Professorial lack of respect for students
Ages of students here at Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College vary, but almost all are old enough to vote in the upcoming election. If the majority of students are adults, then why do many feel like they are still trapped in the confinements of high school prison?
The answer lies in the dogma professors abide by. Some professors insist on treating their students as if they are minors, declaring attendance is mandatory, asserting participation is worth the largest portion of the grade, and requiring students to ask for permission to trail off to the restroom.
These classes offered here at college are by no means free; this is not high school, where children were prodded with a rusty pitchfork are wielded by the state and their parents to go, and because of this, teachers could dictatorially rule with an iron fist. Teachers had the privilege to enforce whichever rules and regulations they saw fit.
Now welcome to college. The atmosphere here might be unfamiliar for some and the liberal air might be too salubrious to handle at first because they have not yet transitioned, especially those who just arrived at the docks a few weeks ago as freshmen, but they might have already grasped the dissimilarities between college life and high school life.
It is ridiculously silly to slash a student’s grade over attendance, refusing to regard their excuses. A student’s grade should not plummet down a letter because he did not attend three days of class. Of course professors can advise students that it is not very wise to miss class, but to stunt the growth of their grade is unreasonable.
So how much allotted power, precisely, do professors possess? Perhaps professors here envious of the immeasurable power their comrade teachers in high school consistently tease them with.
But in despite of the gibes chucked at their faces, professors need to realize that all the Saddleback and IVC students deserve to be treated like adults since they are paying for and being taught rigorous college curriculum.