Everyone at Mississippi State has or will complain about a teacher at least once in his or her time here. It never fails.
The main complaint is not about the difficulty of the tests or the complicated material. No, the main issue students at MSU have with teachers is some teachers’ apparent lack of motivation to teach their classes. I’ve heard of and noticed firsthand teachers simply reading the textbook or preparing PowerPoints directly from the text and spoon-feeding the material. The problem with this teaching style is that while the students may read and copy down the information, they are not truly understanding it.
Much of the criticism of teachers seems to be directed at graduate students. I have had several classes over the past two semesters that have been taught by graduate students. Many are very good, easy to relate to and able to teach the class just as competently as tenured professors. However, I have also had experience with grad students who simply show up, read from the book and leave. It’s not that their tests are too hard or that the material doesn’t make sense; rather, it’s the apathy students sense coming from their teachers, which makes the class uninteresting and seemingly harder to pass.
University of Maryland researcher Dave E. Marcotte found when students miss class time, learning directly suffers. Couldn’t the same be held true for teachers? When teachers “miss” class time because of an illness, have an off day lecturing or aren’t motivated to teach, wouldn’t the the students’ ability to learn the material suffer?
There are, of course, teachers at MSU who are very good at what they do and host a very learning-friendly environment in their classrooms. Teachers who present the textbook but also go deeper than the text with their explanations are able to reach students effectively and rarely get complaints. Most of my teachers have been very good, effective at teaching the material and easy to approach outside of class.
So why are there two ends of the spectrum when it comes to quality of teachers? Why do we have both excellent professors and other teachers who could care less? The simple fact is that some teachers are just better than others. There isn’t much we can do about this, but what can you do if you get stuck in a class with an apathetic teacher?
While you can’t change the way a professor teaches, you can change the way you approach the class, the way you learn from him or her. Write down everything that is said in class; material from the first days and weeks often reappears on the final. Also, talk to the professor outside of class, not about his or her teaching style, but about how to succeed in the class. Ask for tips on studying the material, and don’t be afraid to approach with questions on homework or notes covered in class. When a student shows interest and concern about his or her grade in a class, the professor is more likely to help. Avoid being blameful of the professor or begging for grades, but instead approach with a “What can I do to succeed?” attitude.
Students and their parents are spending thousands of dollars a year in tuition, much of which goes to paying teachers’ salaries. While it is ultimately the responsibility of the student to make the grade and succeed in the classroom, it is the responsibility of the teacher to give us the tools to succeed. It is about time that all teachers give us our money’s worth in the classroom.
Ben Leiker is a freshman majoring in biological engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].