By this point in the semester, I am getting a little loopy. I have too many papers to read, time in running short to cover everything I want to cover in class, and as I drive home in the pitch black darkness (at 4pm) I develop Christmas-light anxiety. As in, why does everyone else have their house decorated for the holidays already?
I sense I am not alone in being a little loopy. All my students have deadlines, exams, papers and projects, but at the same time they are making plans for winter break and dreaming of sleeping until noon in their childhood bedrooms.
We are all tired. Which is why I thought it might be a good time to pass along this brilliant article I read that lists 10 Questions You Should Never Ask Your Professor. I am fairly certain I can add a few, and probably get this list up to about 15. The point is, I get it. We are tired, we are stressed, we are worried about the outcome of our class. I feel the same way. So this is a gentle, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, reminder to keep your wits and common sense about you. That, and a good sense of humor, will help us all get through the next few weeks.
13 Comments
charlotte posted on November 30, 2012 at 1:01 am
When I first read the title of the article, I expected to find some absurd questions that students have asked their professors. As I read through the list, I realized that I was pretty guilty of asking my professors most of the questions in the article. I had never taken the time to really think about how ridiculous some of the questions students ask actually sound to professors. I guess all the stress really gets to our heads sometimes. We tend to always put grades before knowledge and never take the time to absorb the material needed to actually succeed inside as well as outside the classroom.
Anthony Mantzavinos posted on November 30, 2012 at 10:47 am
This article highlights some interesting points, that i believe every student forgets from time to time. However, i think that these questions often arise when students are under great pressure, being bombarded with assignments and tests by all their professors. In my personal experience, i have asked questions like #7, in circumstances of great anxiety for an exam, almost as a result of a defense mechanism. For a harmonious professor-student relationship, there has to be mutual consideration of stress and difficulties.
Dorothy Cheam posted on November 30, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I myself am guilty for asking some of the questions listed in the article. I believe that when students become too overwhelmed by a course sometimes, they forget to keep these basic rules in mind. Afterall, every student only aims to do well on a course, therefore these questions do come up unconsciously. I think the best way to avoid awkward and uncomfortable circumstances like these would be for both the teacher and student to understand how to work together cooperatively and have mutual respect and understanding for one another.
KP posted on November 30, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Such a good article. I guess all these questions are closely related to the end of the semester when we are all tired and just start loosing the common sense. I also do feel bad since I ask so many times when the final grades will be posted in probably every single course of mine.
Kandyce Graber posted on December 1, 2012 at 8:41 pm
I loved this article. I know I’m guilty of asking some of these questions myself, but it’s true that they are pretty much pointless questions. This article reminded me of high school. My first three years we had a grading policy where the teachers could choose what assignments, tests, quizzes, papers, etc. to grade. My senior year the grading policy changed so that only tests, exams, and final papers could be graded. Participation and homework were no longer included in our grades. In other words, we had “summative” assessments, which included all graded work, and we had “formative” assessments, which was essentially just practice. One of the main questions that students asked after the policy changed was: “Is this summative or formative.” Teachers got so sick of hearing that question that it became a bit of a joke.
Mohammed posted on December 2, 2012 at 10:28 am
I too really enjoyed the article. I am certain that every student, at least once has formed every one of these 10 questions in their head, even if they never actually stated them out loud! There is one question that I have asked in other courses, based on my previous experiences with how professors assign books and readings. In some of my courses, the texts assigned by the professors were never really used in their instructions, almost always because the professor had their own wealth of really focused knowledge that was more useful that anything in the text. In other cases, it seemed as if the text was assigned because the expectation was that there “would be a text”!!
Zach Barnard posted on December 2, 2012 at 9:32 pm
First and foremost, I am so, so sorry that I asked you, point blank, question numebr three, Professor Spooner!!! I look back on that email (the first email from me to you as a student, meaning my first impression) and I’m cringing at the thought of what I had implied. I’m so sorry!!! I hope you know I’ve come to regard LA245 as one of the best classes I’ve taken at BU! I also LOVE your “Christmas-light anxiety” notion. Perfect. See you tomorrow!
Valeria Brito posted on December 3, 2012 at 1:33 pm
I really enjoyed reading this article, because in the process of doing it, I noticed that sometimes I asked those exact questions to some of my professors in my time at BU. It is something that we students do without noticing. However, this article helped me to notice that we as students need to be considerate and watch out what and how we ask the questions. Since, I believe students don’t have the intention of offending any professor, but in the form the question is phrased can sometimes be confusing and convey the wrong message or idea.
From now on I will commit myself to think twice before I ask a question to a professor, not just because I may offend him/her, but also because it will help the professor to understand my question better and to answer it properly.
Thuy Pham posted on December 5, 2012 at 1:11 am
I also thought that the article would list absurd questions, but it was nice that they were real and common. Although I understand where the author of the article was coming from, I didn’t like her tone, and I felt that she failed to address other angles/points of view (i.e. how the silly questions may actually be constructive), which were pointed out in a couple of the comments that followed. It’s a pleasant change of topic though, and it’s great to know that you are compassionate to the plight of the stressed out college student.
Cristian Martinez posted on December 11, 2012 at 9:32 pm
i thought the article was very accurate! I recall that last semester when I took an Astronomy course, the question, “why do you we need to learn this?” was heavily used by me during finals time. Good read!
Kanishk Pahuja posted on December 13, 2012 at 1:12 am
It was interesting to see how common these questions are, and like many other people here, I too am guilty of asking these questions. I guess we as students sometimes tend to forget that professors are also people just like us and would get tired as the semester is coming to an end and would be frustrated when students ask such questions. Definitely a good article with things to keep in mind – especially around this time in the semester.
Shiva posted on December 17, 2012 at 12:03 am
This article brings up an interesting point; me and many other students are guilty of asking these questions. Often having a lot of material to memorize, I ask the same question whether this material will be relevant to the exam. I enjoyed the author’s response to the first question.
Stephanie posted on December 20, 2012 at 10:23 am
This article is actually on point. I was expecting more ridiculous questions but I myself have been guilty in asking similar questions. I think the author was a bit bitter and sassy though in her responses, especially in the last question. I totally understand where professors are coming from though. I just think students forget for a moment that professors also have a lot going on too!