—jfahey10 “I should say with this that I am not American, and I don’t live there. Where I live, we don’t have grade inflation, and not everyone can expect to earn or argue their way to an A.” —janes4c411b247 —eell “If you are considering pursuing a research project, master’s, or a PhD, it is wise to approach a professor that you are interested in working with. If they brush you off or are rude to you, you don’t want to work with them. Your life will be miserable, and it’s not worth it. However, 90% will be pleased to have people interested in their work and will want to know more!” —chelseahpkns “I was an adjunct, and one of the comments I would often get on evaluations is that students wanted more feedback on their work than I was giving. I was in the fine arts, and when you are teaching nearly 200 students per semester who are turning in their portfolios of 10-20 pieces each at the same time, it is hard to give more than a few sentences of feedback to each student. “And because we have so many students, especially if we teach online, it is sometimes hard to keep everyone straight. So, when you are emailing your instructor, it is always appreciated to include your full name and the class/section you are in. And please read your emails before you send them to make sure it makes sense! I can’t count the number of emails I received that required multiple follow-ups because the student would send a one-sentence email with little detail.” —bkmajelley —ellisparker1030 “Some students seem to believe they are the customers, and we (the professors) are customer service agents. This probably is due to the fact that college is incredibly expensive in the US these days. (Trust me, most faculty hate this and are still paying off our own student loans. I know I am.) But what we’re really there to do as professors is teach skills and knowledge in our areas of expertise. Sometimes, this means students have to learn uncomfortable or unwelcome information that challenges their preconceived notions. Sometimes, this means that students will have to work really hard to learn these new skills or internalize this new knowledge. Don’t expect learning to be an easy, pleasant experience. It should challenge you!” —erratum —psycwench “You would be amazed how much easier many of your classes would be if you just showed up and paid attention. The number of students who come and sit and play around on their computer — 1) I know what you’re doing; 2) why bother coming?! (I don’t take attendance.) “If you would just show up and pay attention, that is, like, 80% of the battle in many classes. You’d be shocked at how much easier things would be, I promise.” —ebeau “For my students to not even look at the notes (or even read what is on the board) is just so frustrating. Here I am dedicating time trying to find the best way of teaching you the material (which is math, so yes, it can be a little dry, but I’m doing what I can to make it interesting), and my students don’t put in any effort to use the resources I’ve made for them (or just plain effort into their education). Also, as others have said, we’re human, and not just that — I have a life outside of work. My students have made me cry more than once already this current school semester. Think about how you talk to us.” —sunnie14 “3) The racism and sexism that professors and adjuncts experience from STUDENTS is frequently worse than those from our coworkers or bosses. Read up on common sexist and racist comments in teaching evaluations from students, and really reflect before writing your teaching evaluations. I stopped reading my evaluations because it was useless to read students assuming I didn’t know legitimate pedagogical practices because I’m a young woman.” —fungicake74 —storkbutt —eklimen
