Archive: Around Town

Dear Margaret: I'm a photography major at a two-year college. My grades are above average, I get along very well with people overall, I have close friends, and participate in sporting activities where my team work is appreciated. My problem is that I have one professor who has taken an apparent dislike to me. She ridicules my answers openly in class and gives me poor grades on assignments. My fellow students are aware of this and are telling me that they don't know why she reacts to me in this way. I think they are telling me the truth when they say my work is good quality. I've only known this woman for about six weeks, negating the possibility that I have some sort of history with her. This frustrates and angers me, and I spend too much time thinking about it. I've tried my best to get in her good graces, without success. She has the ability to mess with my GPA, and it seems there's nothing I can do about it. I need help coping.
Not a Picture Perfect Relationship

DearNot a Picture Perfect Relationship: Your professor and is an adult version of the elementary schoolyard bully. This behavior is generally the result of low self-esteem on the part of the aggressor. You sound like a well-rounded, popular, and socially engaged individual. She looks at you and, for her, you are mirroring back some of her shortcomings. It's unfortunate when adults with fragile egos try to diminish the self-esteem of those in their charge. If down the road you know that you will encounter this instructor for other classes, make an appointment to discuss your concerns with her in an open, honest, and non-confrontational manner, if possible.  Let her know it is your preference to settle this between the two of you. If that fails, I suggest you meet with the department head to mediate. In both meetings you need to have clear examples. Know that in a turnabout way, by openly showing she doesn't respect you, it is actually evidence that she is dependent on you to increase her sense of value in herself.

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