I think apologise nicely. Some people do not like distractions in something they take very seriously. Agreed that he should have waited until after class for a private chewing out or even a firm if you must be late, at least dont disrupt the class.
In any case, the big majority of the profs do it because the care about these things. So you can stop worrying about grudges. Most bad feedback is usually an issue of maturity and poor understanding of expectations.
Apologise and get on with it.
I had one prof who picked favorites and scapegoats - and was known schoolwide for picking favorites and scapegoats.
She had many other problems as well. Many, many other problems.
But she was a rare case, thank goodness. Pretty much the only one in many, many years of schooling.
I had an art teacher in High School take a dislike to me.
She had a very good reputation as a “tough” teacher. I was actually looking forward to that—at that point I’d already been taking private art lessons for a while, had started selling my work a little, and High School art classes were *bo-*ring. I was looking forward to being challenged, and was on my best behavior in that class. (Not that I was typically a little hellion—I was a geek and a nerd.) But she didn’t like me. I think it was because she got it into her feverish brain (more on that later) that I was a “know it all.” But I wasn’t. I was trying—trying so hard—to please her. Took all her criticism to heart (even when it was irrational), and was extra polite.
She allowed other students to get away with the typical student stuff (talking to each other while working on projects, stuff like that), but she’d jump on me for the exact same harmless behavior that she was ignoring or accepting in others.
She’d give critiques of everyone’s work in front of the class, and she savaged my projects, while softballing everyone else’s stuff. I took it. I took it all. I was confused, because I was trying so hard, but I just took it. And I knew that something wasn’t quite right.
Looking back, I should have done what you did, Kilt-wearin’ man, confronted her and then gone to someone higher up, like a counselor. I don’t think the counselor would have considered my art projects to be that bad. (I think she gave me C’s—at least she wasn’t trying to fail me.) Or, I should have just given up. Just done ordinary stuff, stop trying so damned hard. Just phoned everything in. Not done anything bad, just banged out ho-hum ordinary “C” work. Because by hook or by crook, that was all I was ever going to get from her anyway. And if she had given me a hard time and tried to fail me for my C-grade quality work, I could then show my C work to the counselor, prove that I’d done the work, and get her off my back.
Anyway, the twist to the story is that she left suddenly in the middle of the school year. Turns out she had a brain tumor or something wrong with her brain. I guess that explains her behavior. I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t miss her attitude in that class.
Anyway, I was moved to a different art class, where I was so grateful to finally not be walking on eggshells all the time. And it was so refreshingly amazing to start getting A grades again. (I didn’t phone them in—I did try to do a good job with the new teacher.)
That’s certainly a pretty good summation of the UK system! As for the US, well…Wow. Presumably there is an opportunity for students to critique the professor/course at the end of each semester though - or maybe that kind of quality assurance doesn’t go on…?
I spent a quarter in the US studying on an exchange programme, but as I only needed to pass to continue my course at home I didn’t pay too much attention to the marks. I was impressed by getting multiple chooice questions in exams though, which made life a hell of a lot easier!
I really didn’t intend to “confront” my prof, I just wanted to smooth over what were obvious ruffled feathers - we were about a month into the semester and he was alternately ignoring me and insulting me in class. I wound up seeking out the department chair because he turned my “approach with the hopes of salvaging a working relationship” into an hourlong bitch session where he made it clear that he intended to fail me to “teach me a lesson”.
Awhile back, when I was in college (okay, so it wasn’t that much of “awhile back”), there was a professor, Dr. Luce, who taught one specialized class which I wanted very badly to take for the subject. (I can’t even recall the subject matter now.) However, word on the campus was that he was horrible–would pick on students, was an overall hardass, etc., depending on who you talked to. I signed up for the class anyway. I found out that yes, he was a hardass, but in a good way. I’m not sure how it began, but at some point early in the semester, I went to his office before class (during office hours) and we started talking. Soon, I arrived early before every class and we’d have these fantastic discussions and I saw a side of him that I doubt very few students ever saw. (And, no, it didn’t have anything to do with sex.) I realized that his attitude towards the students was in part of frustration because the majority of them just sat like lumps during the class time and wouldn’t actually think an independent thought for themselves.
There are a few profs who will forever stand out in my mind simply because they taught me to think. Dr. Luce will forever be one of them.
Don’t assume that the prof has it out for you–instead go and talk with him/her. You just might be surprised.
I’m with catsix and Shoshana. I am objective and I lay out my criteria clearly in my syllabus. I do not give higher grades to nice students, nor do I give lower grades to unpleasant students. I have reported many instances of plagiarism (not one of which was a mistake on my part), but I never took it personally. I don’t hold grudges against students and I don’t know anyone who does.
I have quite a few grudges against administrators and deans. But that’s another matter.
Over stating a bit? I have to call bullshit. If I can assume that the OP was not exagerating then the prof was way out of line. He screamed and ranted making something that might have been a mild annoyance into a huge disturbance for the students in the class. He could have politely asked to not be disturbed instead of acting like a lunatic. Responsibility for the consequenses of your actions? What did he do kill a puppy? If you left your wallet in a classroom with $200 in it would you wait an hour or two for the class to let out or are you going to go in as quietly as possible to find it. Textbooks cost upwards of $200 these days and other students can turn them in to the bookstore for money. Are you going to trust the students in that class with your property? I’m not.
Some professor do hold a grudge. Why? Because they are human and some humans are assholes. My wife just had a professor who would belittle her, tell her that her answers were wrong and then praise someone else for the same answer and mark down right answers on tests. This all started after my wife told her she couldn’t be her assistant because of other commitments. When my wife went to the dean she found out that this teacher has a pattern of picking out one random student to pick on in each of her classes. The dean had to come in and observe the class. Under the watchful eye of the dean my wife received a fair grade. The teacher did not yet have tenure so I hope they canned her.
Pool hopefully he was just having a bad day. Apologize and watch out for retaliation. 90% chance you will be fine but if not go to the dean.
I have to stand up for ‘profs sometimes do carry grudges’. I had a prof whom I had for two other classes, and I’ll admit, we didn’t get along real well. This was mainly due to the fact that said prof had a very ‘frat-boy’ attitude (having recently graduated from college himself), and I’m rather anti-that. Anyway, the final class I had with him at one point came down to me offering my dislike of a certain screenwriter (it was a screenwriting class), and him lambasting me for not liking him. He then said, “Next week, we’ll watch <film screenwriter had written>, and after that, you’ll offer an appology for saying his dialogue is bad!”
Well, we watched it. After it ended, he turned on the lights, and there was a stunned silence in the room. He shook his head slowly, with a glint of horrible revelation in his eyes, and said, “I… I don’t know what I was thinking. I… I’m sorry. I thought his dialogue was better than that.”
He refused to speak to me directly the rest of the symester.
Of course, this is just one teacher, and not a very good one. This is the same prof who listed ‘Hours by appointment’ on his sylabus. Right before mid-terms, I came to him and said I had some concerns that I hadn’t gotten some concepts right, and I could I schedule some review time? He told me, “No. If I had more free-time, I’d be doing more outside projects.”
So, what am I saying? Profs vary. I’m sure that the majority are professional enough that they wouldn’t let a grudge interfere with things, but there are bad apples in every crop, y’know?
Yeah well I apologized to my professor after class since noone else was talking to him and he said it was fine and did not look annoyed at all so I guess everything worked out. 
Yay! I’m glad.
Now, study hard in all your classes, get lots of rest, and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Licks thumb and rubs at a dirty spot on pool’s chin.