Educators here to help, not hurt
Dear educators,
You devote your lives to informing others. You endure your own endless years of mostly irrelevant schooling, only to realize that for some unfathomable reason, you want to pursue a career that would further imprison you amongst the dark hallways of educational institutions. It is here that you continue the legacy, ecstatic to share the distress of learning with fellow inmates. Within the confines of designated chambers at fixed time intervals, you hold your unwilling victims hostage to a constant spewing of rapid information, which you expect to be soaked up instantly and in full comprehension. Misery loves company.
Okay, so it’s not that bad. Not even close, actually – especially here at the wonderful University of Guelph. As post secondary students, we have (mostly) chosen to pursue our life’s fulfillment here, whether it is in the mysteries of the past, the dynamics of politics today, or the role of chemistry in the future. Students from all corners of the globe choose university to find and satisfy their niche. And though there’s no denying that many arrive with intentions of consuming copious amounts of alcohol and/or meeting those who will be their friends of a lifetime, there is one common element that applies to each and every student enrolled in university: we are here to learn.
This, dear professors, is where you come in. Or more accurately, where anyone with the power to instill knowledge in willing minds should come in. Teachers, professors, tutors, mentors, coaches, etc: just as students are all in it to learn, you are in it to teach, to inform and advise, to listen and to explain. Nowhere in the job description of any of those roles is there mention of being condescending, ridiculing, or superior. Remembering this is crucial to the state of education, as we know it.
I have no incidence or specific encounter in mind when I address this issue, but just a general dissatisfaction at the way some students are treated when they are making a legitimate effort to understand or gain clarification of material. I have observed instances in which a student is clearly making an attempt to fully grasp content, often in the form of a question to the educator. It makes me cringe to see teachers respond to these (admirable) efforts by being disdainful. Absolutely nothing (except a wicked hangover) will prevent a pupil from ‘trying’ to learn more than feeling like they’re too stupid – especially when that discouragement is coming from the very person we rely on to implant the passion of education into their brain.
I’m sure it’s not intentional, but something as simple as an, “Are you kidding me?” look or a laugh can send the message to a student that an education thinks, “That was a dumb question, why would you ask that?”
From both personal experience and speaking to friends, it’s safe to say that we all take these minor reactions to heart. I once had a professor that literally ‘tsk-tsked’ when a student asked to clarify the meaning of an unknown abbreviation. To the student, and the class, it implies, “You should already know that, and if you don’t, shame on you,” – not cool, bro.
The worst thing an instructor can do is make a student, who is putting forth an obvious effort to understand the content that the professor is being paid to deliver, feel worthless or unintelligent. Doing so only hurts the morale of the student body, and does no favour to education as a whole. Please, teachers, before sharing your scorn, remember that we are students, learners, and possibly a future you. And making us feel dumb reflects on you as well. How so? Well, that’s a dumb question.