation for being unapproachable and reluctant to help students. Which I find very unfortunate, because I am quite happy to help students and indeed wish more would seek help. In my case I suspect there are two factors at work. (1) I am always annoyed for an instant when I'm interrupted from my other work. I do my best to recover and welcome the student warmly, but people pick up on my very first reaction, and that's not the part I can change readily. (2) I am teaching in the South, which is culturally unfamiliar. It is considered polite to chitchat about the weather or whatever before getting down to business, but I can never think of anything to say about the weather and typically ask students what's on their mind right away. Unfortunately, this probably makes a few people uneasy. In short, there is probably another side to this story. If you endeavor to understand it, you will have enormously more leverage if and when you complain. |