I find this class intimidating and I feel inferior?

Question

It's like an extra English class and it's more full on than normal English.

I feel nervous and intimidated in it because

a) The teacher is very fiery and has a fierce personality. They're not mean, but I have seen them make a student cry, and they are just that type of looming teacher that freak you out for no reason. They've never treated me badly, but I'm of a very timid and passive nature, especially around new, headstrong and older people like this teacher. I feel like they critically judge everything I say, you know, just that type of person?

And we're expected to participate in rich discussions about what we're learning and I don't always contribute- sometimes it becomes political and I'm not a political person. I don't want to say anything about something I dont know anything about and I feel like Im being judged for keeping quiet, that Im being labelled as stupid. The kids in that class are pretty smart too, Im not saying Im not at their level, Im just not at the top either

Answer 1

Try to come up with a good question to ask each class. That way you may be the one who GETS the conversation starting, and you'll get your question answered.

Answer 2

I understand how you feel. When I was in high school, I was very similar to you. In fact, I've 24 years old and I still feel a little overwhelmed and sometimes intimidated by strong personalities such as what you are describing.

One principle that I live by is not to look down on myself and doubt my abilities because there are enough people out in the world just looking for a "c***k in my chain" and doubting me. How can I expect anyone else to believe in me if i can't even believe in myself?

A word of advice that my insane Journalism teacher (who was a STRONG personality and intialy intimidated me) gave me back in 12th grade was "Fake it 'till you make it". She explained to me that even when I feel terrified inside, like I want to run and hide or totally dumb, on the outside pretend to be confident and no one will know.

It's worked pretty well for me and I am finding that the more I fake it, the less I need to. Or in other words, I am becoming more confident in myself and my abilities.

Answer 3

Ooh, my highschool English class was a lot like this. The teacher wanted to immediately feel comfortable with his students so he'd start being sarcastic and blunt, which, when you get nervous about stuff, or you are unsure about where you stand in the class, can be really intimidating! I decided to make one comment every day in the class. That was it. If I felt like commenting more, then I would, of course, but at first it was rare. Because I was talking a little bit every day, however, I eventually started to get more comfortable. If i didn't know something political, or about a certain book, I would look it up online after class, which is WAY easier now that wikipedia exists. Anyway, I would challenge myself to contribute a little bit at a time. It doesn't sound like you're too comfortable with the teacher, but talking with her might help- especially if she's different outside of class. Some teachers, in order to keep control or to keep a certain atmosphere in the classroom kind of put up a facade while class is going on. Maybe that's the case for her, but maybe not.

Good luck, and congrats on taking a challenging course and stepping out of your comfort zone. If you stick with it, it will probably help you grown in English, but also as a person! :)

Answer 4

Sometimes learning just requires us to "feel the fear and do it anyway".  The only way to feel more comfortable is to try and succeed a few times, and no, it won't feel easy trying, but that is how you move forward.  Good luck!

Answer 5

Just relax, and know that not every single thing in the world will be easy for you. Some teachers put on that kind of personality to teach you how to deal with it, so when you go to the real world it will be easy to deal with those types of people.

Answer 6

I wish I could tell you to relax and not worry about a thing cos you're doing fine & that would solve your problem but unfortunately sometimes there's no easy to overcome a timid nature - I promise you I'm speaking from experience.  I was painfully shy and timid when I was at school, not in English, but in Maths - sometimes I felt so stupid in class that I was afraid to ask or say anything because I'd go bright red and feel like I was wasting my teacher's time.  

The truth is - your school years are anything but perfect, they can be difficult and stressful and a lot of the time you've just got to grin and bear it.  

The chances are you'll always feel uncomfortable in this English class but if you're getting B grades then you're above average and doing well.  Your timid nature isn't going to change overnight and these classes will be tough for you but if you can force yourself to make just comment during each class discussion then the teacher can't say you're not contributing to the class, he/she probably realises that you're a quiet person anyway but with your grades there's no reason for them to be too critical of you. Don't be too hard on yourself, you're doing well to get B grades and you're just as good as every other student in that class - you're just a thinker instead of a talker.  

It'll take a big effort on your part to just take a deep breath and say something in that class, it doesn't matter if it's not exactly right and other people are bound to have different opinions to you, that's what discussions are all about.  

I went for a university interview recently and I was nervous as h**l because part of the interview was a group discussion and I can't bear the thought of speaking out and having people focus on me but I really wanted to do well in the interview so I just made sure that when a question was asked I spoke up with something - anything - and just went on from there & once I started it really did get easier.

Answer 7

Scraping a B is not a bad thing.  An A doesn't mean you are mastering a course, it means you have more than met the requirements of the class and answered correctly most testable material.  Any class can be made hard if the teacher wants to go that way, with no one getting an A....been there in that sitution where the highest grade in  a class was a B, no A's given.  Be proud of your accoimplishment and realize that you have met the challenge and no longer should feel intimidated.  So, challenge yourself, challenge your mind, and don't get defensive about it.  Relish the learning process.