{"id":316,"date":"2016-08-29T20:15:07","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T20:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsthisorwork.com\/?p=316"},"modified":"2016-09-05T20:52:52","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T20:52:52","slug":"advice-from-a-professor-to-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsthisorwork.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/29\/advice-from-a-professor-to-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice From a Professor to College Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t make your college professor hate you. Say this, not that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to correct a bad impression once you\u2019ve created one with your professor, and grading is always going to be somewhat subjective. If you don\u2019t want your professor to think of you as a problem student and never give you the benefit of the doubt when grading your assignments, do not say anything of these things.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m leaving early for Thanksgiving\/Easter\/Christmas break, so I won\u2019t be able to take the test\/do the assignment\/attend the talk.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I get it. Sometimes your family schedules a great vacation not paying attention to when you are actually on the school break. But telling your professor that is not a good idea, because he or she will hear \u201cI\u2019m going on vacation while you stay here slaving away grading papers and tests.\u201d It\u2019s possible nothing will keep your professor from giving you a zero on what you missed. But try this and you might salvage something.<\/p>\n

Visit your professor during office hours EARLY in the semester and say, \u201cMy family against my wishes scheduled a trip before the break starts here. I\u2019m feeling torn because I want to be with them but also do what I\u2019m supposed to do as a student. Is there any way for me to complete the assignment earlier or in an alternative way?\u201d Then provide a couple of suggestions of what you can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand this article\/novel\/poem\/essay.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

To your professor, this sounds like you are giving up without any effort. It sounds lazy. Instead, say this: \u201cI\u2019ve read this assignment, and what I\u2019m taking from it is [insert any kind of interpretation here]. Am I way off base?\u201d This shows that you\u2019ve at least given the reading some thought and want to have a conversation about it, not simply be spoon-fed the \u201cmeaning\u201d of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything I can do for extra credit?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is often seen as an insult. There\u2019s usually no extra credit in college, except sometimes we offer some extra points if students attend a talk outside of class. And no professor wants this question AFTER you\u2019ve blown an assignment. It\u2019s like being sorry only after<\/em> you\u2019re caught doing the crime. Instead, say this: \u201cI really blew the last assignment. I want to do better on the next one. Can I come talk to you\/show you a draft before the next assignment is due? Most professors will adjust grades a little in your benefit if you\u2019ve improved over the course of the semester. So work hard to improve!<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t find any articles on this topic<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This might be true, but it\u2019s usually because you\u2019re doing it wrong. When a student says this to me, then I get on the computer and find 5 great articles in 5 seconds, I get mad. Again, it sounds like an admission of giving up by a lazy student. Instead say this: \u201cI\u2019m having trouble finding articles on this topic you assigned. Can I show you how I\u2019ve been searching the databases and you can point me in a better direction?\u201c Then show the professor on a laptop or the office computer what you\u2019ve been doing. Being willing to show what you\u2019ve tried means you\u2019re saying you\u2019ve already done some work on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need an A in this class.\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t misunderstand: teachers love to have students earn As. Giving an A to a student whose work earns that A is a wonderful feeling. That\u2019s different from a \u201cgrade-grubber\u201d who seems to want the grade and not the learning that the \u201cA\u201d shows has happened. Say this instead, EARLY in the semester: \u201cI chose this class on purpose because I\u2019m really interested in the subject matter. But I find some of the material challenging and I want to be sure I do the best I can. Can I make some appointments with you during the semester to be sure I\u2019m really understanding the material?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then show up for all the appointments with reading notes, a draft of a paper, evidence of having thought about assignments.<\/p>\n

Whenever I hear this, I think of a story another professor told me (can\u2019t vouch for it being true but it\u2019s a great story). A student came into the office and said, \u201cI\u2019ll do anything<\/em> for an A. Anything<\/em>.\u201d The professor got up, closed the office door, and said, \u201cAnything? Really?\u201d \u201cOh, yes,\u201d the student said, meaningfully. \u201cThen STUDY!\u201d the professor said, flinging the door open again.<\/p>\n

Nothing makes your professor happier than seeing evidence that you are thinking about and engaging with the course topic, enjoying gaining access to the knowledge he or she is sharing, and working hard to do your best. Maybe you can\u2019t summon this kind of enthusiasm about every class you take. But you can fake it, and sometimes faking it leads to making it. At the very least, however, following this advice, you will not alienate your professor and get yourself tagged as lazy and entitled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t make your college professor hate you. Say this, not that. It\u2019s difficult to correct a bad impression once you\u2019ve<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdvice From a Professor to College Students - It's This Or Work<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsthisorwork.com\/index.php\/2016\/08\/29\/advice-from-a-professor-to-college-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advice From a Professor to College Students - It's This Or Work\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don\u2019t make your college professor hate you. 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