Okay, so it’s confession time. I really love the History Channel, and most channels like it. Think Discovery, or National Geographic. During the summer, rather than doing something “normal” like going to the beach, or grilling, you could find me nestled under a blanket sitting on the sofa watching a documentary on who really discovered America. For hours, I’d be there, mouth agape and cup of lemonade in hand.

But come on, you can’t tell me that those channels aren’t cool. Think Shark Week, a week I know people mark on their calendars. These channels have something for everyone. You can watch a documentary on the history of marijuana, or the Salem Witch Trials, and then follow it up with a WWII special.

The only problem with the History channel and its counterparts is when it finally hits you: you learn more from one hour long documentary than you ever do going to class. One story alone is assembled better than any lecture you will ever attend, without the annoying graduate student who says “um” every other word or the keeper of the crypt who keeps nodding off mid-sentence.

I spend time in some of my classes contemplating over important issues like what a piece of toast would say if it could talk, but I can’t wait for a commercial to finally end when I’m watching a special on Discovery.

Bottom line: Professors could learn a lot from these channels. Read More »

Picture it: We pan over a full classroom, a man with a slightly too-tight plaid shirt and vile comb over is lecturing with the same tone and volume of a dull beeeeeeeep.  If we watch the students, we see several completely passed out while others furiously scribble notes, attempting to keep up with information that may or may not be on any exams this teacher gives. The old guy up front is so dull he makes Ferris Bueller’s teacher look like Lady Gaga, but what can you do?  The class is required and this guy is the only one who teaches it, whether the students like him or not.

But what if you, the student, got a say in that? It’s happening at Stanford, where students get to give their teachers a grade for a change. The university is using student evaluations to determine things like professor salaries and tenure. Read More »

So we all know that boredom can lead to a lot of bad things: eating, online shopping, texting the ex BF and telling him that you still love him (OK, maybe that’s just me). But did you know boredom can actually kill you? Yeah, that’s what scientists in London are saying. And if that’s the truth, there are quite a few things out there that should be eradicated before they’re put on trial for murder.

The Treadmill.
Running on a treadmill is good for you, my ass. Running in place for 45 minutes is basically running yourself into the ground. 6 feet into the ground, to be exact.

Professors who lecture for the entire class without. stopping. once.
These scary germs of people only have one tone of voice, and it’s a horrible monotone that appears to only exist for the purpose of putting those who hear it into a boring coma.  These teachers just drone on and on about the importance of supply and demand or whatever, not even stopping for breath, and not realizing that half of their audience is either on Facebook or dead asleep. Or, apparently, dead.

Family functions where no one is your age.
There are only so many old people stories about your parents/grandparents/aunts/uncle/weird cousins you can take before you keel over and die. Read More »

"Are you saying you disagree with my theory as outlined on page 182 of my book?"

So class isn’t always our first priority at school. Okay, maybe it never is. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy some of them. Once you get past that pain-in-the-ass core requirement list, you can actually take classes that interest you.

But whether the class is right up your alley, or you can’t wait for it to be over, there are always those professors who are going to make that 3 hours a week a living hell.

Rate My Professor may help weed out which specific professors suck a fatty, but there are so many that slip through the cracks. And they’re everywhere. On every campus. In every major. And with the stress of midterms coming up, we need to vent. These professor characters are really starting to get on our nerves! Read More »