# Professor calls on people randomly



## daaaaave (Jan 1, 2007)

I have a professor this semester who randomly calls on people. At first he didn't know my name so I didn't get called on, but then he figured it out. He called on me about 2 weeks ago and I basically choked. I said "um" then waited and he bailed me out. He is not a mean guy so I'm not mad at him, he seems really outgoing and friendly and just wants to involved the class, probably has no clue about anxiety. I don't want to have no answer every time though cause then I will look dumb in front of the class. The first time this happened I got over it okay cause it was just 1 time and I truly felt it was a hard question most other people wouldn't have answered either (and it's hard to BS cause he usually asks you to explain a math theorem) plus I have an A. A lot of people actually don't go to this class anymore. I'm not really sure why, it could be because it's kinda easy or maybe they are scared too. I skipped it on Tuesday and then on Thursday I had to leave about halfway through cause he was starting to call on people and I sensed that I would be his next victim since it was a small class. I couldn't pay attention to the material at all cause I was just worried about that. I hardly ever go to any professor's office hours so what should I do, is it okay to ask him to not call on me? I feel guilty if I do that cause other people probably don't like being called on either.


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## Mngirl (Jul 13, 2006)

Do you have his email address? If I were you I would either email or meet with the professor in their office. You may not want to do it but think about how much it will do for you if you just get it out now. You can just tell him that you arent comfortable participating in class, andyou could even ask if you can email him after every class with some thoughts on the class, so it will basically be like you are participating and you can still get points. Just say you arent comfortable talking in front of the class its not that weird of a thing to say anyways, i know plenty of people who arent comfortable talking in class. if he doesnt say yes at first, you could tell him that you actually blank out completely when you are called on, then maybe he will understand more.


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## lyssado707 (Oct 29, 2004)

Ughh yeah I've had a few of those in my lifetime. Luckily not too many though..I usually just answer if I can as I have a panick attack in my chair.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

Thank goodness for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which public post-secondary educational institutions (ie, public colleges and universities) have to abide by. First day of freshmen year, I knew I was not going to be able to handle being called on by teachers who get kicks from calling on people randomly, so I went to the disability support service center and had my psychiatrist's office fax over medical release forms so the disability support service center could send an email to all of my teachers telling them that they aren't allowed to call on me during class or force me to participate in group discussions. It's been a real lifesaver.


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## Dove (Mar 14, 2005)

^Wow, that sounds really.. good. Thanks for posting that. It might seem silly but that gives me slight hope for my future. I'll have to look into that sometime.

Anyway, egh, I hate classes like that. I can't handle those classes so I usually end up dropping them. I try to find out beforehand whether or not the professor is like that by messaging a person on ratemyprofessors.com, or just by reading every rating carefully to look for any signs of them liking discussion or something.


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## TreeFrog (Oct 17, 2007)

I can honestly say that it was being called on randomly in my classes that really about sent me over the edge last year. It is about the worst thing that I can personally think of when it comes to my SA. Hopefully you can get out of it. I would try if I were you. 
As for me, I can only hope to make it through to the other side (one and half years left). My first therapy appt. is in a few weeks.


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## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

At least you don't have a professor who conducts his class by having private conversations with each student while the rest of the class just listens in. The professor I have literally sits on your desk, stares at you and requires you to share personal anecdotes about yourself. It's a good thing my SA isn't as bad as it used to be. Heck, everyone in that class looks/feels awkward.


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## IllusionOfHappiness (Sep 6, 2007)

SADFighter said:


> professor I have literally sits on your desk, stares at you and requires you to share personal anecdotes about yourself. It's a good thing my SA isn't as bad as it used to be. Heck, everyone in that class looks/feels awkward.


I would die.
But I'd definitely either fail the class, drop the class, or tell him about my anxiety.


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## Rooftopguitar (Nov 20, 2007)

You know I still can't stand being called on in class, but since my major is music, I seem to have gotten past a lot of the issues that some SA people have. For instance I dread being called on in class, and have actually failed at least one class because I stopped going for fear that I might be called on. MIGHT. It was a startling realization when I finally took music theory and found that the professor calls on all students EVERY DAY. And it turned out to be my favorite class. Why? I didn't have to worry about being called on. I KNEW it was going to happen and that the way to keep from blanking was to have my homework done. Not to mention the class (for those who choose to continue) takes four semesters to complete, which is about how long it took for me to actually bond with my classmates. Now it's been something like four years and my current roommate was a friend from that class.

Anyway, you could contact the professor and explain your situation. I frown at the idea of stopping all your teachers from ever asking you a question or pushing you outside of your comfort zone. SA is tough, and it sucks, but to let it own you like that is well... it's not really a very good tactic. What I would do is try to figure out what specifically makes you freeze. Is it that you think you don't know the answer? Whatever it is, once you know what it is you can try to figure out a method to ease it and possibly make it bearable...


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