Don't Say These Things If You Want Sympathy From Your Professor

Professor Steve Dutch (U of Wisconsin - Green Bay) offers a list of some things you might not want to say to your professor if you expect ANY sympathy. Think of it as a TOP TEN list with a few bonus items:
  1. This Course Covered Too Much Material...
  2. The Expected Grade Just for Coming to Class is a B
  3. I Disagreed With the Professor's Stand on ----
  4. Some Topics in Class Weren't on the Exams
  5. Do You Give Out a Study Guide?
  6. I Studied for Hours
  7. I Know The Material - I Just Don't Do Well on Exams
  8. I Don't Have Time For All This (...but you don't understand - I have a job.)
  9. Students Are Customers
  10. Do I Need to Know This?
  11. There Was Too Much Memorization
  12. This Course Wasn't Relevant
  13. Exams Don't Reflect Real Life
  14. I Paid Good Money for This Course and I Deserve a Good Grade
  15. All I Want Is The Diploma
Read the whole thing here.

The full piece has a lot of comments after each line that explain WHY they're not particularly good things to say. All in all, it gives a pretty good picture of your professors' mindsets.

Since classes just started (and I'm at a new school), this looks like a pretty good candidate for the first thing I put up on my door.

HT: Newmark's Door