I’m finding it hard to believe an instructor actually contradicted herself and said “do all the assignments” and “do only some of the assignments.” Then again, some instructors are that bad…

But it’s always a good idea to complete EVERY assignment, so even if an instructor says otherwise–cover every source of points on the grading scale. There, that one’s settled.

Now, in a 75 minute class with 25 students, there’s only 3 minutes per student if the teacher is giving individual attention. That’s not enough time for a complete, thorough tutorial or editing session. The English Profs at the community college where I teach will have students do lots of peer editing (e.g., looking at each other’s writing and offering suggestions) but they do take the time to get to each student–just not in every class.

Dropping the course would probably be a bad idea because you wouldn’t get a refund and it’s too late to enter another section. So tough it out is the best option–then you don’t lose money nor fall behind. Don’t worry about GPA; if you transfer to a four year univerisity, your community-college GPA will no longer count. So just do whatever you need to do to pass the course with a C or better.

If the instructor isn’t giving you enough help, there is almost guaranteed to be a tutoring center (sometimes called learning resource center or study lab or some such fanciful title) on your campus. Go to them for lots of individual help with writing.

You are not in the class to teach yourself, it is her job to teach you. If you are able to, I think you should report her. I had a teacher that was absolutely horrible; she didn’t know anything at all. She even had her Ph.D in Math. She was banned from teaching a few courses and she was eventually fired; that’s just how bad she was. I think you should drop the class asap because I don’t think she’s that concerned about teaching you guys anything. If you want to stay in the course, maybe you should form a study group with the other students in your class, or maybe visit the English lab at your school if it has one. Before you enroll for the next semester, I suggest you visit this website I placed here. I’m not sure if your school in listed, but you can see ratings that students have given teachers at your school. You can then choose a decent teacher.

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/index.jsp

I wish you the best of luck with your course.