Professor demands student presentations adhere to strict schedule, student vows to hold them to their word: 'We’re presenting now, to an empty room, or you’re giving us [a] 100'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Oct 14, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Everyone probably remembers the anxiety of having to present in front of the class, nervously watching the clock ticking as you await the carrying out of your sentence. Teachers would always find some way to change the order of who went first, usually alphabetical, then reverse alphabetical, before going to whatever lottery system tickled their fancy for the next round of presentations.

Typically, it would be usual for us slackers to want to go as late in the order as possible so that we could count on an extra day or two to finish while others gave their presentations. In some ways, though, it was a relief to go first, so that you could just get it over and done with. Worst of all was when you expected to go that day and would go through all the rigmarole only to be left hanging: all that worrying of no use whatsoever. 

Group projects added another layer to all of this. When you're counting on other people to be ready and pull their weight, the only thing that you can count on is that someone won't have done their part… Typically, though, you wouldn't expect it to be the teacher themself who was unprepared, as it was in this story that this student shared with this online community. What began as an innocuous history class quickly escalated when their group was denied their chance to present… But this student wasn't going quietly or without holding the professor to their word.

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    Cheezburger Image 10416051200
    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    Image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Image is for illustration only and subjects are models.

  • 02
    Professor demands we stick to schedule. We stick to schedule. L This was last year. In hindsight, I feel a little bad for the professor. He wasn't the worst I'd ever had, and he was up against a University which was in turmoil behind the scenes and spearheading an untested new course. That being said, I am paying quite exorbitantly for this education, and he was a right snot about this so, eh.
    via WarmKitten
  • 03
    It was a history course, and one of the assignments was a group project wherein we presented in front of the class. There was a three hour seminar taking place in a lecture hall, the last hour of which was reserved for two groups to go up and present at a half hour apiece. This would involve a Q and A session afterwards, just to keep us on our toes, I suppose.
    via WarmKitten
  • 04
    Professor really emphasized that we pick the week and topic we're going to present in and that's that. It's first-come-first-serve and if you miss your spot you get a 0. Thought nothing of it at the time, seemed fair. Didn't like his attitude, but whatever, right?
    via WarmKitten
  • 05
    Well I won the lottery with the group I was assigned. They were grand lads and a dream to work with. We decided on an advantageous week to present (given our schedules) and we spent the run up fine-tuning this presentation and really getting it to work. We used a stopwatch and everything, we even brought in outsiders to ask questions we might not predict. All was well.
    via WarmKitten
  • 06
    Except we were presenting in week five, and a disturbing pattern had emerged during the seminars in weeks two, three and four. For all his talk about keeping things constrained and everyone working within a schedule, whoever went second was screwed. The first group always ran long and the second group had to make do with, at-most, 20 minutes. You could see the stress on their faces.
    via WarmKitten
  • 07
    So come week five the rest of my group, a little bit more nervous than I am, worries aloud about whether all of our careful planning will be for pot. I decide to throw a hail Mary thinking that the worst I could get is a "no", right?
    via WarmKitten
  • 08
    So I go up right before class stars and ask the prof what are the odds we might go on first out of the two, after all, we're sure we have this down to 30 minutes. The dude proceeds to rake me across the coals in front of everyone. It was a normal speaking voice, but the podium was right by the door, and people were filing in. Tells me not to ask such a stupid question and to go back to my seat. I go back, tail between my legs, off and sit with steam shooting out of my ears for the next two hours
    via WarmKitten
  • 09
    Sure enough, the other group goes first. And sure enough, they run long. We shoot concerned looks to the professor who is too busy watching the other group to notice. Come 50 minutes in and the first group is just about wrapping up. The guys in my group are silently freaking out about this. Nightmare, right? That's when the prof stands up, polite applause all around and then says "Well I guess we're finishing early today, huh?"
    via WarmKitten
  • 10
    Like a scene out of a courtroom drama the four of us stand up like a shot and ask what the is going on. He can't quite hear us from back, and we're all talking at once so he asks "What's going on?" I charge down those steps like King Kong.
    via WarmKitten
  • 11
    In the same tone of voice, in front of the same door that people were now filing out of, I tell this guy that we're booked for the assignment today and we have something prepared. "W-what!?" Turns out he totally plum forgot that we were presenting today, and that's why he was so mad at my suggestion earlier. So I tell him we're presenting now, to an empty room, or he's giving us 100.
    via WarmKitten
  • 12
    The poor guy sure did try. Insisted we hadn't signed up this week (we had), insisted that he could schedule us in next week (even assuming two of four of our group weren't away on placement for their teaching degree, we booked for this week as ordered), insisted that he had somewhere to be (not my problem, mate).
    via WarmKitten
  • 13
    Dude just had to wear it. After making a phone call to (presumably) his next appointment, he had to stand there, white as a sheet, and wear it. I'll never forget the look on his face. So we presented to a lecture hall empty of all but the professor and two students who, I guess, wanted to see more of the show. We got a great grade, to boot.
    via WarmKitten
  • 14
    BearLindsay 12h ago. . I was expecting you to stand up in the middle of the first group for your scheduled start time but this is so much better.
    via WarmKitten
  • 15
    RealUltimate P... 13h ago. Drama, conflict, victory, embarrassing defeat. This had it all Lesson learned for the professor: don't be a snot to the little guy. They may just crush your hopes and dreams (and free time)
    via WarmKitten
  • 16
    Bob-son-of-Bob 12h ago. • I applaud you for handling it this exact way. Having experienced numerous years on this planet, I have had the displeasure far too many times, of interacting with people who don't do their job (again, no if's or butt's or excuses - you either do your job or you fail at it). Thus, I also completely lose my marbles when people fail to do their jobs.
    via WarmKitten
  • 17
    calcaneus 10h ago . So this prof talked a good line but never actually made the first group of presenters stick to schedule? That's just . Whenever I had to do presentations we were timed and couldn't go over. You'd get a warning, like the prof would raise a yellow flag or something in the back of the room when you had like five minutes left and had to start wrapping up, and you did, or else it hurt your grade.
    via WarmKitten
  • 18
    . jep2023 11h ago I would've just given y'all the 100 and got on with my day
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  • 19
    KWS1461 · 10h ago Professor should have given a 2 minute warning to wrap up to each group atv28 minutes.
    via WarmKitten
  • 20
    Tiefschlag • 11h ago Well done. A schedule is a schedule. And this goes both ways
    via WarmKitten
  • 21
    Gestrid 9h ago When I was in school, my professors would've stopped you at the time limit regardless of whether or not you were finished or met all the grading criteria.
    via WarmKitten
  • 22
    Lanky-Awaren... 12h ago. Well handled. Prof needed to set strict time limits. That is what my Profs did in school.
    via WarmKitten

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