Every semester, I feel like I have that one professor who doesn't realize that their class isn't the only class that I'm taking this semester. Whether it be outrageous expectations for the reading that will be done before classes or the extra effort you put into the class that isn't required, there's always that one professor who has no clue what a college student's life looks like.
The average student takes 4-6 classes each semester, and in addition to having to show up to classes, most classes have expectations that you read or prepare for class on your own and outside of class. While this is understandable, and most of the time achievable, there are some professors that completely forget that students are taking other classes.
Telling me that I have to read multiple chapters when there is only one day between classes is just impossible. It's not that I don't want to learn about the subject, if that was the case I would've dropped the class. But when you look at the work that needs to be done and will be graded, the first thing to go is excess reading. There is limited time in every day and college students have to prioritize the things that will make them most successful in the future.
Homework assignments that have a specific due date and readings that directly apply to quizzes are easy to say that you have to do them and get it done by a certain date. Readings that can apply to one class discussion, or are just supposed to help you understand the class aren't valued as much.
The hardest class to read for are classes that don't revolve around the readings. If you're going to tell me to learn something and then never teach it to me, I'm not going to take the time to learn it. No professor honestly expects students to have done the reading, at the most, they've probably skimmed it.
If your syllabus has multiple, lengthy readings for a class that meets more than once a week, your students don't have time to complete them. Sometimes when I try and get all the reading done for my classes, I end up either half reading articles that I just don't understand or trying to find the important parts because there is just too much to read.
Even worse are when professors force you to buy the textbook, new with the online access code, and then tell you that you can use the access code for extra practice. I barely have time to do the assignments that are graded and required, let alone extra practice that isn't mandatory.
I know that reading is an important part of learning in college because not everything can be explained during class and discussions have to be based on something. However, some professors with the ways that they set up their syllabi and their readings, just aren't realistic for college students with everything else that they are already doing.
Some professors just don't take into consideration the other classes and activities that college students are doing. I wish they would understand that their expectations about what's a reasonable amount of work aren't the same as their students' expectations. It's not that I don't want to learn and put effort into your class, it's just that I don't have enough time to do everything you expect me to do in addition to everything else that everyone else expects me to do.
