Recently I have been hearing a lot of noise from my college friends and co-workers that try to tolerate professors they don’t like in order to complete major classes and graduate on time. I for one can relate to my friends, but unfortunately, some schools might not have many instructors that can teach specific courses that are a requirement. You might feel like you have no choices as a student and that you’ll be stuck with an awful professor, but at one point or another during your college career you will likely encounter an instructor that you don’t necessarily like or agree with. There are various reasons some students don’t like their professors such as they assign too many group projects, their lectures make no sense, or they don’t grade work fairly, but there are ways you can go about respectfully giving students feedback and feel heard. Here are my personal suggestions when trying to navigate through problematic professors.
Communicating with Your Professor
One of the first tips I recommend if you’re having trouble understanding your professor’s expectations is meeting with them outside of class. It might initially feel pointless going out of your way to visit an instructor during their office hours, but at the same time, you cannot be heard if you do not give yourself an opportunity to express your feelings and opinions. Communication needs to be the first present between the professor and student for issues to be resolved. You don’t have to agree with everything your professor states in class but talking in person allows both parties to converse over what is causing problems in your learning experience.
Student Evaluations of Instruction (SEOI)
Student Evaluations of Instruction, or more commonly known as SEOI’s is an academic report and evaluation tool specifically made for you as a student to assess your professors. Accessible through your college email and canvas homepage during that last couple weeks of the quarter, SEOI’s allow space for you to respectfully voice your opinion about a professor’s performance in the classroom and can be used to improve their teaching in the future. When you submit an SEOI online it is anonymous and can only be seen by faculty. If you have any suggestions on how your professor can improve for the next time they teach or have any last comments you want to share about the course, SEOI’s will be a great resource for you to use without your name attached.
Focus on Being the Best Version of Yourself
No matter how much you might loathe your college professor, at the end of the day you are still a student who has goals to achieve. Remind yourself of the bigger picture, that you came to school with a purpose and that you are attempting to make the best out of the situation. Try to not remain pessimistic over a professor that you do not agree with because after college there will be moments in your life where you will not completely agree with a boss or superior. Your academic performance and learning goals are what truly matter!
Taking everything into account, there will be a time that you might not agree with a professor or two, but don’t let that get in the way of your overall success at college! Hopefully, my suggested tips will help guide and support other students with challenges existing in the classroom.