Ten from the Top: things teachers are guilty of doing, too
Ten from the Top is the weekly column of the very honest and often snarky thoughts of District’s editor-in-chief.
Alright big disclaimer right upfront: I am a huge teacher’s pet. On top of that I have worked as a teacher at three different schools (two elementary school and one elementary/middle school.) I love teachers and teaching in general and if you think I am crazy because of that then I’d like to remind you you’d be nowhere without your teachers. OK, now my rant is over. With that said, teachers are no saints and often I catch them doing the same things they call students out on all day long. See if any of these sound familiar to you.
1.Procrastinating:
Believe me, the teacher doesn’t want to grade the assignment any more than you didn’t want to do it. Plus they have to do about 60 of them, yay! But seriously, just because y’all don’t want to grade them doesn’t mean you should push back the deadline after I pulled two all-nighters.
2. Not learning names:
I personally call my teachers “Professor” because I don’t want to mess up their name (and I’m lazy) and teachers are no different. They are crafty, though, and point rather than call on students. Some professors can even get away with nicknames if they are friendly enough. That way you might not even know that they don’t have a clue who you are.
3. Winging it:
Even if they have a syllabus, a lot of teachers deviate from the program and a few will even go off-track completely. When I was teaching I had a good number of days when I rewrote plans on the fly and the classes I taught first were the lucky guinea pigs. Sound familiar?
4. Watching movies in class:
They want a break as much as we do and most don’t care in the slightest when you fall asleep. Let’s just all pretend this is important though, in case the Dean comes by.
5. Being late to class:
Probably more times than they want to admit. Although, they always seem to get in before the first fifteen minutes so we don’t ever get to go home early. Come on. If I sprinted from my apartment to get here on time you can make it from your office one floor above.
6. Surfing the Web during class:
OK teachers, remember, if you are presenting something on your computer we can see your open tabs. I’m betting the Facebook and four different online shoe stores probably aren’t course related, and if they are I’m signing up for another one of your classes next quarter.
7. Breaking their own rules:
Absolutely no cell phones allowed in class! Then teacher’s phone goes off once every single class and he/she answers it at least three times each time. No eating or drinking in class (said with full mouth of danish and coffee now flying onto my desk).
8. Not reading emails:
Where students skim textbooks, teachers skim emails and in both cases it can be painfully obvious.
9. Using big words:
You know that kid in the back that must look up words the night before to use in class and sound important? That is 9/10 teachers, only difference is they are getting paid to use them and you are paying to listen.
10. Trying to be cool:
My goodness, teachers work insanely hard at this because, believe it or not, they want you to like them (and not in the “oh he is cool” way but in the, “his words inspired me and changed me as a person forever” and “he is going to be the third person I mention in my Nobel acceptance speech” ways). They chose to spend their lives working long hours in classrooms full of college students often eating and talking. Maybe they think if they act like us we’ll like them? Heck if I pass your class, chances are I’m going to like you.
