Top 10 Ways to Give Your Professors the Respect They Deserve

Professors are some of the hardest working people out there. Not only that, but they dedicate their lives to teaching younger generations and insuring that their students leave their class a more knowledgeable person than they were before they entered it. As a way of saying thank you, take the time to show your professor that you appreciate and respect them!

 

 

 

There is nothing more annoying, both to fellow students and your professor, than the sound of backpacks zipping, papers ruffling and supplies being shifted around during the last few minutes of class. It’s a disturbance to those who are trying to listen to instruction, and honestly waiting to pack up will benefit you too. Oftentimes, professors will purposely close class with important information or assign homework at the very end, making it easy to miss with all of the commotion. It then has the potential to delay the class’ agenda because some students will take extra time to ask the professor to repeat instructions.

 

 

While you might not agree with everything they say and some classroom environments permit a debate, it is incredibly rude and disrespectful to contradict them otherwise. Remember that your professors are the ones who control whether you pass or fail the course!

 

 

 

Chat speak, improper grammar and failure to address and sign your emails, among other things, all apply here. College is preparing you for a career and life as a functioning adult, and one really cannot function without knowing how to communicate in a considerate manner.

 

 

Oftentimes, college professors have continued their education to get their Ph.D., meriting them the title of “Doctor _____.” If I was in their shoes, I would not want to pay all of that extra tuition money, study that much harder and get that much less sleep without people recognizing my degree!

 

 

Everything runs a lot smoother when all students in a classroom have respect for each other. Discussions are civil and differences in opinions are understood and accepted, rather than argued. Mutual respect for peers creates a healthy and collaborative learning environment, and a professor will very much appreciate being able to teach the class without any excess drama.

 

 

 

More than likely, if a teacher chooses to dedicate his or her life to teaching a certain subject, he or she really enjoys said subject. Imagine being passionate about something, but spending hours every day teaching people who loathe it. Not only that, but trying to convince people why they should think it’s awesome. Asking questions, staying attentive and making relevant comments make grueling classes much easier, for both the professor and students!

 

 

If you’re going to sit there and text for an hour, why are you even in class? This is a given. Please.

 

 

Late students can throw off a class’ schedule, cause disruptions and convince a professor that they do not care enough about the class to arrive on time. Tardiness once or twice is, of course, not a big deal, but when it becomes frequent, that’s when problems arise. Please try to put a little more pep in your step and get yourself to class on time! The old adage “Early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable.” applies here.

 

 

By no fault of the professor, students in large lecture halls can quickly become a number on an attendance sheet. Especially in classes with one hundred or more students, taking a few seconds to introduce yourself to your professor can make a huge difference when putting a name to a face.