On Being Taught at College

By N. Alice Yamada

Chief of Staff

his is an article that I wish anyone in the teaching position would read. I have been a student for over twelve years now including my three years at Trinity. I have seen both great and terrible professors and have attended mundane and exciting lectures. In these different learning settings, I have started to develop a criteria for what the purpose of teaching should be. Teachers, especially college professors, are not completely fulfilling their job responsibilities unless the students are able to learn, as well as able to enjoy the material and the process of learning. Unfortunately, the latter of their jobs are excluded in the consciousness of many college professors. They assume that since a student is enrolled in the course, he or she must be highly interested, highly "trained," and able to understand what is SO simple for them to understand. As any student will know, that is NOT the case. We enroll in classes because we are interested, and it is the professor's job to enhance this interest in the most enjoyable way possible. In many cases, we do not have the "base" knowledge that professors assume us to have, and it is here that marks a good professor from a bad one. Good professors are able to make this lack of "expertise" into a pleasant learning experience, while bad professors simply make us feel dumb and leave the "ignorant" in the dark, left behind only due to the lack of ability and professionalism of the professor.

I realize that learning and teaching is a two-way relationship. The effort from the teacher should never be taken for granted and the student should always try what he or she can do to respond to the professor. I wholeheartedly agree that in the cases in which the student fails to do so, the professor should not waste their time, working on a student who is unresponsive. But to refuse to answer a question from a confused student and to call the question "too simple for explanation" is outrageous. Such attitudes from the professor should not be tolerated by any student. Students, especially those who are trying to make up for a lack of "base" knowledge and those simply trying to understand, are going to have questions that the professor may feel as "being too simple to respond." What many professors do not realize is that this is the time when their professionalism is being tested. If they can lead these baffled students to realize that what they are teaching is in fact interesting, worth learning about, and not the impossible cloud of confusion the student may first see it as, then the professors have done their jobs. On the other hand, if they fail to do so, they have indeed failed to be a professor of any significance.

Not only should professors highten intellectual interest, but also, they must remember that they are who the students look up to for guidance and direction. When working with a student, sensitivity is an issue that all professors should never forget no matter how many years they teach. In a classroom situation, they must be conscious of the fact that any student who is voicing his or her opinion is doing a courageous act. They are risking their reputation and their social position in a twisted way of the student-world when asking or responding to questions. If a student who is known to be "smart" is asking a question, then he is admitting to his classmates that he is not "smart." When a "cool" student is responding to the question and gets it wrong, she may be looked upon as "not so cool" anymore. The intricate network of student interaction should never leave the professor's mind.

Many professors seem to have this concept that their main function at college is to teach their classes and regard that as their only responsibility. They envision themselves as being a separate loop, away from the student network. That's an unfortunate and extremely "lazy" view of the occupation as a professor. Professors are an integral part of the college community, especially at a small liberal arts college like Trinity. If they wanted to teach and run and have nothing to do with the students, they are in the wrong school with the wrong image of professorship.

Luckily, the type of professors mentioned above are rare at Trinity, but I cannot stop but be dumbfounded when I encounter these professors. They have grown fat with pride and their senses have become numb. I wonder if they even remember why they chose to become a professor in the first place as they degrade the "ignorant" and treat them like bad apples. As a person interested in teaching at a small liberal arts college in the future, I am convinced that I will never become one of them. I always hope to remember what it feels like to be the student taking a class without the "base" knowledge. I hope I never mistreat or degrade a student in or outside of class and that I can provide an environment where they can learn to enjoy intellectual growth and challenge. And I hope all those in the teaching positions recognize what their duties are and live by a certain set of standards.