So, I'm A Little Upset ...

[bigdaddy]

It's why I make things up in papers I have done.

You take a real thing that happened and make up so BS that makes it an awesome paper!

But yeah, your teacher is a dick. I would never share anything that personal with a teacher anyways, but it's just polite to ask to do it first.

 

[Shatnertage]

I teach a creative non-fiction class sometimes, and students often choose to write about pretty personal stuff (even though I try to warn them against it).

I make it pretty clear before we start which assignments will be shared with the class, which I will read and comment on, and which they do for themselves only. That way, everyone has the right expectations.

Except there's usually a tool who argues that anyone who would write differently depending on whether other people are reading it or not is a hypocrite. It's great to be 20 and have all the answers.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm sorry you're upset, Kestra, but I'm not sure the teacher did anything wrong. Doesn't writing a paper for school imply that it will be read by strangers? The teacher, obviously, and he can possibly show it to other teachers and helpers. And papers are usually discussed in class, aren't they?

Writing a paper usually implies that it will be read by your instructor, or a TA. At least in my experience, we do not generally discuss papers in class and certainly don't hand out copies of them unless it's a writing workshop. In that case it's usually pretty obvious. I've had my work used as an example before, but I was always asked permission and I was present at the time. It's like RoJo said, I made the assumption that the professor was my audience. Clearly that was a bad assumption to make!

Interesting. I guess if it was me, I'd assume that anything I wrote for school would be public to whatever degree. But if that's not the expectation in your circumstance, he should have asked. Next time you have to write a paper for him, use this experience as a topic and see what he says.

I kind of agree with RJDiogenes here. If I write a paper for school I assume that it could be read by anybody. In fact, several times it has occurred that the professor collects our work and then unexpectedly passes them out randomly to other students for us to critique each others' writing.

That's true. When I was at Emerson, the teacher used to give me other students' assignments to review and some of the topics were autobiographical.

 

[Captain_Nick]

I know he's not a bad guy, I just think that the content of my paper was so obviously personal that it would be difficult to think otherwise.

Oh, don't assume that everybody must think that way just because you do. He is a professor of something, not necessarily a person who can do empathy.

edit - did that come across as really harsh?

I really want to address this with him but he's incredibly difficult to talk to. Not because he's mean or anything, he just goes around in circles. Someone asked him if an assignment was to be a bulletpoint list or actual paragraphs and he talked for fifteen minutes about nonsense without actually ever answering the question.

This is what I'm talking about. An elevated mind.

Please don't -

I was thinking about just writing it in during course evaluations at the end of the class. Unlike my previous college, they're taken seriously here.

You'll just get him in trouble for no good reason. Don't be a wimp, talk to the guy and get his side of the story. It is always better to talk things out with people.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I agree with most of the stuff people already posted. While I think using your written work as a good example can be flattering, there is the issue of privacy. At the very least, your prof should've asked your verbal or written permission first, which is typically what instructors do in a class setting.

A few months ago, I recently completed a 12-week personal development program at work provided by my employer. One class segment had to do with resilience or managing change, and a class exercise involved writing about one's personal experiences using a timeline and including the highlights and lowlights of one's life. Most people, myself included, felt uncomfortable discussing specific details. Who wouldn't? Although I had grown acquainted with my classmates, I wasn't about to start talking about the depression, foreclosure, or bankruptcy I went through. So I picked a not so sensitive topic I was comfortable enough dealing with. I recall one classmate refused to do the exercise because she felt it would violate her privacy.

If you're still feeling uneasy about all this, you could bring up the subject to your professor or send him an e-mail and let him know how this made you feel. Tell him you would appreciate it in the future if he asked your permission first before sharing your work with the whole class.

 

[Kestra]

You'll just get him in trouble for no good reason. Don't be a wimp, talk to the guy and get his side of the story. It is always better to talk things out with people.

It has nothing to do with being a wimp. I find him extremely difficult to communicate with and I do not believe a discussion with him would address the topic in a constructive manner.

Like someone said, it's over and done with. I can't get any of it back and I suppose it's just a lesson learned.