Whose lunatic idea was it to throw National Teacher Day in May, when finals are looming and we’re more stressed out than Kanye when he pulled the mic from T-Swift!?

I mean seriously, I just cannot devote any of my (precious) time to appreciating teachers today. Sorry. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not when I’m  running on little to no sleep, am elbow-deep in research papers, and my blood caffeine content is higher than my average BAC on mug night. We stretch ourselves so thin trying to be perfect for teachers, studying so we can get an A, then promptly forgetting all the material. We really make the most of our education, don’t we!?

Nope. But at least there’s one professor, at one school, that knows what’s up.

According to Duke University’s Cathy Davidson, “I can’t think of a more meaningless, superficial, cynical way to evaluate learning than by assigning a grade. It turns learning into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? How do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need for med school? That’s the opposite of learning and curiosity, the opposite of everything I believe as a teacher, and is, quite frankly, a waste of my time and the students’ time.”

You go girl…er…woman! Read More »

The picture you have just witnessed is not a reenactment. It’s an actual shot, taken by my equally-disturbed friend, of a comment made by a professor on an assignment of mine.

…Excuse me?

But the trauma doesn’t end there.

I obviously set the picture as my default on Facebook, and then two days later received a friend request from the teacher.

Wait, I’m sorry–WHAT?!

Since this unfortunately isn’t the first time I’ve encountered either problem, it’s subsequently been the last straw. The way I see it, there are two major problems in this situation:

1) If, in my papers, I’m not writing “haha” after a witty comment, or “OMG!” following a shocking statistic, the professor has no right to use Internet jargon in his or her grading. It’s college, and there needs to be some sort of reciprocated academic professionalism.

2) Professors and their current students should not be Facebook friends. Not only does it break down the fourth wall, it seriously messes up the dynamic of the student-teacher relationship. Facebook and MySpace are web sites I will post ramblings about my day and pictures from my weekend–things that have no relation to my class or relevance to my professor. Read More »