Professors, you can’t live with ‘em, and you can’t live without ‘em. At the end of the day they are the life force of the university and decide weather or not we pass or fail. Pretty simple right? Wrong! Some professors are the spawn of Satan himself, while others just boggle your mind. The Odyssey presents the Top 10: Jerky Things Teachers Do.
1. Not Curving – You get that test back that has been haunting your thoughts for the past two weeks and are not too surprised to see a whopping 46 percent as your grade. Never fear, a curve must be possible if you scored that low right? Wrong again, silly student! This professor only curves if everyone gets below an 80 percent, and as usual. There’s that one genius kid in your class that got a 98.3 and is pissed about it.
2. Standardized Tests – No one enjoys standardized tests -- I repeat, NO ONE. We thought they were over with the high school days, but we were sadly mistaken. Scantrons will forever haunt us. Years from now, when you work that sad day job in a gray cubicle, you’ll probably keep a Scantron in your desk drawer, just in case.
3. Group Projects – Everyone knows that this is the absolute worst kind of project, where you have to interact with people you’ve never met and pretend it’s not intensely awkward. There’s also the one person who does nothing, the one who only volunteers to make the PowerPoint, and then the person that just doesn’t show up. Thank you, professors, for making us deal with this idiocy.
4. Not Knowing How to Use PowerPoint – For the love of all that is right in the world, how do professors not know how to use PowerPoint!? It’s so easy; they taught it to us in, like, third grade. Just a little copy and paste here and some original insight there, and you are good to go. But not in college, my friends, the PowerPoint’s come straight from Wikipedia.
5. Inconvenient Office Hours – Seriously is it just us, or are all professors office hours during other class times? Am I right or am I right? And even when you do get a chance to stop by for a nice little chat, let’s be honest, it’s never that constructive.
6. Singling Students Out – It’s always the worst day of your life when a professor decides to choose random victims to answer questions in class. You sit in the back of the room cowering in fear of the chances of getting picked out. You either haven’t been to class in three weeks or didn’t do the reading and only failure can come from you being chosen.
7. Not Responding to Emails – WHY? Seriously, just why? If an email is sent and a response is not received within 24 hours, what even is the point of life. Usually, students don’t like any type of interaction with professors, so sometimes sending an email is a terrifying endeavor, and if we don’t get a response, it’s like a stab in the heart.
8. Penalizing for Skipping Class – It’s college, class should be optional, not required. We pay thousands of dollars to attend such a classy university but get slapped on the wrist when we don’t show up to class. Does that even make sense? Professors, keep your classes optional, and you’ll get a lot more positive feedback at the end of the semester.
9. Notes Directly From the Textbook – Newsflash: we can read. Last time we checked, no one signed up for the “do-it-yourself” class.
10. Snarky Remarks – Any student who has ever thought they made a valid point will probably get some type of snarky remark in return. It’s never an enjoyable moment for the student, but the professor must find some type of happiness in it, otherwise, why bother?
