Dear College Professors Who Stress Us Out For No Reason,
I guess my first question is, why? I completely understand challenging your students, but that is not what I am addressing here. As a student who is about to be a senior in college, I have learned the difference between professors who challenge their students and require them to study in order to do well versus professors who have unreasonable demands/teaching methods. From time to time, there are even professors who just come across as rude when you don't seem to walk in their class already knowing the material from day one.
I have had multiple experiences with teachers like you who have unreasonable teaching tactics and so have people that are close to me. One good example of this is from my very first semester in college. A high school friend and I were taking the same biology class our freshman year but we were taking two different professors.
My friend's professor told her class that if they were late to his class, to not bother coming in because he was going to shut and lock the door. My professor, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She said that if a student is late, please, by all means, come in anyways so you can still hear as much material as possible.
It makes you wonder why students did better in her class rather than with the professor my friend had. They both taught the same exact material, so it makes you wonder how their approach in teaching made the difference in the student's grades and how they learned the material overall.
Sometimes it comes across as if you really don't have the students best interest in mind, but rather you're just trying to get through the day, not be bothered, and get your paycheck. Even if that's not the case, students should never feel as if that is the case; they should never feel like they are being burdened by just trying to learn.
If a student's mental health is affected solely based on the way you are handling your class, then you are what is wrong with the higher-education system and why students struggle so much with mental health during college, to begin with.
100-question, fill in the blank, short answer, no multiple choice, and exams are not necessary for proper learning in any course. And no, I am not exaggerating, I had a professor that did exactly this in one of my science classes. In fact, I remember this very teacher laughing because he thought it was funny when we complained (and rightfully so).
Professors like you make me not just mad at you but mad at the person/people who hired you in the first place. It also makes me angry at the people who allow you to keep your job even after many students probably consistently complain about you and your class average is consistently low semester after semester, which tends to be the case with bad professors. Yet somehow, you continue to keep your job and continue to unreasonably stress student out.
Many professors can be narcissistic, so most of those of you who need to read this the most probably won't believe that you are doing anything wrong to begin with. You may just proceed to call us lazy, entitled, etc. If that is the case, I feel sorry for all of the students you continue to cause pain to.
Maybe you as the professor won't try to be better, but I genuinely ask on behalf of all present and future college students who you may teach, that you take a look at yourself and your teaching methods anyways, and ask yourself how you can be better.
If students tend not to do well in your class, then most likely it's not the student's fault, but your own. We pay a crazy amount of money for our education and we just want to learn without feeling like we are being beaten with a stick in the process
If you feel offended after reading this, I do apologize for my condescending tone, but what I am saying is a reality for so many other college students everywhere. For all of our sakes, please be better.
Sincerely,
A stressed-out college student.
