It's harder than you can possibly imagine. Backed by 9 emails from frustrated students in my class I talked to the head of the department about my concerns for the class and the inept teacher she had hired.

We did have several in class talks about his methods but he responded defensively; so I sent her the emails, and she finally responded, suggesting that I should drop the class. I did. This class was an intro to Visual Basic and I already had a BS in Math, so I was only hoping for a good grounding in the basics. And this was a class taught at a community college in Fairfax County, Va. where we expect to have teachers of quality. We had no recourse from this academically-abusive fellow. I now believe that a more effective approach is possible to deal with academic derelicts. Teachers exist to aid in the transfer of knowledge and students exist to partake of that opportunity by supporting them. The teacher gets a guarantee from the students up front while we have to no such protection or guarantee if expectations are not realized. Information and facts abound; the real gift of a teacher is to transfer the enthusiasm they felt for these facts as knowledge that may interest us.

Change must occur when this transfer does not happen effectively or spontaneously within the classroom. The students must form a tight bond with each other quickly for mutual support to complement their own learning, and defend and protect against the possible situation that the teacher is a dud. I always have made the suggestion, if neglected by the teacher, that we all possess one anothers email addresses. This helps when the teacher cannot make it to class or is able to inform the class quickly of an assignment that has been misinterpreted, besides the obvious reason of intra-class communication.

The class has got to establish itself as a unified group. Teachers know, as a group, the class is fragmented and timid, and in awe of their positional authority...of course, they have the final say; so we let them do their thing, even when it's done poorly. I am not a timid person... modesty is not good for a needy person and I surely am needy for knowledge. I have even brought donuts to class in order to get us to socialize and break that mysterious barrier that we collectively possess: a view of each other as either more gifted or less gifted than we are and which category we are in is not for them to find out. Communication amongst members of the class is the quickest way for classroom learning to take place while boredom and inattentiveness decrease and a stressful situation is defused. We can begin to have fun in class asking and answering questions amongst ourselves besides the usual teacher-student pattern. We, as a group, take an active role in the learning process. So a bad teacher enters our classroom. We all know immediately if such a situation prevails. Now what is the proper course of action to persue?

The goal is either to have the teacher recognize their inadequacies and work with the class, or prepare the groundwork for having the teacher complain to the head of the department about their inability to control the class which is now being conducted by the class members themselves, after the class has properly alerted the department that such action is about to take place. This is not a lack of respect for the learning process, but an attempt to right a wrong in favor of those who would dare defend their right to a good education. We need to provide an environment where learning can take place and a poorly-prepared or poorly-equipped teacher lacking in communication skills necessary for insuring positive learning surely must be eliminated. A student union in the classroom gives us the guarantee and protection that we need to make education a two-way process.

By
Regis Gottus
http://www.TutorDepot.com