Many of us returned to in-person classes at our colleges and universities this school year. While there are benefits of us being back in person, a significant flaw needs to be discussed. Many professors fail to understand that we have many responsibilities and busy lives outside of school.
The average college student has a job and other daily responsibilities to attend to while in school. Not only that, but they also have other classes that they need to focus on. Yet there is always that group of professors that could care less about anything else you have going on and only care about what you need to do for their class.
You soon realize that you are prioritizing that class over everything else, and the next thing you know, you are slacking in your other classes or daily life. The worst part of having professors like this is when you try to explain to the professor that you are very busy, and they push your concerns to the side as if it’s nothing. They also expect you to be able to do everything and anything for their class even after you express that you have a lot going on.
This semester has been my worst with professors like this.
I am a senior majoring in journalism set to graduate in December, and I am finishing up my major classes. This semester, I am taking five classes and working to make money, and it is an understatement to say that I am swamped. I have two professors that fail to understand that my schedule consists of many things; they only care that I put in 100% all the time for their class which is nearly impossible to ask.
One of my journalism professors wanted me to cover an event for her class after telling her several times that I needed to work, so it was unlikely that I would be able to go. She then asked why couldn’t I miss work in order to go, all while failing to grasp the idea that I can’t miss work because I need money.
There is another professor who has been a major pain this semester. He wanted us to go to the State Capitol to sit in the Senate or House press gallery while legislators debated and passed bills or watch a committee meeting during the legislative session. My schedule would not allow me to do that. He began to bug me about when I would be able to go. When I found a good time to go and told him I was finally going, his response was, “That’s good, but you’ve had ten weeks to go.” I explained that it’s been hard to find a good time to go because I’m working when I’m not in class, and he could care less.
This professor’s class is the same class where we were supposed to only come in person on Mondays, but all of my classmates ended up giving up our Thursdays so we could record for him. I’ve had to leave work early all semester and miss out on work hours to give up my Thursday and record for him. You would think he would appreciate that, but unfortunately, he does not. One time on Thursday, he rushed us out of the recording room because he had to do something. The only time he considers is his, which has been made clear several times. The minute that we have something going on, things are different.
From my horrible experience this semester with these inconsiderate professors, I would suggest putting a stop to it as soon as possible.