Our professors are not solely here to teach us stuff. Well maybe some of them are, but the majority of professors want to see students succeed in every area of their lives. That may be hard to believe when students get a grade that they do not want or have a bad interaction with a faculty member, but the professors at these institutions could have chosen any other professions, yet they chose working with young adults. I had this realization when I had a heart to heart with one of my professors.
For some background, I took this professor’s class earlier in my undergraduate career. Not only was the class the most difficult class I have EVER taken, but I had a strange feeling that the professor did not like me. The professor did not really have a reason to dislike me, but I felt singled-out when the professor would call on me at the most random times when I did not have my hand up.
As the semester progressed, the assignments became more difficult and this professor became more strict. At the very end of the semester, this professor pulled me to the side and told me that they saw potential in me. Those moments where I felt singled-out were moments where I was being pushed to become a leader in the classroom. Since then, the professor and I participated in a book club together, shared semester check-ins, and shared articles that we thought the other person would appreciate.
This is all to say that the professor that any reader might have felt was giving them a hard time might have saw something in them that the reader might not have seen in themselves. Do not count your professor out. If you are having a difficult time in the class, go to office hours and see where the professor is coming from. While there may be different opinions on the class, that does not mean that you and your professor have nothing in common.
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