College Success Blog

Dear Instructor

We are the serious students in your class. We work hard for our education and respect the teachers and students who appreciate this. Here are some expectations we have to make the most of our time and education.

Please:

• Show up on time. If there is audio visual equipment, show up early enough to have it set up, and please know how to use it. Or, find somebody that can use the equipment, as you provide the lecture that goes with the slideshow.
• Ensure your students show up ready and prepared. Do not cater to lazy students, there are enough serious students in the class who want to start on time to get the most out of the class.
• Dress appropriately for your age and profession. As students, and as working citizens, we are subject to so many dress codes and rules that should apply to everybody. We do not need to see stretch marks, an overabundance of skin, opinions on t-shirts, etc. We would truly show you much more respect if you looked like our teacher and not one of our friends or roommates.
• Strike the phrase “there are no stupid questions” from your vocabulary. Actually, there ARE stupid questions, they are the ones asked repeatedly by lazy, late or unprepared students.
• If you use the powerpoint that came with the textbooks, know what they cover before the lecture.
• Please control your classroom. Consider giving a quiz at the start of class so people attend on time. The late students would not be able to take the quiz (or would miss it completely) and if it affects their grade, there is more incentive to get to class on time.
• Understand the technology you use, see the first suggestion. It keeps the class running smoothly.
• Do not conduct research on your students, it is unethical. Yes, an instructor actually did this, and left the students feeling used and insulted. This person also compromised professional ethics and it’s hard to learn from an instructor you do not respect.
• Please lecture during lecture group. Projects and activities work best as assignments, not as a way to kill class time. Also please do not let any discussions get out of hand, there are some current events that can spark a lively debate, but probably do not relate to the class. We also do not need to hear about anybody’s love life, children, vehicular problems, or personal matters that may be considered too much information?

Serious students (and you will recognize us almost immediately) want respect, want to respect you as an instructor, and want the most you can give us from your course. As a result we will praise your course, recommend it to others and commend your teaching abilities.

Thank you

The Dumb Kid

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Rant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.