*Disclaimer: I will try my best not to give too much information away about who this professor actually is, so if there are some vague parts, I apologize.

I have taken a lot of classes over my college career at a few different schools. I have had some hard professors, some laid-back, and some a little strict. But never have I experienced the extreme strictness of one of my current professors. I understand that this class is one taken by mostly freshman, but this professor is stricter than some high school teachers.

When I attend a class, I understand that there should be some respect for the professor and for the other students in the class – this article is not about me wanting to just behave outrageously during a lecture. But, since I am literally paying hundreds of dollars to be in said class, I do expect a small degree of freedom. I will explain why I think this particular professor is on the extreme side of things and give a few examples of their classroom policies.

So first off, this professor started the first day of class showing us graphs of how students had done in previous semesters. Professor seemed almost proud of the fact that they had more people receive failing grades than any other single grade available – the students had received F’s mostly because they did not follow the policies. Some of the policies I am used to, for instance, using a cell phone during class time will result in you being counted absent. But some of the other policies are very new to me.

One of the strangest policies is that we have assigned seats – in an auditorium. I understand many professors use seating charts as a method of taking attendance. But usually when professors prefer this, they let you know ahead of time to find the seat you would like for the rest of the semester, and then they pass around a seating chart for you to fill in your name where you are seated. That is not the case with this professor – Professor actually ASSIGNED seats, and we had little say as to where we ended up. I had requested to be up front, yet I am seated closer to the back of the auditorium than the front, so that isn’t fun.

This professor also has a very strict policy on attendance. Now, a few things seem a little normal, such as you get counted absent if you are on your phone, working on assignments, or surfing the internet. There is also the policy that if you are even a minute late, you must sit at the back of the auditorium, which means you’ll be counted absent since you aren’t in your assigned seat (honestly if you’re going to be counted absent either way, I couldn’t imagine someone actually staying if they show up late). But here is the one I find most ridiculous – you MUST take notes throughout the lecture. And this lecture is not one with slides or anything like that, the professor will just tell you what the subject of the lecture is and start talking. I know that most people have heard that people learn in different ways, some by visuals, others by hands-on methods, and others by listening. Well, this professor doesn’t believe in the auditory method of learning (yes, that was an actual statement made). Therefore, Professor requires that all students be continuously taking notes the entire time, or else you’ll be counted absent.

There are a few more things that I find ridiculous and childish about the classroom policies, but I’m sure my point has been made. When I am paying for a service, such as a lecture at a university, I expect to be able to have the freedom to learn the way I see fit and to sit where I need to in order to get that done. Overall, I think that this professor needs to re-think the way that the classroom is run, this way everyone can get what they need out of the class.