Study a subject without liking the teacher: 5 ways to manage

Fall is here; school/university has already started. You have got your books, you have enrolled in all your subjects and you are in the first few weeks of lessons. You come to realize that your teacher or professor in one or several subjects may not be like what you had originally thought about. Pretty much everyone has come across a situation like this. And you know what? It’s not the end of the world. There are some ways to make the lessons go by smoothly and relatively pain free. Just keep on reading!

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Stop listening to rumors. There may be several rumors about a teacher that can get them come off as mean, strict and not good at their work. Stop listening to others’ opinions and start forming your own. Get to meet the teacher, spend time understanding their teaching style and what their lesson is all about. You may be surprised that they are not so bad after all. Of course, that won’t always be the case, so read on.

Separate the subject from the teacher. For me, this is the most valuable advice I have been given since elementary school and I still follow it to this very day. It’s not the teacher you are primarily interested in, it’s the subject. Yes, the teacher is there to help you learn and can make this process easier or harder. Still, your main goal is to learn the subject even if you don’t agree with your teacher’s methods and teaching style. Put in the time and the effort to focus on the subject alone. In the end, you may discover that you like it and that it is completely irrelevant to who your teacher is.

Look outside the class. What I mean is do the extra work. Study on your own, head to the library and find out more about this subject. Do your research and make use of any resources available to get a deep understanding of the lesson. You will realize that the more information you dig for the more interesting it will get and the less bothered you will be about your teacher. There will only be you and the subject. Nothing in between.

Change the teacher. If things get rough and your teacher’s techniques are affecting your performance and undermine your learning experience, you should act drastically. One solution is to drop the subject and retake it when another teacher will be teaching it. If that is not an option, check if there are multiple sections in your class. If so, ask to be transferred to another section, where there is going to be another teacher available.

Have a conversation. I left this as the last resort. When all the above don’t work you might want to try and communicate your issues. First, talk the teacher themselves, expressing your feelings towards their teaching attitude and your relationship. They may not actually realize that you have been feeling that way and may be willing to make some adjustments. If that fails, head to your counselor and have a talk with them. Inform them about the situation and ask them to intervene.

These are the techniques to follow to make your learning time at school/university more bearable when you don’t really like you teacher. Have you been in that situation? How did you manage? Comment down below and share this article with your friends.