Mr. Advice Guy #17 - Sept. 17, 2008

Dear Advice Guy,
My professor is a real jerk. I’m worried that he’s going to grade me unfairly, because he’s old and bitter. I need to maintain by GPA and I can’t drop the class. What should I do?
Grad School Hopeful

Dear Hopeful,
First of all, let me get something off my chest.
I’ve been told that last week’s column “wasn’t very funny” and that it “seemed too much like real advice”.
Hey, they can’t all be gems, people. Even Mr. Advice Guy has an off week. God forbid I dispense some actual advice here.
Anyway, back to your problem.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had at least one professor in our scholastic careers that we haven’t gotten along with. I’m sure it’s hard to imagine, but even your beloved Mr. Advice Guy has been the object of some scorn from a number of instructors in the past.
I’ve tried a bunch of different things to try to get along with said profs. I’ve tried charming them, I’ve tried sucking up to them and I’ve even tried bribing them. But only one method seemed to have much effect: pure, unadulterated avoidance.
No prof on this (or any other) campus is here because he/she actually hates students and wants to fail them.
That said, even your own mother can get sick of you sometimes. Or maybe that’s just my mother.
So try to avoid your prof at all costs. Show up for class only as much as is absolutely necessary. Don’t stop by his office for anything, no matter how important. And definitely don’t try to bribe him.