I'm a professor at a 4-year college/university... ask me anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have favorites? I knew most of mine liked me as a student but I was also always on time, participated and made great grades.

What's the best excuse you have ever heard?


Do you pass althletes?

I don't have favorites, but I do have students that I dislike. I don't judge students based on their aptitude. I do judge (and frequently get annoyed) with students who:
-Don't turn work in/don't try but then can't understand why they do poorly in my classes
-Cheat, lie, have rude manners

I'd much rather an honest C students than a lying/cheating A/B student.

Athletes are often my best students.

Best excuse? Girl tells me she has a heavy period and can't take the exam. GTFO. Take an Advil hunny.

She might have endometriosis. It's can be extremely painful.

[Anonymous]

What kind of institution (R1, etc) is your PhD from? What tier school do you teach at? Discipline: Sciences, humanities, allied health?

How long have you been teaching? Do you research? If so is teaching or research your biggest priority? Do you teach first and second years? Are you tenured or TT? If not do you have another job?

Do you have formal training in pedagogy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have favorites? I knew most of mine liked me as a student but I was also always on time, participated and made great grades.

What's the best excuse you have ever heard?


Do you pass althletes?

I don't have favorites, but I do have students that I dislike. I don't judge students based on their aptitude. I do judge (and frequently get annoyed) with students who:
-Don't turn work in/don't try but then can't understand why they do poorly in my classes
-Cheat, lie, have rude manners

I'd much rather an honest C students than a lying/cheating A/B student.

Athletes are often my best students.

Best excuse? Girl tells me she has a heavy period and can't take the exam. GTFO. Take an Advil hunny.

Yeah - don't be so quick to judge health excuses. My mother had *heavy* periods, and couldn't do anything those days. Whens he was that age, she didn't know there was anything you could do about it. I know some kids will try everything, but there really are wacky health things out there.

+1, my cramps are so bad I don't leave the house for a day or two. I tried everything and at best it just takes the edge off things. Its horrible. Glad you were not my professor.

So your entire adult life you've stayed home from work once a month? I find that hard to believe. If it's that bad you go on the pill or get a doctor's note, double up on tampons/pads, etc. . We all know girls/women who will use this as an excuse because they think nobody will question it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have favorites? I knew most of mine liked me as a student but I was also always on time, participated and made great grades.

What's the best excuse you have ever heard?


Do you pass althletes?

I don't have favorites, but I do have students that I dislike. I don't judge students based on their aptitude. I do judge (and frequently get annoyed) with students who:
-Don't turn work in/don't try but then can't understand why they do poorly in my classes
-Cheat, lie, have rude manners

I'd much rather an honest C students than a lying/cheating A/B student.

Athletes are often my best students.

Best excuse? Girl tells me she has a heavy period and can't take the exam. GTFO. Take an Advil hunny.

Yeah - don't be so quick to judge health excuses. My mother had *heavy* periods, and couldn't do anything those days. Whens he was that age, she didn't know there was anything you could do about it. I know some kids will try everything, but there really are wacky health things out there.

+1, my cramps are so bad I don't leave the house for a day or two. I tried everything and at best it just takes the edge off things. Its horrible. Glad you were not my professor.

So your entire adult life you've stayed home from work once a month? I find that hard to believe. If it's that bad you go on the pill or get a doctor's note, double up on tampons/pads, etc. . We all know girls/women who will use this as an excuse because they think nobody will question it.

This. I have endometriosis and I have never missed class for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you tenured / tenure track?

Do you alter your curriculum so you don't potentially offend people?

Yes I am tenure track. I do play the game somewhat (make sure not to offend, keep the average at a B). After tenure I will bring the hammer down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of institution (R1, etc) is your PhD from? What tier school do you teach at? Discipline: Sciences, humanities, allied health?

How long have you been teaching? Do you research? If so is teaching or research your biggest priority? Do you teach first and second years? Are you tenured or TT? If not do you have another job?

Do you have formal training in pedagogy?

Phd from R1. Social Science. Teaching and research are more or less equal priority. I teach all levels, but I'm at a liberal arts college so we do not have grad students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you teach?

What is the tier ranking more or less of the university in which you teach? (Not as a judgment but to gauge the general performance of the students)

Top 100 (USNEWS) private liberal arts college.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The worst thing about the students today is they simply cannot or refuse to put the time into, writing well. It's abysmal. I thought I was judging too harshly so I went back and looked at my own papers in college. Even kids who are here spending 40k a year of their parents money and went to good private high schools turn in papers with multiple incomplete sentences. They are either dumb or lazy, or both.

[Anonymous]

Has a student ever hit on you?

I taught a few college courses and always thought so many students and colleagues blurred the lines of appropriateness.

[Anonymous]

Why do faculty members treat staff like garbage? And why do I get better treatment after they find out I have an advanced degree? It's truly sickening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The worst thing about the students today is they simply cannot or refuse to put the time into, writing well. It's abysmal. I thought I was judging too harshly so I went back and looked at my own papers in college. Even kids who are here spending 40k a year of their parents money and went to good private high schools turn in papers with multiple incomplete sentences. They are either dumb or lazy, or both.

I don't usually say this, but your writing here isn't that great. "Students that" and random commas. So it's odd you are criticizing it in others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have favorites? I knew most of mine liked me as a student but I was also always on time, participated and made great grades.

What's the best excuse you have ever heard?


Do you pass althletes?

I don't have favorites, but I do have students that I dislike. I don't judge students based on their aptitude. I do judge (and frequently get annoyed) with students who:
-Don't turn work in/don't try but then can't understand why they do poorly in my classes
-Cheat, lie, have rude manners

I'd much rather an honest C students than a lying/cheating A/B student.

Athletes are often my best students.

Best excuse? Girl tells me she has a heavy period and can't take the exam. GTFO. Take an Advil hunny.[/quote]

You sound dreadful. My question is, who hurt you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have favorites? I knew most of mine liked me as a student but I was also always on time, participated and made great grades.

What's the best excuse you have ever heard?


Do you pass althletes?

I don't have favorites, but I do have students that I dislike. I don't judge students based on their aptitude. I do judge (and frequently get annoyed) with students who:
-Don't turn work in/don't try but then can't understand why they do poorly in my classes
-Cheat, lie, have rude manners

I'd much rather an honest C students than a lying/cheating A/B student.

Athletes are often my best students.

Best excuse? Girl tells me she has a heavy period and can't take the exam. GTFO. Take an Advil hunny.

I am homebound on my heavy day. I need to wear a S+ tampon and a pad and still have to change every hour. Clots come out and it is painful even with Midol or Advil. But I only have my period for 3 days every time so I just deal. But I wouldn't be able to sit for an exam. I would bleed out.

[Anonymous]

Have you only taught at one college or a few of them before landing at your current one? If it's a few of them -- what differences do you see (if any) between students at higher or lower ranked schools, state flagships vs. private colleges etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best excuse that I ever heard for why someone was failing a MWF class was because they had to go to mosque on Fridays, so they missed all the Friday classes. ...and...he got a girl pregnant, so he was dealing with that. So could he please have extra credit?

Why take an elective class you know you're going to miss 33% of?

lollll- that is hilarious

I'm Muslim- knew soo many people like that in college- the good student know not to schedule a class that conflicts with juma or if its a real problem- have to take class to graduate etc- you talk to the professor at the beginning of the semester and have someone take notes-


haha i literally laughed out loud at this