It is the second week of the semester and I am still in "Excited to get this semester going" mode. I am enjoying my students and the classes I teach, and generally this is true of me most of the times. However, as sure as the tides I can get jaded about my job. This usually occurs during registration. It is a very stressful time for students (because they want/need classes that fill up) and faculty (because we want students to get into the classes they want). So, I decided while I am full of sunshine and rainbows I should write down a few things I love about working with college students. Friends, I give you permission to remind me of this post when I start to complain.
- They challenge me - Sometimes they challenge me with great intellectual questions about content. Sometimes they challenge my patience by creating more work for me. However, I try to remind myself that I am lucky to have a job that I love and I am constantly challenged at. I have worked at jobs where this was not the case and I hated it.
- They are funny - I enjoy a good laugh and I can't think of a day where a college student hasn't said something that was funny. For some reason I think college students are at the peak of their humor. Sorry to any college students reading this, you are just going to get less funny until you are throwing "zingers" like your Uncle Larry. I think it is because they are on the cutting edge of what is cool, but they have great higher order thinking than a High School student. In any case, laughter is great medicine and I get a hefty dose.
- Things still amazes them - At some point in my life I feel like I broke my ability to be amazed. I think 90s teenagers were reinforced for acting like nothing was cool or interesting. I think that is one way in which the current crop of young-ins are different. They have a healthy sense of amazement for things and are not afraid to show it.
- They are mostly courteous - I have plenty of horror stories about students who send me emails and are impolite, or who text during classes, and etc. However, 99% of the time students are polite and courteous. For example, I was carrying a ton of stuff from class and dropped a ton of it (which makes all of it). Two of my students (who had left the room and were leaving the building) stopped, came back, and helped me pick up my stuff AND carry it back to my office. I have colleagues who don't acknowledge my existence, let alone help me carry stuff. I think the longer you are educated the less you feel the need to be courteous...it bothers me.
- They enjoy being challenged - Again, I have stories about students who get annoyed when they have to do work.I often want to encourage them find something other than college to do with their life. It seems useless to spend such a large amount of money to duck the learning you are paying for. However, most of my students respond well to tough assignments. Some of my favorite classes have been ones where I assigned work and asked myself, "Is this too much?" When the assignment has been relevant they have excelled.
A final note, this is not a comprehensive list. There are so many more things that make my day. But, those are few that came to mind. AND, if any students wanted to make a list about professors and what they love....we wouldn't be angry.
