You Want Volunteers?

Last night, my professor asked a question, and then clarified, "Everyone but Student X and Student Y, please?" Student X and Student Y, you see, always answer questions.

No one raised their hand to volunteer.

There's nothing wrong with Student X and Student Y... they are very smart guys and usually do a pretty good job answering questions. And they're not gunners per se. It's just that no one else in class WANTS to answer, because the professor always manages to make us feel like idiots, no matter what we say. Nothing we say is right, even if what we answer is what he asked for.

And none of us like asking questions either because the professor has a knack for making us feel even stupider than before we cluelessly asked for help.

I think that Student X and Student Y just have thicker skins than the rest of us.

It's apparent that the professor, an attorney who practices in the field we are studying, believes we will never achieve his level of expertise. I just think that we, as a class, may never achieve his level of self-importance.

We're only half way through the course... it's going to be a long term for this one...