Fall semester started out rough, trying to figure out how I would arrange my schedule and find time to eat during the day. A new year brought new excitements and new worries, but I was glad to be back in Mt. Pleasant. After the freedom I had last year, home was static and dry this summer. Always the same; the same stories, the same t.v. shows. By August I was happy to go buy books (by charging them to my account, of course).
But something has really been bothering me these past few weeks of the fall semester at Central Michigan University. I am still content with my major, Social Work, and I still believe I am going into the right field. However, some of my professors have been less than perfect.
First, the issue of prof's teaching over the allotted time. When class ends at 10:20, it ends at 10:20. Sure, after class is a time for students to ask personal questions, but not for the teacher to KEEP talking. I know I should feel thankful for this, because it means the professor cares. However, I am NOT thankful about this. When I know the time for class is over, and the prof keeps talking, I just get irritated and unforgiving. It's like working a shift at a job and punching out but then the boss asks you to just "do a little more work". I don't think so. No thanks.
Then, there is the issue of professors showing up late. I understand things happen. Traffic is bad, appointments run late. But when every day there is a different reason for running late? Bull. Shit. I am not paying a university roughly 370 dollars per credit hour to listen to your bullshit excuses as to why you are casually late every…single…day. If I show up late, sure, I’m not going to be severely punished, but the prof is going to wonder why this student is late when they know the class starts at the same time each day. I am not one of those students who are late to every class just because they were running late. If I am late, a catastrophe has happened. That is because I treat my classes like my job. I show up because, instead of getting paid to do so, I am paying for myself to do so. Hmm. Funny how that works out. I do not care if you live in Okemos and you have to drive to Mt. Pleasant for an 11 o’clock class. Work something out. Leave a little early, especially because you know the drive takes longer than you think.
What is even better about this situation is that this certain professor, who does not deserve to be named, walks in and has a different story every day. “Kindergarten starts today…” “Traffic was awful…” Case in point: Save it for somebody who cares. And that doesn’t happen to be me.
Even by being one or two minutes late that puts the class back because he has to set up the materials for class. In addition to this, as he scurries to make up for lost time, he berates the entire class for shit work we have been doing. “Your blogs don’t have enough substance” “You’re not talking about the point of the reading” “Your blog comments show no evidence that you read the reading”. Blah blah blah. What he comes across saying is that “You aren’t smart enough for me” and “You don’t know how to read and analyze a book”. He’s said multiple times how he grew up with two parents who were PhD’s. Enough bragging, maybe teach us something. Model what you want instead of constantly criticizing a student body that was never taught how to impress YOU. Maybe if you were teaching at Harvard you would be around people of your own intellect, not a bunch of Michigan-no-nothings who make you dumber every time you talk to them. And since you know every single think there is to know about sports, politics, movies, music, and maybe some academics, maybe you shouldn’t expect 19 and 20 year olds to know all the same things.
I have been waiting to complain about these situations, the last one more important than any other, for weeks. It’s the same stuff every week, two times a week. Taking a race and inequality class with a man who knows everything has been the biggest mistake of my career at Central Michigan University. I thought being taught by someone with a large knowledge base would be beneficial, not make me feel stupid.
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