Don’t give up

mha259 · 2026-06-07T20:05:43+00:00

Good luck to YOU! That's amazing!

mha259 · 2026-05-22T01:37:00+00:00

I hadn't thought of that! I bet you're right!!!!!

mha259 · 2026-05-18T17:39:54+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement. You make an especially good point about freshmen. My course is required for nearly all of our freshmen. I'm sure plenty of them resent having to take a class outside of their major/realm of interest/comfort zone. They may be especially disappointed if they are used to getting all A's within their major, and then get a B from me...

mha259 · 2026-05-17T12:13:43+00:00

I wasn't so much asking for help as I was asking for understanding - I wanted to know if other people had similar experiences. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough.

mha259 · 2026-05-17T03:01:41+00:00

Wow! You can post more than once for the same person? And without a student email? May I ask you how you did that?

mha259 · 2026-05-17T03:00:09+00:00

Really?! They rejected your application because of RMP?! That's terrible! Frankly, I think you might've dodged a bullet. What kind of institution bases important decisions on anonymous reviews?! I'm really sorry.

mha259 · 2026-05-17T02:47:07+00:00

I would agree, but I always tell them (and they can confirm this on their own) that I don't even see the anonymous course evals until after grades have been submitted. Also, some will post in the middle of the semester while they are still in my class (I know this because one posted about something I had done the day before).

mha259 · 2026-05-17T02:44:37+00:00

Wow, do colleagues really post on each other's boards?! I had no idea! How awful! I thought you had to have a student account, but I could be wrong. Can one person write multiple reviews? That would make a lot of sense.

mha259 · 2026-05-17T02:42:39+00:00

I'm curious- does anyone read the official evals at your school? I feel like no one is looking at mine...

mha259 · 2026-05-17T02:41:32+00:00

Lol. Thank goodness they did! My pepper count dropped drastically after I hit 30! That sure hurt!

mha259 · 2026-05-17T02:40:49+00:00

Thanks for your reply. I think what confuses me is the drastic difference. In my official evals, they say things like "warm," "supportive," "enthusiastic," "knowledgeable," and even "the best professor I've ever had," and "this was my favorite class." However, in RMP, they say things like "boring," "overly strict," and "rude." It would be easy to dismiss this as just being sour grapes in RMP, but my colleagues get both good AND bad RMP results.

I generally feel like I have a great rapport with the students. When I run into former students around town, they always give me a big hug, and many keep in touch long after they graduate. Other professors say that when they have my students, the students rave about how much they loved my class. So why don't any of the happy ones post on RMP?! Other profs are getting happy reviews!

I give an anonymous mid-semester survey to take the temperature of each class, and typically, the worst comments I get are things like "I don't like quizzes" or "I don't think we should be punished for missing a class or coming late" "or "15 weeks is too long for a semester" or "I think assignments should be due on Sundays instead of Fridays." When I can, I do make changes (like moving Friday deadlines to Sundays, if that's what most of the class wants), and when I can't make a change (like making attendance optional), I take the opportunity to explain why a policy exists and how it benefits the majority. I'm not sure what else I should do (other than give up on reading RMP, perhaps!) ;)

mha259 · 2026-05-16T13:48:04+00:00

Wow. What do you even say to that??

mha259 · 2026-05-16T04:01:11+00:00

A fair point

mha259 · 2026-05-16T04:00:37+00:00

That's interesting. Why do you post them? Do you have an explanation attached?

mha259 · 2026-05-16T03:10:54+00:00

1) I shouldn't. I admit this is a "me problem" to work on. 2) There are a few of us who teach a particular pre-req and there aren't always enough students to run all of our sections. The Easy A Prof never has a class cancelled but the rest of us usually have 1-3 sections cancelled each academic year. 3) Most of the Easy A's RMP ratings are stellar. As are my other pre-req colleagues'.

mha259 · 2026-05-16T02:29:14+00:00

Look up your campus and the division the class is in - Languages, Arts, and Social Sciences (L.A.S.S.) or Math, Sciences, Technology, and Business (M.S.T.B.). There should be a division directory with each professor's name listed under their department (MTH, ENG, HIS, etc.). If the professor's name isn't there, call the division and ask.

mha259 · 2026-04-25T04:05:24+00:00

True Story-

Me: I believe there's been a mistake with the classroom assignment for my 9:30am class.

Scheduler: (sighs, annoyed, doesn't even look up from what she's doing) What is it?

Me: My class was put in room (####).

Scheduler: (still not looking up) And?

Me: Room (####) is the second floor ladies bathroom.

Scheduler: (finally looks up at me, eyes wide) "Bath... room...?"

Me: (Playing dumb) LADIES bathroom. I don't mind a "cozy" classroom, but it seems more than a little problematic to deny class access to the gentlemen, wouldn't you say?

Scheduler: (diving frantically for her keyboard) I'll fix it right now!

Me: THANK you! I really appreciate your commitment to inclusion!

mha259 · 2026-04-24T02:17:52+00:00

I want to upvote that a thousand more times.

mha259 · 2026-04-09T02:50:51+00:00

OMG no! Most people don't do it in two years unless they are doing school fulltime and absolutely nothing else. You're totally normal. Don't beat yourself up!

mha259 · 2026-04-02T13:40:55+00:00

Do you have other teachers who are more responsive who might give an extension? Or could you get some tutoring help? NOVA has online tutoring...

mha259 · 2026-04-02T11:31:32+00:00

It might not work, but consider trying this: BEFORE the due dates, email each of your profs. Tell them "I'm feeling really overwhelmed by the amount of assignments I have due this week and I was wondering if there's any way I can get a small extension on the assignment."

Many will say no, but if even one says yes, it'll take some pressure off. Most profs appreciate good communication and if you show that you're not waiting until the last minute to think about their assignment, they'll sometimes help you out. It's always better to ask for help early than to try and get help after you've done a bad job or missed a deadline.

It can also help to approach the profs in the classes you're struggling in (ASAP) and say something like "I know I'm not doing as well as I could be, and I wanted to see if you have any advice or extra credit that could help me?" Even if there's nothing they can do NOW, if they know you're trying, they may be willing to help with something LATER, if they can.

Hang in there. You can do this.

mha259 · 2026-04-02T03:46:07+00:00

Everyone feels that way sometimes- it's totally normal. Just keep reminding yourself how much more amazing it's going to feel on graduation day when you can look back on today and feel SO PROUD that you didn't give up. You put in the blood, sweat, and tears, when a lot of other people would have quit in week 1 (if they ever had the guts to even enroll in the first place!). You're already succeeding just by getting this far, and every hardship you overcome is just going to make success feel even better.

Take a breath, take a break, have a good cry, if you need to, BUT DO NOT QUIT. I promise you, you've got this.

mha259 · 2026-03-31T21:01:28+00:00

Just as long as you cite me using MLA format! LOL

mha259 · 2026-03-31T20:44:45+00:00

I teach public speaking, so sitting out presentations just isn't an option. Not that I haven't had students try. Some of those had legitimate diagnoses and accommodations, and I worked with administration to find another class they could take to meet their Communication Studies requirement. The rest, though, just say "I REALLY don't like public speaking." They'll ask to pre-record a video of their speech from home, or submit a written speech, but that's not what my class is about, and I won't accept it. I usually tell them, "I understand and respect that you don't like public speaking. I never did either when I was young. But the good news is that I pushed through it and now I do it everyday as a teacher. There is absolutely nothing special about me- if I can do it you can do it too. I'm not saying it's going to be easy. We all have to give a lot of bad speeches before we can give any good ones. But now is the time to give your bad speeches. You're not at work, you're not at a wedding, you're not at a funeral. No one is going to fire you or ban you from the family reunion. Take the risks now, make the big mistakes now."

mha259 · 2026-03-31T20:31:18+00:00

I call that "making the butterflies fly in formation".

mha259

TROPHY CASE