Post by The Big PINK One♥ on Dec 3, 2007 14:04:27 GMT -5
Professors: What Not to Do to Piss College Students Off
By Claire Fraser
Please don't wait until the end of the semester to give students your first graded assignment or test:
Most profs don't do this, but the one I have for my hardest class (in my major- english) waited until Wednesday to give the class our FIRST TEST. Our last week of classes is next week! We DON'T HAVE ANY GRADES. Who does that?! There are only 7 us in the class- all of us need the class in order to complete the major. I would like to know how I'm doing so I know how much I need to study or what my grade should be for the final (in order to boost up a GPA or pass).
Don't Say One Thing About An Assignment and Do Another :
The test in that class was ridiculous. She completely changed what she said would be on it. There were no multiple choice- only fill in the blanks, and passage identifications (which she never even mentioned). All of us were saying how we didn't know much and were going to fail anyway- then she changes the test anyway.
Don't pick material that is impossible to understand:
My prof expects everyone to understand things on her level (she is a genius), and teaches it more like a philosophy class than an english class. She also picks novels that take longer to read than a week. My class is a night class, so we only meet once a week (Wednesday nights). The one book, (Spleen) she gave us was impossible to read in a week- when my prof said that it took her an entire year to finish, cause she couldn't get through it.
Pay Attention to your Students:
Finally moving onto another professor and class. My college algebra prof doesn't pay any attention to the students in her class. She's too busy facing the board, making up problems, and doesn't bother to look back to see if students have questions. Usually, people raise their hands when they have questions- but people need to call out to get her attention. And she even makes simple mistakes on the blackboard, which STUDENTS FIND AND CORRECT HER. I asked her if there was any way I could do anything for extra credit, and she said "No, it's a math class." What does that have to do with anything? She could've given me extra problems to do from the book (that weren't assigned from homework assignments)!
Pick a Decent Textbook:
I don't know it the prof or department picks the textbook, but pick a decent one. My college algebra book is horrendous. If I need to find an example of a problem, I look in the book.. but this book doesn't have examples of the problems we're doing. It has some examples, but none that are needed for the specific problem. I know, you can't have examples of everything in the book. It would be nice if they could explain the steps to the problems, too.
Realize that Your Class is NOT the only class students have:
Professors should realize that most students have 15-18 credits a semester, which means lots of homework every day. Try to give your students a break every once in awhile! I know that if I have a lot of work, most of the time I try to work ahead to get it done, but sometimes that can't be done... and you spend all of your time working on one assignment instead of doing other simple ones (time management, I know).
I'm not saying all professors are like this- just the limited few.
Just to add on to what Claire has said, I've once had a teacher in High School who told the class that he didn't care whether we studied and passed his tests, he'd get paid either way. It just goes to show that some instructors dont particularly care or have any interest in their profession or the students that depend on them to learn. Its all about cash. Which by the way I hear they dont get that much of anyway.
By Claire Fraser
Please don't wait until the end of the semester to give students your first graded assignment or test:
Most profs don't do this, but the one I have for my hardest class (in my major- english) waited until Wednesday to give the class our FIRST TEST. Our last week of classes is next week! We DON'T HAVE ANY GRADES. Who does that?! There are only 7 us in the class- all of us need the class in order to complete the major. I would like to know how I'm doing so I know how much I need to study or what my grade should be for the final (in order to boost up a GPA or pass).
Don't Say One Thing About An Assignment and Do Another :
The test in that class was ridiculous. She completely changed what she said would be on it. There were no multiple choice- only fill in the blanks, and passage identifications (which she never even mentioned). All of us were saying how we didn't know much and were going to fail anyway- then she changes the test anyway.
Don't pick material that is impossible to understand:
My prof expects everyone to understand things on her level (she is a genius), and teaches it more like a philosophy class than an english class. She also picks novels that take longer to read than a week. My class is a night class, so we only meet once a week (Wednesday nights). The one book, (Spleen) she gave us was impossible to read in a week- when my prof said that it took her an entire year to finish, cause she couldn't get through it.
Pay Attention to your Students:
Finally moving onto another professor and class. My college algebra prof doesn't pay any attention to the students in her class. She's too busy facing the board, making up problems, and doesn't bother to look back to see if students have questions. Usually, people raise their hands when they have questions- but people need to call out to get her attention. And she even makes simple mistakes on the blackboard, which STUDENTS FIND AND CORRECT HER. I asked her if there was any way I could do anything for extra credit, and she said "No, it's a math class." What does that have to do with anything? She could've given me extra problems to do from the book (that weren't assigned from homework assignments)!
Pick a Decent Textbook:
I don't know it the prof or department picks the textbook, but pick a decent one. My college algebra book is horrendous. If I need to find an example of a problem, I look in the book.. but this book doesn't have examples of the problems we're doing. It has some examples, but none that are needed for the specific problem. I know, you can't have examples of everything in the book. It would be nice if they could explain the steps to the problems, too.
Realize that Your Class is NOT the only class students have:
Professors should realize that most students have 15-18 credits a semester, which means lots of homework every day. Try to give your students a break every once in awhile! I know that if I have a lot of work, most of the time I try to work ahead to get it done, but sometimes that can't be done... and you spend all of your time working on one assignment instead of doing other simple ones (time management, I know).
I'm not saying all professors are like this- just the limited few.
Just to add on to what Claire has said, I've once had a teacher in High School who told the class that he didn't care whether we studied and passed his tests, he'd get paid either way. It just goes to show that some instructors dont particularly care or have any interest in their profession or the students that depend on them to learn. Its all about cash. Which by the way I hear they dont get that much of anyway.
