Disgruntled Professors

Are the worst!

I honestly don’t know what is the matter with my entire department at Riverpoint.  I have no idea if these professors have a lot more responsibility and running around to do or if they are just turkeys.  This is the third University I have attended, and I have never before encountered such belligerence to downright open hostility at meeting students.  As I’ve said before, I find it particularly strange behavior for a department whose emphasis is centered around. . .  Communication.

University of Nevada, Reno was the largest state school in a very population-sparse state whose focus was not really higher education.  So they were a smaller school–and those professors, wrote office hours on their syllabus, would make a meeting outside of the hours, and seemed to genuinely want to help students.  Especially those that took extra time to meet with them.  I never encountered as much as annoyance when trying to set up a time to talk to anyone.

University of Missouri-Columbia is a Big-12 college, probably the largest in the state, with more funds, and better facilities.  So a pretty big University–in a college town.  I think it was mandated that every professor had to specify office hours for each class they taught and make themselves available at those times.  Because those professors would try to entice students to come in and see them during office hours.  My chem professor was always posting on his Facebook page that he was having his office hours at the student coffee shop and stuff so please drop by.  Those professors were excited when you did come to office hours.

At Riverpoint, many of the professors won’t even put specific office hours on their syllabus.  They say, “by appointment” probably as a way not to be tied down and as discouragement for students to come see them.  Today’s professor had written hours on her syllabus, but after class when I confirmed those hours with her, she acted all sketchy like she didn’t know office hours existed.  Then, finally she said there was a sign-up on her door.  So I said, “Oh I didn’t realize your office hours were by sign-up appointment–do you already have someone for today?”  She was all covert again, and said she didn’t know, I would have to walk all the way across campus and check her door. . .  So I did.  And there were appointment slots, but most of them were for the preceding week, and the one future date was already taken.  Since I was unable to sign up, and I was already all the way over there, I sat outside her office and waited for her.  When she approached, I didn’t press for an immediate meeting, but did say there was no place to sign up so I wanted to schedule something.

My professor seemed really put-out and said we could meet now–even though it was 2:30 and she hadn’t eaten lunch yet, was really looking forward to her lunch, and by the way she was very hungry.  I told her I didn’t mind if she ate while I asked her some questions (she needed to microwave though) and I totally understood, as I attend her class AS my lunch break on Monday.  So I also miss eating half the time because of her attending her class during my lunch break from work.  She just looked annoyed and like I was a huge inconvenience to her, and this was a waste of her time.

I got out our last exam (which we did not go over at all in class) and told her I really wanted to make sure I understood everything for the future, because I want to be an audiologist.  She seemed unmoved, so I nervously rushed into my few questions.  I had, I think, 4 things I wanted further explanation on.  I did not, at any time, ask for or dispute any missed points.  Though I would have liked some for the 2 answers I do think I got right, I didn’t even broach the subject of points/grades.

So the whole thing made me feel awkward and horrible, as if I was totally a disruption to my professor’s time, and unwelcome and what a waste my questions were.  Which, as a person genuinely wanting to learn and eager to do well, (not to mention paying big money for) I would hope professors would appreciate.  But she did not.  And when I got to my last question, she was sort of short-tempered and rude.  Maybe her patience wore out at that point.  Maybe she was starving.  Maybe she didn’t have an answer so she fronted with anger instead.  Who knows.  At that point, things went (further) downhill in a hurry.  She had asked for the opposite anatomical term for “central.”  I put distal, which I thought was opposite.  Because proximal means point of origin or center and distal is the opposite of that.  So in my mind when two words are synonymous, they both have the same antonym.  She just got really crabby with me and kept saying, “I don’t understand why you just didn’t put peripheral.”  To which I was like–why doesn’t distal still work–it’s the same as peripheral and still opposite of central/proximal???  I would really like to know why that won’t work.  Like an explanation–not just “why didn’t you put the answer I say is correct?”  Anyway, she referenced the textbook and even though I think my answer is still correct (and I read and outlined the textbook) I just didn’t want to further poke the bear so to speak.

I said, “Thanks for your time, enjoy your lunch.”  And she was all, “I will!” as if I kept her from it for hours and hours and it was all my fault she wasn’t eating until after 2:30 PM.  So per the usual at this University, I left with adrenaline pounding, red in the face, and feeling awkward and embarrassed by the horrid way these authority figures treat me.  I seem to have a special talent for unintentionally making people belligerent.  I don’t TRY to make people pissed, but it happens a lot to me.  Anyway, I didn’t feel this behavior toward me was warranted or appropriate.  I was there during her effing office hours!  Making me feel bad about having questions is not right, and it shouldn’t happen.  I would complain–but this whole branch campus is that way so I don’t think it would do any good.  Riverpoint strikes–still. . .  Repeatedly.

Related articles

• Office Hours: What They Are, and Why They Rock (studylesslearnmore.com)
• Professors’ office hours=Better perfomance (luengineer.wordpress.com)
• A word of wisdom (kongira.wordpress.com)