The effect of good professors

After having criticized some of the bad professors I’ve had in my past, I think it’s time for me to share a bit about the ones who have been truly awesome in my last 4.5 years of school.

I came to Illinois State University in the Fall of 2007 a very different man than I am at present.  At the time, I really had no desire to travel internationally, having only visited Canada once as a child.  I had a mild interest in learning foreign languages, though my years of Spanish in high school yielded very little, and I was a little less than optimistic about taking an entry level foreign language yet again. I was also a Chemistry major, having planned to intern at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories to research hydrogen fuel technology.

As my semester progressed, my interest in Chemistry began to dwindle as I slowly started to realize that everything I had learned about Chemistry in high school was really an oversimplified, watered-down version of the actual science.  Upon realizing that the life of a Chemistry major didn’t simply consist of blowing things up, lighting fires and mixing chemicals (you know, all the cool stuff Bill Nye used to do), I started focusing my effort on other classes.

This same semester I was also enrolled in an entry level German course with a certain Dr. Van der Laan.  To me, Dr. Van der Laan seemed a bit unconventional in that he often put students in the spotlight, asking them questions in a rapid-fire manner and pushing them in a way that I had never seen before.  German 111 was by far my most difficult class that semester, and, unlike in high school, I couldn’t simply “float” my way through his class by putting in minimal effort just to get a B.  After a few class periods, I began to spend much of my time immediately after class in Dr. Van der Laan’s office, asking him questions, learning from his experiences, and occasionally asking for help with the material in class.  The result of this was a professor-student bond that allowed me to become much more comfortable in asking questions in class.  He also often held me accountable for my failures in the class, constantly pushing me harder, encouraging better study habits that helped me succeed in future courses.

Fast forwarding a few years, I also had the pleasure of taking courses with both Dr. Weeks and Dr. Segelcke, both of whom continued to push me to succeed in the same way that Dr. Van der Laan had.  The result was that I began to improve in my classes across the board, and I took a more active role on campus, both with the German club, as well as other organizations relating to my major.  Being involved with the German department also meant making connections with German students studying abroad at ISU.  One student in particular, my friend Matthias, would later go on to help me find an internship working for his employer in Paderborn, Germany.  My professors also worked with me tirelessly to help me improve my resume, write cover letters, and gave me numerous tips to help ensure my success.

Do you see what they’ve done? These professors have completely changed my life.  They’ve made it their number one priority to focus on the education of their students, both in and outside of the classroom.  They legitimately care about the success of their students during and after their college studies. They’ve helped me travel to nearly 25 countries around the world, and over 100 cities in Germany alone.  They’ve helped me plan my studies abroad, showing me how to get the most out of my experience and providing me with tips every step of the way.  They’ve helped me get internships and jobs, and have provided me with opportunities to lead and be responsible, opportunities I probably would not have had were it not for them.  My German has improved greatly since my freshman year, and I speak it quite comfortably while in Germany, especially with those who know little to no English.  Now, as president of the ISU German Club, I can honestly say that the lessons and skills these professors have taught me have been far more valuable to me in my experience than anything I’ve learned in any of my classes, and I’m extremely grateful for that.

We need more professors like this.  We need professors who care, professors who form bonds and personal relationships with their students.  Professors like these can change the world, one student at a time.

How not to be a professor

This post will be the first of two posts regarding my take on the professors I’ve had during my time at the university.  I will start by saying that this post does not by any means apply to all of my professors, but rather a select few that I’ve had over my last 4.5 years of higher education. I’ve had many, many wonderful professors, some that have been truly life-changing (I’ll get to that in the next post), but I’ve also had some that were…well…somewhat disappointing.

As most senior college students can tell you, what you learn in a class and the grade that you get can vary greatly depending on who your professor is.  Though I’m not too fond of this reality, I recognize that it’s difficult to assure a standard level of teaching given the varied backgrounds and experiences of each individual professor.  As a freshman, I viewed my professors as my bosses, taking note of everything they said, accepting their words as fact, never questioning them and always assuming that their experiences were reflective of how things were in the real world.  This went on for the first few years, until I had a few remarkable professors who really opened my eyes and showed me just how big of an impact a professor can have on your life.  I also took courses with professors who clearly showed no interest or passion for the material they were teaching, professors who, as it appeared to me, cared more about paychecks and have their students read every chapter of the book, rather than focus on the education of their students.

As a result of this, I’ve come to view my professors more as employees than bosses.  Students pay large sums of money each semester for tuition for a quality university education, and professors are the means to receiving that education.  In my opinion, if a professor is not doing their job to share valuable experience and insightful information with their students, it’s no different than an employee in a factory falling asleep on the assembly line.  To give you an idea of exactly what I’m talking about, allow me to give you an example:

A few years ago, I took a marketing course with a professor who, at this time, will not be named.  The professor would come to class every morning, book in hand, load up the Powerpoints (made by the textbook publisher) and begin lecturing.  Lecturing essentially consisted of reading these Powerpoint slides for about an hour, before telling the class that their assignment is to read the next chapter before the next class period.  Occasionally the professor would give us quizzes (also made by the textbook publisher) and a few times a semester we would take exams (again, made by the textbook publisher).  These exams and quizzes would be done with the use of Scantron sheets, which would then be taken by the TA to be graded.

Many students would see this as normal.  I, however, see this as a cop out.  The professor I had in this class was no doubt extremely intelligent, having studied at some very prestigious universities.  I also knew that this professor had extensive experience in their field, having spoken with them after class several times.  The issue I have with the professor, however, is that they neglected to relate any of the key classroom concepts to their real-world experience.  I can pay any student on campus to come into a classroom, read a Powerpoint presentation, hand out a quiz or exam and then have a TA grade it.  The added value of having an experienced professional is that they are, or were at one point, involved with the material that they are teaching.  The word professor derives from Latin, and refers to a “person who professes”.  If a professor does nothing but read off slides to the class, then there is no added value, and that professor, at least in my opinion, has failed to do their job of teaching their students.  It’s no wonder we pay so much for textbooks, they’re teaching the classes for the professors!

Of course, it’s easy to criticize someone without having a solution, so here are a list of things that I think these select few professors could improve upon.

• The textbook should be an aid, not a crutch.  This one may be the most irritating. If you lack the fundamental knowledge of the subject you are teaching and cannot teach the basics without the use of a textbook, then you should not be teaching that subject. I don’t pay you to read me a book (that’s what preschool was for), I pay you to tell me why the material in the book matters in the real world.  We are adults. This is not a game of consumption and regurgitation.  Students want to learn why the course materials apply to the real world, not what the AMA’s official definition of marketing is over and over again.
• Teach your own class! I’ve had several professors that have assigned each student a part of the book to read and present upon, essentially removing all professor involvement in return for getting a grade.  I realize students need to learn how to present, but if half of the semester is being taught by the students and not the professor, you’re doing something wrong.
• Share your experiences with the class! If I can gain the same amount of knowledge just by reading the textbook on my own, then why come to class in the first place? Real world experiences matter far more than textbook definitions, and it’s important that student learn from your successes and failures.
• Get involved with your students.  Never being available in your office to network and socialize with your students creates a disconnect and a disinterest in the course.  If you can form a personal connection with your students, they’ll be much more eager to learn the material.  This may not be feasible for big lecture halls, but if you’re teaching a class of 10 students, you should at least know their names by the end of the semester.
• Get feedback from your students! Encourage your students to come to you with suggestions on how the class could be improved.  Never asking your students questions or encouraging them to ask you questions is a great way to ensure that your students never learn anything.

While I think that this list applies mostly to the few bad professors I’ve had in the college of business, I also believe some aspects of this apply to professors across the board.  The moral of the story is this: education should be student-oriented and the education of those students should be your number one priority.  If students in your class are consistently scoring low grades on exams (I had a professor once whose average grade was a D- for the last 5 semesters), then perhaps it’s not the students but YOU that need to spend some more time studying.

Got that? Good.