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Currently, my math professor isn't very good and I have had plenty of experience using Khan Academy and my Googling skills. However, I'm afraid that if I diverge from the class, I might accidentally study something he's not testing us. Or he might go out of order and teach us chapter 6 when we're suppose to be on chapter 2. Up to this point he hasn't done anything like that and has actually been very good at keeping on schedule. I have a syllabus with the concepts listed for each day and a textbook to corelate with it. The textbook is incomprehensible but nothing a little Googling and Khan Academy can't solve. I don't mean to be rude but listening to him feels like a waste of time.I would really like to diverge from the teacher

I know other students have been in a similar situation. What do you recommend doing?

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    Study on your own and also do as the math professor says.
    – Anonymous Physicist
    Jan 17, 2020 at 7:27
  • @AnonymousPhysicist Do you think I should bother listening to him in class?
    – artdensity
    Jan 17, 2020 at 7:35
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    Ignore him at your peril. That would be a very dangerous "solution." But learning is your job. If you need alternate sources, then seek them out.
    – Buffy
    Jan 17, 2020 at 17:09

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Or he might go out of order and teach us chapter 6 when we're suppose to be on chapter 2. Up to this point he hasn't done anything like that and has actually been very good at keeping on schedule.

So why do you think he will do it? In your question, you do not give any examples of what he does wrong. Be careful not to become overconfident and think you know better than anyone, this might come back to bite you in the future.

If your issue is that you feel that the course is very slow, and you want to learn faster, then you are doing the right thing: study on your own at your own pace.

If you really feel that the lectures do not bring you anything, it is your decision whether you want to skip them. Assuming there are no attendance requirements, no one is going to stop you. This is university, you are responsible for your own decisions.

Make sure that you are ready for the test though. If the course provides access to past exams, that is a good way to gauge if you know the content that is going to be tested. If the professor uploads his slides, that will also help you know what was taught. Otherwise, it might be worth asking a classmate what the professor is covering.

I might accidentally study something he's not testing us.

I do not see how that would be a problem. If you learn more than strictly required, good for you.

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  • +1 for pointing out "I might accidentally study ...". I was wondering about this myself, and in fact when reading the question I initially thought I had misread the sentence and wound up reading it twice to make sure I hadn't misread it. I can understand the desire to minimize time and effort put into something one is not interested in, but in the context of the main argument and the audience of this site, it strikes me as an example of careless (or simply incorrect) logical reasoning, which is likely to have intended readers questioning the premise "my math professor isn't very good".
    – Dave L Renfro
    Jan 18, 2020 at 6:11
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Yes you should study yourself, but you should also listen as something relevant to an exam question may be explained which won't be in your other source.

That way you improve yourself - which is the whole point of education.

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  • I'll note that there might be a mismatch between teaching and learning styles here.
    – Buffy
    Jan 17, 2020 at 17:10
  • @Buffy I had an ex-Sergent Major who told us in the first class "If you can pass the exam without my help then you can leave now, if not don't be late for class". But perhaps your comment is better given directly to the OP...
    – Solar Mike
    Jan 17, 2020 at 17:26
  • The OP gets a ping on all comments. And, FWIW, I meant it to supplement your answer, not to criticize it. I even gave it an up vote.
    – Buffy
    Jan 17, 2020 at 17:31

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