We have all had a professor at some point in our college careers that has no clue what they are doing or get easily confused. It understandable that at times they may get confused or don’t know something; no one knows everything. However, if these things occur throughout the entire semester, it greatly influences their teaching.

College is where students go to learn greater in depth about a career. We come to college to learn from professionals who have had these careers and have experience. They should be highly valuable to us which is why a college degree is much more valuable than a high school diploma. If there is a professor who doesn’t know what they are doing in the classroom, this can become an issue and limit the insight students receive from these professionals.

I have heard numerous stories where students have professors that don't know what they are doing, and it ends up confusing the class even more. When this happens all semester long it can result in negative effects on the students. They begin to struggle with the material, become more stressed, and can ultimately despise of the class. College is supposed to push students and challenge them, but when the issue is the teaching, it can cause more issues than needed.

Not only have I heard these stories, but I've heard ones where there were professors that hold Doctorate degrees that can't connect in the classroom with the students. I understand that the professors are professionals in their subject and don't have teaching degrees, but they should learn how teach or at least be a empathetic teacher. For example, I had an adjunct professor for one of my general education classes.

There were a lot of times she did not know the answer to our questions, but she would honestly tell us she didn't know the answer and would research the answer following class to inform us next class. She didn't have a teaching degree, and she was even an adjunct professor, but she knew how to be empathetic. This is why students were able to bear her class and actually learn from it.

On the other hand, I've had a professor for my major class who has gotten confused, and says one thing and then doesn't do it. Students would go to office hours for help and would put their all into the class, but it just created further confusion and left students upset and stressed.

As you can see, I've learned more from a general education class than a major class. Everyone is different so there will be different teaching styles, personalities, etc. across professors and subjects, but it's time we start holding professors accountable.

We come to college to invest in ourselves and to become an asset for our future career. When professors hold us responsible for studying for exams, doing homework, and even attending class, they should be held responsible for grading work in a timely manner, communicating our grades, and committing to the things they promise to do.

There will always be factors that affect and determine a professor's action, but when both professors and students aren't empathetic is causes tension. We need to push both ourselves as students, and our professors to become more empathetic. Together, by holding each other responsible for our shares of the class, we can grow to become better professors and students.

As students we need to uphold ourselves to our education while upholding our professors to providing us with the highest quality of knowledge in an encouraging environment.