I feel compelled about the quality if my education.
What is the role of a professor?
- To engage his students
- To teach them
- To challenge them
- To care?
- To encourage?
- To inspire?
This is not the first time I have had a bad professor but this is one of the first times I have reflected so critically on it. My current professor
One of my current professors arguably does not teach during class. He reads off of the power points (something students can easily do on their own) which does not enhance the depth of the material. He often jokes that he is losing his memory and spends a substantial amount of time telling stories unrelated to the something matter. I understand that on a certain level professors may tell stories to engage their students, but in this case, it is distracting and irrelevant and it often leaves him lost as to where we were.
When students voice how they do not know or understand certain concepts, this professors will question, “How do you not know this already?”, “you should have learned this in X class”. Further in review, when I asked him to go over a problem, he asked me I “day-dreamed” during class. He has a habit of deflecting his responsibility to be a professor. No I do not day-dream. I am focused but the material is hard and I sometimes get confused which is why I come to reviews for clarification.
The only reason I am doing well in this class is because I spend our googling explanations to the material. Lecture does not enhance my learning of the material. I have watched youtube videos and gone to other professors sites. I think often because students want the good grade they work hard teaching themselves and get a good grade. The thing that motivates students is the structure of the grading system and the fear of failure so they will do more work on their own outside the course to learn. This gives the professor the impression that he is doing something right when in actuality students are just using outside resources.
Maybe the lesson is that students need to learn how to teach themselves but I can learn that lesson elsewhere. When I am paying for a top ranked university education, I expect my professor to practice within that standard. Sometimes concepts are complex and students will not understand them for the first time on their own, and a professor should know how to dissect ideas and concepts and explain them easily. It is their job. If I am spending hours finding ways to be the best student, I expect my professor to reflect and spend hours figuring out the most effective way to teach.
Because of my frustrations, and because of so much reflection in the PLA on the value and standards of education, I decided I needed to do something. In our policy course last semester we often discussed in what ways we can improve the educational system and we discussed improving through open conversation and assessment. I was not going to wait for SRTEs so I decided open communication with the professor would be most effective. In the most diplomatic way possible, I tried to explain the challenges of the classroom to our professor. He seemed to hear me but not listen. He instead asked if I thought I was suited for this course. To me this was a question on my ability to learn.
What I wanted to say but did not do so, so bluntly is that I want excellence out of this university and want you to live up to that standard.
After talking with my professor and realizing the lack of impact I had made because of the seemingly lack of credibility my professor gave me, I decided to contact the department head. In doing this I felt a little extreme. I questioned, is this really worth it? People I talked to explained, “there are tons of professors that teach this way. You just need to deal with them.”
But I do not want to ignore a problem and ride it out. I want to fix the problem and enhance our education. I know somewhere there is a remarkable professor who teaches this material and that the students become more passionate because of this. Those students will be a step ahead of me.
I talked to the department head who immediately after I voiced my concerns said, “This is not excellence. This is mediocrity.” After a long conversation the department head explained that this is what we need to create progress. He has already assured me he is going to move forward to make changes given the context of my concerns. He is going to have people visit and observe the class and also talk to my professor. I do not dislike my professor as a human but I just want him passionately care about how effective his teaching style is.
In doing this I felt a little extreme demanding excellence but I think we need to set those standards and live up to them. Standing up and taking action alone isn’t easy. It can sometimes be isolating. Even if you know it was the right thing to do, it may not feel good while doing it. Leadership isn’t easy nor it is always fun. A few of my classmates were incredibly confused on why I was doing such a thing. Leadership is prioritizing principles over your own ego. I know other students in my class were frustrated but it was not pushing enough. Every one is busy and taking this action required my time. I want to continue to live a life where I prioritize principle and progress over anything else. I think that in this case taking action will ultimately make a positive impact even if it requires further discourse.
