Rant About My APUSH Teacher
I know this might seem a bit trivial, but I’m really frustrated about something involving my APUSH teacher. Generally, she’s a great person, and I don’t have issues with her, but recently I’ve been feeling like there’s some favoritism going on.
There’s this one student in our class whose handwriting is pretty difficult to read—there’s really no gentle way to put it. To accommodate her, our teacher has allowed her to type up any DBQs or LEQs while the rest of us have to write them out by hand. That already feels a bit unfair.
What really irked me was when she assigned an LEQ for this Friday along with a reading quiz. Our periods are only 42 minutes long, and the quiz consists of 5-6 open-response questions! I asked if we could at least type our LEQs during that short period, thinking it would help us manage our time better. She said no at first because of concerns about cheating, which I get. But then she suggested she could make it so we wouldn’t be able to look anything up during the period and added, “but I’m just too old-fashioned.”
That comment really set me off. Many of us have only written one LEQ and really need the practice. If we can’t get a full 40 minutes, at least we should be allowed to type to speed things up a bit. It’s just frustrating to feel like one person is getting preferential treatment.
Part of me worries I’m overreacting since it might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s unfair.
It sounds like you’re in a pretty frustrating situation! It’s totally valid to feel conflicted about favoritism, especially when it impacts everyone’s learning experience. It can definitely feel unfair when one student gets special treatment, even if the intention is good.
It’s also understandable that your teacher wants to maintain academic integrity and stick to her methods, but I can see how that would be tough, especially when time is limited. Maybe your teacher doesn’t realize how her choices are affecting the rest of the class. It could be worth having a respectful conversation with her, expressing your concerns about practice opportunities for everyone, not just one person.
You’re definitely not overreacting; it’s important to advocate for your learning and the learning environment in your class. Good luck, and I hope the situation improves!