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`It is frustrating when a student gives 100 percent effort to a class and the teacher gives 50 percent.
In the ways of a college classroom, there are those students who slack off and do the bare minimum for the passing grade and there are those who dedicate endless hours to their studies.
The professor often knows these students by name; he/she appreciate their contributions in class and may even volunteer “effort points” at the end of the semester to slide that 89.2 percent to an A.
These students thrive on the extra explanation to make a concept a bit more clear.
There are those professors, however, who are “short” with these students and refuse to consistently take that extra step to explain complicated information to their students.
Now, before our professors get up in arms, it is one thing to have a student “fishing” for correct answers; it is another when entire classes of are complaining before the professor gets to class.
As a student, I see this problem stemming from one thing in particular: tenure.
The trouble with tenure is the length. As human beings, we are prone to change. How can a professor who is guaranteed a career be expected to uphold high standards of achievement without the fear of judgment which keeps others at their best?
These professors are guaranteed a career for the rest of their lives, with the exception of any action committed which is a crime, such as theft. I myself have collided into the brick wall of one particular Millersville University professor – I am sure many students can think grudgingly of their own tenured brick wall.
After a semester of teaching practices which left students using choice words in correlation with this professor, our class was sorely disappointed when we could not express our true feelings anonymously through professor evaluations.
Why? This lovely woman is on tenure, and therefore is not required to give evaluations. In other words, the University does not care what students think about her teaching because years ago she was deemed worthy enough for tenure.
I do not know what her teaching style was then, but I question if a lack of monitoring and evaluation of one’s work would not result in its laxity.
I experienced students’ questions being ignored because “it will be covered at a later date.” If a student is trying to grasp a difficult concept, obviously it is relevant if they are asking about it now.
I experienced a professor interrupting a student’s PowerPoint presentation so much so that the professor asked the student to find the slide that answered their question, and then return to giving their presentation.
This causes an already nervous student to become disorganized and lose their train of thought. Many students fear the “class presentation” of the semester, and this teaching practice seems almost cruel when a student has clearly spent hours organizing their presentation.
I promise it is very embarrassing to shuffle through a stack of note cards looking for a particular percentage, then having to reorganize and continue with the presentation because the answer “I’m going to address that very shortly” is not acceptable.
For those unaware, tenure was designed to allow professors the comfort to speak openly and disagree with authority without the fear of job loss. While much more prevalent at its start in the early 1900s, in the past couple years, only 50 to 75 professors have been dismissed from their tenure in the United States.
While there are professors whose teaching style is cold and strict, this method is a teaching style and these professors often care about their students and have a passion for their subject. If a professor, at the very least, does not hold the respect of their students, their employer should be concerned.
In many cases, universities require students to go outside their comfort levels and take classes which often do not interest them.
University, if you are going to require this, please give me a professor who is excited to teach and wants their students to learn.
How am I supposed to stay motivated for a class my professor does not care about?
At the very least, I recommend all professors be required to give student evaluations because if they do not, as a student, that is a huge red flag that the professor just does not care.
And if the teacher does not care about the class or the material, my immediate question is:?then why should I?