So something I hear all the time and
I've heard for years is just that people
are really struggling in their math and
science class because their teacher is
just legitimately bad and so I have just
preparing this for so long from so many
people but it's really curious so just
like what is this phenomenon like what's
happening so I just kind of sat and I
thought about the reasons I think that
so many math and science teachers can be
bad and so the first thing I know just
think about all of the science teachers
and math teachers that I've had which
have been a ton and I've had some really
excellent teachers I've had people that
totally change my life that I love that
we're just awesome and I connected with
so much and I've also had a lot of
really average teachers just where it's
like alright you take the class and then
it ends and you learned whatever you had
to or whatever and then I also have had
a ton of really bad teachers like people
who shouldn't be teaching at all people
who like it wasn't like I didn't like
them like everyone didn't like them and
like they were not making a class good
for anyone and so I kind of started
thinking about all the reasons why I
think that's gonna happen especially now
I've had a few years of science teaching
experience under my belt and so yes I
want to kind of go over what I think
about that so okay I think the biggest
reason I can think of why I think so
many science teachers are bad or really
anyone teaching any class it's very
analytical is that to do that well you
have to have two different skill sets
and you have to be pretty good in both
skill sets so one skill set is just
succeeding in whatever course you're
doing right so it's like if you are
teaching chemistry you have to really
understand chemistry so you have to be
somebody who's really good at getting
those technical aspects and more than
that you have to be somebody that when
you were young you're most likely drawn
to those kind of technical fields and
things that you were rewarded by a ton
of studying a ton of just like intense
concepts and like math steps and like
logical conclusions so that has to
appeal it to you and you have to be good
at it so it's hard to be good at math
and science and that's one skill set
that you just have to have as a math and
science teacher
then the other one is really different
because the other one is just being a
good teacher and the strengths you have
to have for that skill set are so
different because to be a good teacher
it's all about communication it's about
connecting with people and so all of
those skills are like more like
traditional like soft skills right so
it's like you have to be really good at
reading faces and saying like okay is
this person engaged right now how am I
gonna keep the whole class engaged
through this like kind of technical
thing and so I think it's just really
hard to have both those skill sets so
it's just more likely that your teachers
are gonna have one of the other and I
think that in the case of math and
science teachers more teachers
understand the material but then don't
have exactly the strengths to know how
to communicate that effectively to
students and keep them engaged while
they're doing it so yes I think people
that really succeed in things where it's
very analytical and it's a lot of alone
time and studying it's also just kind of
rare that same person
would be really good at connecting with
people and communication and kind of
like interpreting those really hard
topics all right so next and this is
kind of similar but I think that people
that are becoming math and science
teachers we're most likely always pretty
good at those subjects right I mean like
that's their job it makes sense that
when they were learning it like they
kind of got it relatively quickly and so
I think if you don't have that personal
experience of just how frustrating it
was and how hopeless it was and just how
it kind of make me do you feel bad about
yourself to not get these topics you
don't know what it takes to then
overcome that and end up doing well you
just kind of are like well it worked for
me when someone explained it to me the
first a second time I just kind of got
it and then I worked on practice
problems alone and then I kind of really
got it
and now my math and science teacher
right and not to say that if you get
things quickly you didn't work super
hard and you don't you don't earn that
but that's really different than someone
who is really struggling through these
classes who most likely you know in my
experience when you're really struggling
all it really means is that you didn't
have the preparation from your previous
classes to be in this class that's not
really a reflection of you being stupid
or not good enough it's just like okay
you ended up in this class where you
needed this foundational knowledge that
you didn't have so I think most people
that end up teaching these subjects just
don't have those
and so another kind of thing that's very
similar to this is and this is true for
any type of teaching is that it's really
hard to remember what it was like to not
know something like I just kind of in
general have this chemistry knowledge
because I've been teaching it for so
long and so I remember when I just
started teaching or I was teeing I had
only known this chemistry stuff for a
couple of years and I'd be able to be
like okay I remember exactly what it
felt like not to understand this and so
I'm gonna then communicate like this
little bridge kind of bringing people
over from not understanding to then
understanding it because I remember
exactly what was tricky about it to me
and now it's been so long I don't have
those memories anymore they're just gone
like all I remember is that like oh yeah
I kind of know these chemistry facts and
other people don't and it's my job to
teach them that and you know we're all
guilty of this this is just a thing that
happens to all of us right so it's like
can you remember what it's like to not
be able to read or to not know that plus
means addition and minus means subtract
right we all know these facts that just
get ingrained and then we can know you
know like theoretically like oh of
course a child's not going to know those
things are gonna have to be taught it
but then because we don't have those
memories of not understanding those
things we have to kind of guess like
okay how would I explain this to
somebody who doesn't know this for the
first time right and so then you're just
doing the best you can by guessing how
you would explain it
because you can't remember exactly how
you needed it explained in the first
time okay so this next one is kind of a
stereotype and it only applies to people
at the college or university level not
high school but I for one found it to be
extremely true which is that especially
with science teachers or professors a
huge chunk of them actively hate
undergrads and don't want to teach them
ever and the view undergrad teaching as
a waste of time as something that's
beneath them and what they really want
to be doing is their own research so so
many professors will have their own lab
with their grad students and that's what
they're passionate about that's why they
became a professor that is what gets
them up in the morning that is their
true passion in life and most schools
will just have a requirement where it's
like every professor has to teach one
course a semester or
one course a year and I would say that
maybe 30% of professors that I
encountered viewed it as like a waste of
time like it was like a third job it's
like oh I but I really am as this fancy
chemistry professor but then because the
University says so I have to teach this
undergrad class once a year and I view
that as like taking out the trash and
they literally put the least amount of
effort into it they don't care at all
their materials will be 3040 years old
I've legitimately taken chemistry
classes that clearly the teacher didn't
modify in 30 years just based on the
technology they were using and it feels
insulting so it's like where do you
think grad students come from like we
have to get their undergrad degree first
like we deserve a good education and
even if they're not gonna become a
chemist like you still deserve to be
able to learn these things right and
that's just not the attitude that a lot
of professors have they're very snooty
and you know most of them went to you
extremely good schools they really don't
understand what it's like to not get
these concepts to them you know every
undergrad class is like a joke and it's
like well why don't you just know this
already you know it's not hard at all to
them so yeah that's a real phenomenon I
definitely experienced it and I think
that the solution is just to kind of do
a lot of schools are already doing which
is to prioritize lecturers right so
people that go through all their
education and say it's my passion to be
a lecturer like most of those people are
great at their job and they're super
passionate about it and they don't have
a separate lab component so yeah so
hopefully more schools will continue to
kind of prioritize lecturers and you
know make sure they're well paid and
kind of a you know treat them like good
employees and not just kind of expect
the professors that have research and
labs and getting patents and getting
papers published like those aren't your
only valuable teachers those aren't your
only valuable employees all right so
those are all of my kind of science
specific reasons why I think that there
can be a lot of bad math and science
teachers but I also just have some
reasons why in general teachers can be
bad and this one is very global to
anyone but in general within like this
some of like humans on earth like
there's like a lot of garbage people so
if you just take like any group of
people right you take any job let's just
say poet
right save all the poets in the world a
huge chunk of them are gonna suck real
bad and that's because like out of any
group of people a huge chunk of them
suck real head right there are just like
human beings are diverse in all ways and
one of the ways that we're diverse is
like are you good at your job or are you
fucking shitty at your job and so if you
have teachers just like as a whole as a
rule that's a group of people so they're
gonna have some chunk of them that are
god-awful at their job and shouldn't be
doing it and really early getting an F
right so that's like not unique to
science teachers at all it's just like a
rule of the world there are lots of
people at suck and then kind of a
similar more sympathetic way of thinking
about it is just that everyone's a human
being and everyone has stuff going on
all the time and in general we're doing
our best it's just that sometimes we're
not doing that great sometimes our best
is not very good right so it's like you
know I've taught a bunch of years and
I've had to teach like a day after
breakup so the day after a huge fight
with my my friends or the day I like I'm
just having a terrible day I'm gonna
really bad mood and like nothing's gonna
shake me out of it like you still have
to go show up and teach people and so I
think that a lot of people are just
having a rough time and like you're bad
teacher maybe one of those people like
they may just be in like a series of
years or maybe it's just one year or
maybe it's just a few months where
they're having a fucking rough time with
life and like they just can't quite give
it all together and so this person who
just has like their own life going on
might just be having a really rough time
in general and so the fact that you're
in their class right now it's just kind
of bad luck for you because they can't
like deal with being a very good teacher
right now which sucks it's not like
that's okay I'm not trying to explain it
away but it is something that really
happened like we're all doing the best
we can we all have these lives that take
a lot out of us and make us feel bad a
lot of the time and so your science
teacher may just be having like a really
rough period of time and they like can't
be a good teacher right now and that
sucks and so also something that's kind
of similar is just that teaching it can
be really hard to get good at it
and not just because being a good
teacher is hard which it is but because
I don't think that a lot of the times
teachers are kind of set up or given
like the best like ways and tools to
like become a good teacher I personally
know that it's been very isolating being
a teacher if you think about it right if
you're an accountant you're probably in
some room or office with a bunch of
other accountants you can kind of bounce
ideas off and you can be like oh come
check out my work although blah and in
general you're gonna know a lot of other
accountants and as a teacher it's
isolating like in that room in the
classroom you're the only one that's
like you right everyone else is a
student and so you often get really no
feedback will get like feedback forms
the end of the year but then those are
like from students and so you're kind of
left being like is this the most
accurate person like did this person
just like not like me or also they're a
child so can I only trust their opinion
not that your opinion is bad because
like you're a student but like it's not
the same as having a bunch of teachers
watch you and be like oh I would do this
for 30 years
let me show you what I would do right so
a lot of ways that teachers are trained
is basically just like no training at
all like I've never been trained for
teaching I've just always been teaching
at the college level and like I think
when I started grad school I had like
maybe one hour of training before we
like to throw you into the classroom and
they're just like you're a teacher now
make sure you show up to your sections
and teach the undergrads a goodbye and
then that's it and you're just like on
your own so I think that like it can be
really hard to even if it's like your
dream to be a really good teacher a lot
of times you don't get any materials and
how to do that you're just kind of
guessing and doing your best and
sometimes guessing and doing your best
doesn't lead to great results sometimes
you need to be trained on like here's
how you're an effective teacher and
here's how you're not and a lot of
teachers just never get any of that they
don't get any feedback so I think have
just kind of a system that lends itself
to people not doing the best they could
be and so another thing is that your
teacher could be really good for some
people but not for you it's so hard to
do a good job for everybody it's almost
impossible right cuz it's like we're
looking at a classroom full of students
it's just like not all of you guys are
going to need to learn the same
but I only have one way that I can talk
and talking to all of you so I have to
decide what's the strategy I'm gonna use
and I'm gonna hope that it's like the
best for the most number of people um
but again that's kind of a guess so
your teacher might be really good some
students might be like I love this
teacher and it might just be because
their way of teaching is highly
effective for them right and that just
kind of sucks
um I know every semester I have I always
feel like there's just got to be a chunk
of people who my teaching style doesn't
work for right it's impossible to have
something that's gonna be a great fit
for everybody and kind of similar to
that it might be that your teacher is
actually okay in certain areas like
maybe their teaching is actually okay
but they're really not doing okay in
like an interpersonal area right like I
think a lot of teachers are rude it's
easy to people just fall in that trap
like you get snappy you become
condescending and you're just actually
being rude I think it's so easy for
teachers to do that I had so many
teachers that were just unacceptably
rude and you know the reasons like
you've learned doing that are a couple
but one a lot of teachers almost every
teacher gets a lot of rudeness to their
face right like think about your
teachers like there's a chance that like
students are constantly kind of
disrespecting that teacher and maybe
putting them down or making fun of them
or in general just like disrupting stuff
and so it is hard just you stand in the
front of a bunch of people and have them
be rude to you and then for you to just
be professional and to never break again
I'm not excusing it saying and that's
fine and teachers should be rude it's
not you're an adult you shouldn't be
doing that but it's kind of an
explanation for some of them like right
sometimes you just crack right enough
people kind of sass you and are
condescending and under undercut you and
you just kind of have it and you just
kind of like your niceness veneer just
like loses it a little bit and you kind
of frayed all the time and that's just
like what happens to people so like your
teacher might be actually doing an okay
job explaining the material that maybe
you just hate them cuz they have a bad
attitude
and so if that's the case it's actually
not the worst case scenario right like
if the only thing wrong with them is
their attitude but they're actually kind
of going through and allowing people to
learn and like actually teaching stuff
okay
that's actually not the worst case
scenario so if that's you have like try
to identify it and at be grateful that
at least the person is explaining things
even if you don't like them and they are
an asshole or whatever all right and so
the very last thing that could be going
on is that it could just be you it could
be actually completely you and your
teacher is good or fine or average and I
know it's kind of a fuck you to include
this in the list at all in this video
but I did think it's worth mentioning
and so I'll at least explain why I have
this on here like I would say for the
vast vast majority of people um taking
science and math classes is not fun even
if you kind of like it and you do well
in these classes I wouldn't say it's fun
you know I think they're mostly just
these exams that are a ton of pressure
like your futures on the line it feels
like it's super high stakes and here's
this person who essentially feels like a
barrier it's like you know you want as a
goal that's off here in the future but
before you can get that goal you have to
pass these classes and so this person is
essentially a block for you and so I
think with that it can be really easy
cuz you're gonna upset they have to take
the class at all or upset you're not
doing as well as you want to or upset
you have to work so hard today that it
can just be easy to be like well I hate
this person and they suck and it's their
fault and look look look that's totally
totally possible like maybe it's both
maybe you hit the class and the teacher
is awful like there's tons of people
that's applicable for but there's also
gonna be a lot of people or if you guys
kind of think really hard about it you
might be like maybe they're not so bad
maybe they're kind of doing an okay job
not the best I'm not really reaching me
but like maybe they're not the worst and
maybe like I do just kind of hate them
because I hate the class and so I think
that if this is you at all it can
actually be helpful because you know the
teachers life is not gonna change no
matter how much you hate them right
unless you can get them fired I guess
then yes their life will change but
short of you getting them fired
you know the semester or the year is
going to end you're going to leave their
life and so if you spend all this energy
hating them and you also end up like
failing the class or not doing well that
doesn't affect anyone but you and so if
you can be like okay
this person's not only working for me or
maybe they're fine but like I'm hating
them so much and you can just find a way
to work past that and really really
focus and be like no matter what I still
need to pass this class so yeah even
though that maybe seems like a
discouraging play and is annoying and
also coming from a teacher so I get it
it is I think still useful to kind of
think like ah like maybe they're not the
worst and even if they are maybe I can
just kind of try do the best for me
right because the goal is still the same
you still have to pass this class and do
the best you can in it and so even
though it probably feels kind of
annoying to be like maybe I was kind of
blaming them or maybe I just think
they're really nerdy I don't like them
but maybe they're actually doing an okay
job if you can get to that point where
you can you know hopefully have the
teacher help you if you're a little bit
more open to them and you can kind of
ask them how to prepare study for this
exam or get a little bit more
information and build a little bit of a
relationship with them that is gonna be
better
so again totally possible your teacher
is just awful and there is no room for
improvement and you are doing the best
but at least spend a couple of seconds
thinking about like is this coming from
me do I just kind of hate them on the
class and maybe like it's not
specifically their teaching that's so
bad it's just like I don't want to be
here so I feel really angry about it
because if it's that like at least sort
of something you can do about it at
least you can kind of work on your own
attitude and like slowly like you know
de-escalated from there alright so yeah
I think that's a pretty much the reasons
I came up with at least of why a lot of
math and science teachers are bad yeah
it's kind of it's too bad that happens a
lot but also I think that this is pretty
common you know I think it'd be really
rare if you made it your entire like
science career or academic career and
didn't have one bad science or math
teacher so it's kind of a hurdle that
everyone has to face and I do the video
on what to do if you have a really bad
science or math teacher and kind of some
steps you can take so I'll link to that
and also if you have any questions you
know academic or otherwise that you want
me to answer
I feel free to leave them in the
comments and I'll try to get to them but
yeah that's pretty much it thanks for
watching
hey thanks so much watching that video
ho please feel it for you to like
comment or subscribe alright thanks bye
