I am constantly bombarded with memes about professors, namely English professors. You know the ones. And, while professors are not innocent in the meme game either, it does beg the question, “What do you think your English professor is doing?” The best way to learn about this is to ask. But, if you don’t really want to do that for whatever reason (scary professor, smelly professor, mouth-breathing professor), then here’s a quick run-down.
1. Your professor is teaching.
This is what outsiders think professors do, but it is only a small portion of their job. Depending on where you go to school, your teacher spends anywhere from six to 24 hours in the classroom itself.
2. Your professor is holding office hours.
Office hours are student-centric. Your professor is there for you during these hours no matter how busy they are. How many hours do professors spend in their offices helping students? Again, this depends on the school. But, it can range from two to 10 hours a week.
3. Your professor is communicating with you.
In this digital age, professors are spending a great deal of time communicating with students to remind them of assignments, send resources, touch base about class or grades and so many other things. Sometimes professors just email to check in and see how you’re doing. They post announcements to your online learning platform (BlackBoard, Moodle, D2L). They also answer the phone and talk to you, old school. Again, the time spent doing this is situational. Some semesters there are more questions than others. But on average, professors receive and answer 50 to 100 emails a day. As you might imagine, that can take some time. So, they’re spending at least one hour a day, or seven hours a week reading and responding to your emails.
4. Your professor is planning lessons.
No matter what you think, your instructors are taking the time to create content for in-class work. This might be a video or PowerPoint. It could also be a lecture. Maybe it is a group assignment, discussion or examination. This might take another five to 10 hours a week. If a professor is re-doing a class or teaching a class for the first time, then this takes significantly longer.
5. Your professor is grading your work.
This is a big one. Let’s say you have to turn in four papers over the course of the semester and there are 20 people in your class. That’s 80 papers that your instructor has to grade. Now, your teacher teaches more than one class. Though, it can range school by school or based on their exact position. But, two classes means 160 papers over a four month time period. Eight classes mean 640 papers over a four month period of time. If your professor spends 15 minutes on each paper, then that’s 2,400 to 9,600 minutes. Spread out over a regular semester, that’s three to 11 hours a week. But, you can bet that your professor is probably spending more than 15 minutes on each paper. And what about those professors who are teaching in 200-plus student lecture halls? Some have the assistance of an assistant, most do not.
6. Your professor is performing their assigned duties.
What duties are those? Well, that can include research, grant writing, publishing, staying current in their field, attending conferences, taking additional classes, attending campus meetings, attending department meetings, attending division meetings, doing paperwork, completing evaluations and advising. Let’s say this takes another 15 hours a week.
So, let’s tally up the work week of an English professor. On the conservative side they’re spending 38 hours working. On the liberal side, they’re spending 70 hours working. So, be kind and patient with your teachers. They are not just sitting on a pile of your papers to make you stressed. They are just taking their time to work through them. Forgive instructors if you cannot read their writing. Their hands get tired. They write as fast as possible in order to get your papers back to you. Treat them with kindness and respect. Chances are they’re not sleeping as much as an average human being. If you notice they’re always tired, maybe bring them some caffeine. And, don’t think that they should have to work harder and longer because they get summers off. They don’t. They’re still held to their assigned duties during the off semester. Some even teach year round.
