Professor honestly answers college students’ most FAQs
About the author
Hi there. I am the prolific professor with 15 years of experience teaching online and in-person. I have a graduate degree. I have a passion for education. But I’ve also worked in the professional world (outside of education) too. Thanks for visiting.
College professor answers students’ questions about their college professors
I get these questions from my readers often. And I felt that I needed to address them to help you understand a little more about your professors. And maybe defend them just a little.
I am going to answer the top 5 questions that I get the most from college students about their college professors.
And I bet that you have wondered the same things too.
So, let’s dive right in.
Why can’t professors teach?
College professors may not be able to teach well because they don’t have any teaching experience. Professors are likely hired because of their experience in their field and not because of their teaching experience. They may be new professors and just need some time to get better at teaching.
You’ve probably had a professor who was very intelligent, but just couldn’t teach. And you’re wondering how in the world did they get hired as a professor in the first place.
Surely teaching experience is a requirement for the job, right?
Not necessarily.
Now, this completely depends on the college, but some universities really want professors who are true professionals in their field, whose focus is on research, which can bring lots of funding and prestige to the university.
What better way to market your university than have loads of professors that are well known in their field?
The problem some students run into is that these amazing and talented professors just can’t teach.
Well, this often happens because they are hired because of their other talents I mentioned above, and they have no previous experience teaching.
I would say that most colleges will require a teaching presentation during their interview but maybe they are mediocre and have other amazing qualities and they are hired anyway, or they knocked their interview out of the park but don’t keep the same rigor in the classroom.
Some professors, not all, don’t have specific experience in pedagogy (best teaching practices).
So maybe they are a historian, archaeologist, scientist, criminologist, or sociologist.
And they aren’t trained to be educators.
Some colleges provide amazing support to their faculty to enhance their teaching skills, but some may not.
Until they improve their teaching style, you’re having to learn a lot of the material yourself instead.
A few other reasons why professors can’t seem to teach is because they may be new professors and just need some more experience under their belt.
Whichever the reason, you probably want some help to learn how to deal with a professor who can’t teach.
If you find yourself in this situation, I have plenty of advice just for you.
Why do professors take attendance?
Professors take attendance for a variety of reasons. Some professors might take attendance because they want to encourage students to attend regularly to learn. While others might take attendance because they want to provide an opportunity for an easy grade. Other professors might just want you to get your money’s worth by attending.
As a professor who has done both, taken attendance and ignored attendance, I’ll explain the reasons why most professors take attendance.
Professors likely want to take attendance for a few reasons. One reason might be to encourage students to attend.
YES!
Professors care if you come to class.
We know that you will be most successful if you attend class regularly and since most students don’t want to get a bad grade in the class, it can motivate you to attend.
Secondly, professors might want additional grades to calculate your final average.
And attendance is an easy grade to earn.
It could help boost your overall grade in the class.
Lastly, professors may want to take attendance in case they are asked to be a reference or write a letter of recommendation for a student later, and this way they’ll know more about you.
When I was a professor, I tried several different things.
I took attendance for extra credit. No official grades for attending though.
Another semester I ignored attendance.
And then I finally started calculating students’ grades for attendance.
I found that I got the most attendance when I took attendance for a grade.
And if I could motivate students to come to class by taking attendance for a grade, I would do just that.
So, in a nutshell, that’s why your professor is taking attendance.
Why do professors make so little?
Most professors are only working during the long semesters and their salary might seem low because it’s only around 9 months of work. Students might also think professors make so little because they have advanced degrees and lots of experience and seem underpaid but professors have lots of opportunities to earn extra income through academia.
I think you first have to define so little? If you’re comparing professors to doctors, that’s not a fair comparison.
Professors don’t make as little as you might think, but they definitely aren’t some of the top earners.
You have to remember that most professors are only paid their salary to work fall/spring semesters. This means that most professors are going to get the winter break off, and the entire summer off too.
When you think about how much time they have off during the year, that salary doesn’t look too terrible.
And in the summer, most universities will have summer classes for students.
Professors can usually pick up a class or two to teach for additional pay.
And there are other opportunities for professors to make money at their college like extra duties.
Some professors do things outside of the college, but related to academia, where they earn additional income too.
I worked with plenty of professors who wrote their own textbooks. And they usually get a paycheck anytime the publisher sells their book.
So, there are a lot of ways professors can earn some extra money and while professors aren’t getting rich, they are earning a decent income after it’s all said and done.
Why are college professors rude?
Professors might be rude because they’ve had a terrible day or are simply exhausted. Other times it could just be their personality and that’s just who they are as a person.
I never engaged with rude professors, but I am sure they exist somewhere.
Some of my readers have said that they have had rude professors at their college, so I know it does happen.
I do like to consider how the professor was rude though.
Sometimes students might think a professor was rude because they wouldn’t allow them to have extra credit, or they wouldn’t raise their grade.
And that is hardly a reason to call them rude.
But if they are actually rude, that’s a different story.
This is completely hypothetical because I have never interviewed rude professors and asked them, but maybe they are rude because they are having a bad day.
Professors are humans too, and they can have bad experiences.
Now, if they are rude all the time, maybe they don’t like their job. They just are there to get a paycheck and don’t care much about their career.
Another reason why they might seem rude is because that’s their personality.
We’ve all met someone who just had a specific demeanor about themselves that seemed off-putting.
Maybe that’s what some students experience too.
These are just a few reasons why professors might be rude to their students, but again, that’s completely hypothetical. No one will really know for sure, unless you asked them.
Why are college professors so strict?
Some professors may seem so strict because they are trying to effectively manage a classroom and need a lot of cooperation from the students. So they have lots of rules to enforce their policies. Other times it could just be their personality.
This depends on the job experience of the professor.
Some professors who are inexperienced might be more strict because they don’t want to get trampled on by students and want to set firm expectations for the class.
Other experienced professors might be more lax because they don’t take anything too seriously anymore.
I could also see how inexperienced professors could be less strict because they aren’t exactly sure what to expect, and don’t know how to manage students quite yet.
Experienced professors could also be really strict because they know that it helps students be more productive.
Really, I think it boils down to experience.
Or you might just have those professors that are strict because that’s their personality.
Lastly, professors may be strict because they have to.
They realize that students are more likely to do their coursework if they are strict.
Those are about the only reasons I could think of.
Go ahead and subscribe to be the first to know of new content I publish! I might answer more questions like these.
Recent Posts
