So for this post I will be talking about tow different types of hours that you need to learn, Office Hours and Computer Lab/ Library Hours.
I know, I know every guide, mentor, and parent tells you the same thing, learn office hours. But its true YOU NEED TO LEARN OFFICE HOURS! When you are stuck on a problem or a prompt on a paper and emailing your teacher is not good enough then don’t be afraid to venture to their office and ask them personally for help. Trust me its a lot better then just walking around dazed and confused until the end of the semester and taking a hit to your grad rather than asking for the help you need. Don’t be stubborn and let your grade and education suffer. And of all the office hours that I have been to, teachers are more than happy to help, if anything they are glad that you took the initiative to go and see them in the first place. And I am not saying that office hours are just for those struggling, or that they are the key to your survival for four years, or that office hours are some magical charm that will make your grade better, I am just saying they are extremely helpful, and not just for the purpose of better understanding the material, but to help you become better acquainted with your professor. Lets put it this way how many of you actually know how many students each of your teachers have? Yeah they have so many every year that they may not either, so if you just attend class then your just going to be another face, if you are lucky maybe another name in the history of kids that they teach. But office hours are a smaller and better setting for them to get to know you, and for you to get to know them. And I am not saying go to every office hour and then you and your professor will be best buds and on a first name basis or anything, I am saying go to office hours and just let the professor know that you care enough about there class to spend your out of class time getting better acquainted with the class.
As for the library/ computer lab hours, these have literally saved my concentration at times. So people always tell me go study at the hub, get out of your room and study, it will help you. But do you know what happens when I study at the Hub? I don’t know either because when I go to the Hub I never study, I can’t! To many people, to much noise, don’t even try. Go to a computer lab, its less distracting then your own laptop that automatically opens Pinterest and YouTube when you get on it, go to the stacks in the library that enforce quiet and are so creepy that you just want to finish your work and get out of there, and go to the silent study lounges around campus, because with that eerie silence and evil stares when I sneeze, I work twice as fast so that I don’t have to be their anymore.
So learn the hours so that you know when and where to make a good impression on your professor through better work, and by showing them that you care.
You are so right! Also, to study in the HUB you have to take the scary stairs upstairs where it’s quieter and it’s actually kind of cool, without the distraction of Starbucks or other people’s dramatic lives. Another good thing about knowing office hours is that you can kind of alter your studying/homework schedule to fit office hours if you need them. I always try to do my physics before the office hours in case I run into an issue and then I know where to find help.
So far I have never been to office hours. Either because I usually don’t have a question or I’m too intimidated. Although I have heard that it can be extremely helpful to go to office hours. The stacks are such a useful study space. I usually don’t go to the library that often because it’s so far, but whenever I go there I feel like I focus and work so much better!
I’ve never been to office hours. I think they’re overrated. Sometimes I think that the TA’s don’t really know how to teach so going to their office hours are basically pointless, especially when you can’t understand them. I do see how they can be helpful though. I’m sure that I will have to go to them in the future to get some extra clarification.
I’ve never really been to office hours, I’m a bad student. I wish I was the kind of kid that went all the time and knew all my professors. Thanks for teaching me about the tow hours.
This is really good advice, Mary. I have to admit that I have never gone to a professor’s office hours, but i feel that as classes get more advanced and there is less outside help available, I will definitely venture to office hours. I completely agree that finding somewhere quiet to study is a must, though. And it’s not always easy!