How to Cope with a Professor Who Belittles You in Class

That is genuinely hard. A professor using their position to belittle you in front of others is not normal teaching, and it is not something you caused. None of this is your fault — the mistake belongs to the person who keeps choosing to humiliate you, and it says far more about them than about your worth or your ability.

Keep your studies separate

The classroom is where the hurt happens, but your grades do not have to live there too. You can protect your learning without waiting for this person to change.

• Build your understanding from the textbook, handouts, and past papers, not just their lectures.
• Ask one or two classmates for notes or a study group, so you are not relying on the professor as your only teacher.
• Do your assignments carefully and keep records of your own work, so your marks speak for themselves.
• If a section switch or a different class is possible, you are allowed to choose that without calling yourself a failure.

Make your study time your safe zone. When you sit down to work, remind yourself that you are doing this for your own future — not for their approval.

Hold on to yourself

The cruel words may replay in your head long after class ends. When that happens, try to name what is really going on: this is one person's habit of putting students down, and it would likely happen to anyone sitting in your seat. You are not broken, and you did not provoke this.

Talk to people who see the real you — a close friend, a parent, a sibling, a cousin. Say it out loud: "My professor humiliates me in class." Saying it plainly takes some of the shame off you and puts it where it belongs. Also take care of your body: sleep, food, and a walk between classes matter more than you think when someone is chipping away at you all week.

Speak to someone with authority

You do not have to fix this alone, and you do not have to confront the professor directly — in fact, it is often safer not to. But you can choose one person in the system you trust: a head of department, a dean, a student advisor, or a senior lecturer. Ask for a private conversation and tell them the behaviour has been happening since the start, in front of the whole class.

There is no guarantee of what happens next, and that is not because you failed — institutions move slowly and unevenly. But saying it to one trustworthy person makes the problem theirs to know about too, and you are allowed to ask that your name be shared only with your consent. You do not have to carry this silently.

Whatever you decide — staying in the class, shifting sections, or doing nothing for now — is allowed. There is no single right move, only the one that keeps you safe and steady. And if you ever want to talk it through, Zara is here, whenever you need her.