If there’s one thing college students know to be true, it’s that some professors can be just as difficult to deal with as some other things in this world. Now, that’s not to say all professors are difficult—I’ve had some great professors in my time as an undergrad so far. But every now and then, there’s one that just grinds our gears. This can be seen in a variety of ways: the lack of opportunities to boost your grade, the inability to make up work—even when you have a legitimate reason for getting behind, or one of the most controversial—the professor’s use of their own textbook.
The use of a professor’s own textbook is controversial among college students today. While the other facets have frustrated students for years, this one is gaining traction as more and more professors write about their research findings. And some professors, when they do this, assign their textbook with their findings to their students.
Like everything else, there are two sides to this issue—the students’ and the professors’ sides. And while some students think it’s okay for professors to assign their own books, others don’t. Likewise, while some professors think it’s okay to assign their books, others don’t. Now, I can’t speak for professors, but I can explain the students’ thinking.
I, for one, don’t have a problem with professors assigning texts they’ve written. My hope is that they want to share what they’ve learned in their own words and not do it just because they think they're so great. I have no problem with professors being proud of the work they've done and using it to benefit their students. After all, that’s why the college or university hired them in the first place.
However, I have friends who don’t like it when professors assign their books to a class. They don’t like that the professors are promoting themselves. The other reason is that, unless it’s an Ivy League or a top-ranking school we’re talking about, students will most likely have to buy the book at the college bookstore instead of online, which means shelling out more money. I understand this argument. Books are already expensive as it is and college students often don’t have much money. If I can buy my book from someplace other than the bookstore to save money, I’m going to. Because of this, I see both sides of the argument.
While I can’t speak for all professors, I can reflect on what one of my professors said about why they wouldn’t assign the book they’ve written. She said she didn’t feel it was necessary to assign her book when other professors have written about relatively the same thing. Because of this, she said she didn’t feel the need to promote herself and that she wouldn’t do that to her students. The flip side to this is that currently, I’m enrolled in a different class and the professor has assigned his textbook and talks about it like it’s no big deal; but I know there are students in this class who are frustrated that he assigned his book.
Ask 50 different students about this issue and you’ll most likely get 50 different answers—all with two common threads—agreement or disagreement. Whatever the case may be, it's just another edition to the saga that is college textbooks.
