Demanding professor insists student presentations stick to schedule then allows frequent overrunning, faces schooling from student determined to make the grade : 'We're sure we have this down to 30 minutes'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 14, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

While the professors of your college years may not always be as life-defining as the teachers who came before that, they still have a significant impact on your educational experience. Most college graduates can look back and pinpoint that one class they really wish they hadn't taken, purely because of the teaching experience.

For one student, it looked like they might feel this way about a history class they took recently. Part of the grade was based on a group presentation, and the professor was insistent that the only things that students got to pick were the topic and the week they presented in—if they missed it, they got a 0. 

Unfortunately, this professor also let his students way overrun their 30-minute timeslot when presenting, giving an unfair advantage to certain groups. When it looked like this injustice was going to happen to this Redditor, they were quick to switch up on the narrative. 

Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10416273664
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
     

  • 02
    Professor demands we stick to schedule. We stick to schedule.
    via WarmKitten
  • 03
    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
  • 04
    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
  • 05
    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
  • 06
    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
  • 07
    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
  • 08
    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
  • 09
    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, I off and sit with steam shooting out of my ears for the next two hou
    via WarmKitten
  • 10
    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
  • 11
    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
  • 12
    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
  • 13
    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
  • 14
    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
  • 15
    BearLindsay 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 BearLindsay
  • 16
    RealUltimatePapo 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 RealUltimatePapo
  • 17
    Bob-son-of-Bob 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 Bob-son-of-Bob
  • 18
    calcaneus 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 calcaneus
  • 19
    jep2023 I would've just given y'all the 100 and got on with my day
    via jep2023
  • 20
    Tiefschlag Well done. A schedule is a schedule. And this goes both ways
    via Tiefschlag

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

class professor students presentation malicious compliance petty revenge reddit thread Reddit college
Scroll Down For The Next Article