Walking into class on the first day, one of your initial thoughts is what will this professor be like? Sure, you may have looked them up or heard stories from your friends, but nothing compares to actually experiencing and figuring out just what category your professor fits into. Here are a few categories of different types of professors.
1. The “I’m one of you”
We’ve all had that one teacher who tries way too hard to connect with their students. Some professors do mesh quite easily, as if they are a peer. However, there are those who just seriously need to stop. These professors come into class on the first day and try to crack a lame joke or tell you to call them by their first name because they consider you “equals.” That is, up until someone tries to argue with them and suddenly they’re way above their students. This teacher is most likely young and jokes about how people confuse them for a student, even though they’ve clearly seen some sh*t out in the real world.
Pros: They’re usually pretty relaxed about stuff… mostly because they just want you to like them.
Cons: They actually get offended when you don’t want to get coffee with them outside of class to talk to you about that project you really couldn’t care less about.
2. The one with the catch phrase (even if they don’t notice it)
Okay please, please start tallying when you get one of these professors. Often they have this go-to word or phrase that they just sprinkle into their lectures for honestly no reason. It usually doesn’t add anything to the lecture- sometimes it actually makes them sound pretentious. It’s like garlic – a little can be freaking great in your food, but too much and your breath will smell awful for a week and no one will want to stand near your mouth.
Pros: This can bond you with your classmates! Start your class by taking bets on how many times they will say the particular phrase, and then tally throughout.
Cons: It’s incredibly annoying. I mean how many times can one person say one phrase in an hour??? You’d be surprised.
3. The hard-ass
You walk in on the first day and before you’ve even warmed up the seat, the professor is already spouting about how this is a “weed-out” course. You’ve got a quiz every day, three exams, and endless projects. You can only miss two classes or you drop a letter grade. Seriously, do you enjoy seeing students in pain? Do you enjoy grading all of those assignments??? This is the professor that really wants you to learn, so they’re going to throw everything at you at once in hopes that it sticks. They will not give you a break, and they will not smile until they see someone start to crumble.
Pros: You might actually learn something and get in the habit of going to class.
Cons: Zero sleep, you might gain weight/break out from stress. Social life? Gone.
4. The one who thinks they’re really funny
One of the best types of professors is the one that honestly just thinks they’re so goddamn funny. I relate to them on a very personal level, as I laugh hysterically at my own jokes and people kind of just stare at me awkwardly. These teachers love to have fun and honestly don’t care what you all think of them. It’s inspirational and entertaining.
Pros: You leave class with a smile on your face even if their jokes are not the best. You can’t help but think they’re a little adorable.
Cons: It can get annoying when all you really want to do is learn and all they’re doing is making dad-jokes all day.
5. The one with the stories
Did you come to class to learn? Well tough-luck, because you’re in for a treat. This professor will go off on tangent after tangent and you’re likely to get lost. Were you talking about sentence structure? Nope, now you’re talking about that time they forgot to pick up their daughter from the pool and she didn’t speak to them for a week. Good luck staying on track, because you’ll likely spend 60% of the class trying to redirect your professor to what you’re supposed to be learning.
Pros: You get to waste time and mess around.
Cons: You’re unprepared for your tests and likely know too many personal stories about someone you don’t care about all that much.
As the new quarter rolls around, hopefully you can have fun trying to figure out which category your new professors fall into!