Was it wrong of me to tell the professor I feel stupid in her class in front of all my classmates?

I just started a new class. The work is hard, the discussion is hard. Everytime I participate in discussion, people don't listen and change the subject. I told the professor at the end of class that I feel stupid in her class because I am new and plus I feel this way because it seems that nobody elaborates on what I just said (they cut me off).


I told her that I as a person feel stupid in her class and that sometimes I really want to say something but I don't say it because I feel that if I did the class would think I was stupid.





I made a 4.0 GPA in my master's degree. This is the Ph.D program and I am the rookie, so I guess what I say holds no weight, but was I wrong to confess this to the professor and my classmates after the class ended? Did I probably leave a negative impression of myself?

Was it wrong of me to tell the professor I feel stupid in her class in front of all my classmates?
I don't think you were wrong to say how you feel. It's always best to let people know how you're feeling so they can change their behavior if they want.





I doubt the professor will have any prejudences against you unless he/she is a generally overbearing person. Some classmates may have a poorer opinion of you, but surely some will understand. In fact, there's a good chance you were speaking for more than yourself. It takes guts to do say what you did, and there will likely be those who are thankful you said it.





Are you the only rookie in the class? In my experience it's often hard to learn the new lingo when you start out anywhere, and maybe that's part of why you're struggling. You're obviously a very intelligent woman, so it's not that you ARE stupid. But we all feel that way at one time or another.





As for the discussion, it sounds like you're in a particularly vocal group. Maybe they know that the professor is especially fond of students who speak up so they are all vying for the top spot. If so, you've trumped them all by pointing out that you're not getting a chance to speak. It will be interesting to see if they give you time at your next class. The professor may take the opportunity to layout new rules too.





But if you still find it hard to speak up, you're going to have to learn how to do it. I don't know what you're studying, but being heard may be an important part of the discipline. If it's not, give it your best shot anyway.





Good luck tomorrow. Get some good sleep though. It will help. Let us know how it turns out OK?
Reply:I understand your situation, I often hated going to discussion classes because I felt that whatever I said was going to be wrong or sound stupid in front of everyone in the class. But you shouldn't say you're stupid, you are in a phd program. Just participate in the discussions, and just contribute and thats all.
Reply:You told the truth, you were very brave. I wouldnt have had the guts to. You werent wrong , it was the right thing. As for the second question, it depends. It didnt leave a negative impression


of you but thats just my opinion, your classmates probably thinks so to. I wouldnt lose any sleep over it if I were you.
Reply:Congrat's for ur courage thats very good coz u expressed ur feeling accordingly and u r mature enough now Be real Never feel stupid again coz other dont listen to u ur purpose was to study and to win the battle press on U r not in the world coz of pple but u r in the world coz of God stand firm and never loose hope in life all the best!!!
Reply:If she enjoys her job, she will help you in whatever ways she can. My professors always did whatever they could to help me with my studies. I am dyslexic and it is so hard to comprehend anything in a class room. I would spend 40 hours a week studying while the others spent 4 to 7 hours studying. My g.p.a. was 2.5 and theirs were much higher. Ya know, I am just as happy with my hard earned 2.5 as you are with your 4.0. All we must do is our best. I asked questions that I thought would get laughs because they should have been easy to answer. Those questions were not thought of as stupid because most students wanted to ask but they thought the question was stupid. Stupid is as stupid does?
Reply:Sorry to tell you this, but I think you made the wrong decision in telling her the way you did. You probably learned in your master's program that you have to play the game and it's 10 times more important your Ph.D program.





I think a more mature approach would've been to go to her office hours, tell her your problem, ask her for her feedback on how you can participate in the class better.





On the plus side, this really isn't that big of a deal, and people will forget about it soon.