How do professors who went to top schools feel about teaching students at bottom tier colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:David Foster Wallace preferred teaching at Illinois State University to Pomona, where he went after being offered an endowed faculty Chair

What do you expect them to say? "These kids are lazy underachievers, very few actually read the assigned material, plagiarism is rampant, and lectures are like talking to a wall."

Well he made the comment after he left the "directional" university and while held an endowed professorship at a selective Liberal Arts college, so I'm not sure what his incentive would have been to celebrate his previous students over his current ones other than it was probably true

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Relative taught at T-14 law school. Did exchanges nationally and internationally. Even as a bit of a snob, he said the top of the class at mid-continent state school was every bit as good as Ivy students. So, yes, maybe not the depth through the class, but still rewarding and interesting. He enjoyed the different settings.

Sure, sure.

Come back when you can converse like an adult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Relative taught at T-14 law school. Did exchanges nationally and internationally. Even as a bit of a snob, he said the top of the class at mid-continent state school was every bit as good as Ivy students. So, yes, maybe not the depth through the class, but still rewarding and interesting. He enjoyed the different settings.

Sure, sure.

Are you new here? There’s little incentive to lie. It’s an anonymous forum!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the professors I know complain about their students whether they teach at elite universities or open admission colleges.

Generally true. But I think especially those at very expensive private schools with entitled students and then those who perceive they are teaching beneath themselves. Think professor ending up at directional U in a bad weather state and no personal connection to the state - and with the state cutting funds and students who are not prepared.

My friends and family teaching at top tier publics are happiest with their students. Then they complain about their colleagues and administration.

This. We left academe because of the administration, not the students. And we could make more money in private industry and government. Who cares about tenure anymore? It is not like it really means anything at most universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m aware that the academic job market is really competitive, and thus people with PhDs from top schools can end up teaching at regional colleges. I imagine that it must be frustrating to teach those students. I looked on the website of a directional university and the faculty have PhDs from Harvard, Yale and other schools that are much, much higher ranked for grad and undergrad than that school.

What a gross comment. I hope you never get near a college any child of mine attends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such an ignorant question

It’s what we’re all thinking.

No, actually "we're" not. Why do crappy people always assume everyone is just as unhappy/judgmental as they are?

[Anonymous]

The professors at an easy admit school where I grew up really liked teaching. They went to elite schools themselves because they were passionate about their subject. They teach because they’re passionate about teaching.

This status seeking elitism is so obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:David Foster Wallace preferred teaching at Illinois State University to Pomona, where he went after being offered an endowed faculty Chair

What do you expect them to say? "These kids are lazy underachievers, very few actually read the assigned material, plagiarism is rampant, and lectures are like talking to a wall."

Oh hi OP ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can only share this anecdotal story...a friend who went to a prestigious high school and a top tier undergrad and grad school, though not Ivy top tier, and is currently teaching at what they would even call a 4th tier public university.

1) people who are on the big schools and Ivy are under heavy pressure to publish and have strong research grants etc, so for them, the time it takes to teach undermines their revenue for themselves and the university and

2) the people who are teaching at these lower tier schools actually like to, you know, teach, and derive professional satisfaction from imparting knowledge on young minds.

In many circumstances, the quality of the actual teaching by professors at lower tier schools is actually much better than the distant professors and their grad students at the top level institutions.

This is very true, and reflects an insider’s wisdom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such an ignorant question

It’s what we’re all thinking.

Yes, we are ALL thinking that this is an ignorant question. I feel bad for OP, they clearly have limited life experience. What a sad, small world they must live in.

[Anonymous]

Ivy League PhD and have taught at a variety of schools. The biggest differences I see are in the writing and grammar. Kills me. I try to separate them out when grading papers but it’s difficult. Also generally, students don’t seem to write as many papers in high school or college these days and are often lacking those skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why OP is getting all this abuse. It is a reasonable question.

OP: Professors of all types. Those that have made peace with their situation at very low rank schools and who have really gotten into teaching. Those that are still striving to make it to the top. And those among the latter who are cursing out their students for not being good enough to support their research ambitions (by serving as RAs etc).

Likewise students of all types everywhere. Burnt out students at T10 who just want to chill and admittedly a small group of highly motivated students at lower ranked schools who are outstanding (and about equal to the top tier students anywhere).

Your writing is very unclear. What are you trying to convey?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ivy League PhD and have taught at a variety of schools. The biggest differences I see are in the writing and grammar. Kills me. I try to separate them out when grading papers but it’s difficult. Also generally, students don’t seem to write as many papers in high school or college these days and are often lacking those skills.

My kids’ teachers in MCPS never assign big writing assignments and my kids have never received meaningful feedback on their writing beyond a basic paragraph. Oldest is at a W high school.

[Anonymous]

So many generalizations.

There are great professors at R1s and crappy professors at R1s. Tenure is not a "pipe dream" for newly minted PhDs. There are good professors at regional universities and crappy professors at regional universities. There are bitter professors who wish they taught at Harvard and bitter professors who *do* teach at Harvard.

I know tenure is hard to get and it's also hard to get a TT position. But anecdotally, every single person from my 30 person cohort in political science (at a top R1 public school) who went into academia has received tenure. That's 15 people from a class that started in 2006. The rest of us either dropped out before completion or went into nonacademic jobs -- I think 20 of us received PhDs. In the cohort that followed mine, most people have tenure and two are at Ivies. The ones that are at Ivies are fantastic, award winning teachers. The ones that are at regional colleges are happy and successful as well.

But I have literally never heard anyone complain about their students being crappy at the regional colleges. In fact, my friends at those schools talk about their students with PRIDE. Because they're not assholes.

Nice guys finish first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many generalizations.

There are great professors at R1s and crappy professors at R1s. Tenure is not a "pipe dream" for newly minted PhDs. There are good professors at regional universities and crappy professors at regional universities. There are bitter professors who wish they taught at Harvard and bitter professors who *do* teach at Harvard.

I know tenure is hard to get and it's also hard to get a TT position. But anecdotally, every single person from my 30 person cohort in political science (at a top R1 public school) who went into academia has received tenure. That's 15 people from a class that started in 2006. The rest of us either dropped out before completion or went into nonacademic jobs -- I think 20 of us received PhDs. In the cohort that followed mine, most people have tenure and two are at Ivies. The ones that are at Ivies are fantastic, award winning teachers. The ones that are at regional colleges are happy and successful as well.

But I have literally never heard anyone complain about their students being crappy at the regional colleges. In fact, my friends at those schools talk about their students with PRIDE. Because they're not assholes.

Nice guys finish first.

That was pre-recession.