Mar 28, 2008
...And Answers
Yes, I did steal this title from Joyce Carol Oates. This is my answer to Ashley's questions from "The List" post. I started typing and realized that it would be a little to long as a comment, and that other people might want to hear it, too.
Ashley,
Thanks for your questions, because they are good ones, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.
Personally, I have barely even heard of Ignite. That might have something to do with the fact that the start of my college career was a bit crazy. I went to orientation after attending an entire term of summer classes. Honestly, no one I have ever talked to has either loved orientation to death or said anything about Ignite. Orientation is free. I would say do orientation, and get it over with in two days. It's not that orientation is unnecessary or poorly organized, but it's really awkward and lonely, and all I wanted to do the whole time was start school and figure things out on my own. It's pretty propaganda-heavy, and I just don't understand, because those students are already attending.
As for the teachers, I think UT is like anywhere else. They all put ads in their catalogs talking about how personal their faculty is, and how much help you will get, and how they invite you over to their house to eat almost every weekend. This is false. I think the alumni feed prospective students the opposite story, because they either want to think that they went through hell to earn their degree, or they buy into the other college catalogs and think that every other college is the University of Pleasantville. This, too, is false. The truth is, college professors are a lot like high school teachers, only sometimes with bigger classes.
I have had professors who don't care, and laugh off any questions anyone has, unwilling to give any serious help. I have had professors who have some serious rage issues and are downright vindictive. There are always those professors who just don't understand how much work they are giving or how much we are having to do to simply keep up. Those professors are usually fun in class, but you hate them after you get out.
On the other hand, I have had professors who show genuine concern for people who are doing poorly in their classes, asking them questions, giving any type of help they can. My psychology professor last semester gave me advice about what type of record player I should buy for my girlfriend's Christmas present. My American Literature professor canceled a week's worth of classes before the midterm and final papers were due so that he could spend however long we needed to go over our drafts and talk about the themes and characters of the novels we were writing about. He even went over my first couple of blog entries with me and gave me advice on where to go next. I've had professors recommend books for me to read, talk to me about my home life, talk to me about God, about my writing, about my plans for the future. I have had plenty of professors and TAs that felt more like extremely intelligent friends than they did professors, because they were so personable and helpful.
Some of these personable professors were the ones in my big lecture classes. Some of the worst classes I've been in only had ten people. Don't worry about blending into the crowd. If you don't want to, then you won't. Just don't be afraid to speak up.
Does any of this help?
So, in answer to your question, either the faculty has changed its tune in the past fifty years, or you are getting some bad advice. I know this is what you expect me to say, but keep in mind that my friends read this, too, and I would be laughed out of the dorm if I wrote anything that wasn't true. If any current student reads this and has had a different experience, feel free to let all of us know.
Ashley,
Thanks for your questions, because they are good ones, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.
Personally, I have barely even heard of Ignite. That might have something to do with the fact that the start of my college career was a bit crazy. I went to orientation after attending an entire term of summer classes. Honestly, no one I have ever talked to has either loved orientation to death or said anything about Ignite. Orientation is free. I would say do orientation, and get it over with in two days. It's not that orientation is unnecessary or poorly organized, but it's really awkward and lonely, and all I wanted to do the whole time was start school and figure things out on my own. It's pretty propaganda-heavy, and I just don't understand, because those students are already attending.
As for the teachers, I think UT is like anywhere else. They all put ads in their catalogs talking about how personal their faculty is, and how much help you will get, and how they invite you over to their house to eat almost every weekend. This is false. I think the alumni feed prospective students the opposite story, because they either want to think that they went through hell to earn their degree, or they buy into the other college catalogs and think that every other college is the University of Pleasantville. This, too, is false. The truth is, college professors are a lot like high school teachers, only sometimes with bigger classes.
I have had professors who don't care, and laugh off any questions anyone has, unwilling to give any serious help. I have had professors who have some serious rage issues and are downright vindictive. There are always those professors who just don't understand how much work they are giving or how much we are having to do to simply keep up. Those professors are usually fun in class, but you hate them after you get out.
On the other hand, I have had professors who show genuine concern for people who are doing poorly in their classes, asking them questions, giving any type of help they can. My psychology professor last semester gave me advice about what type of record player I should buy for my girlfriend's Christmas present. My American Literature professor canceled a week's worth of classes before the midterm and final papers were due so that he could spend however long we needed to go over our drafts and talk about the themes and characters of the novels we were writing about. He even went over my first couple of blog entries with me and gave me advice on where to go next. I've had professors recommend books for me to read, talk to me about my home life, talk to me about God, about my writing, about my plans for the future. I have had plenty of professors and TAs that felt more like extremely intelligent friends than they did professors, because they were so personable and helpful.
Some of these personable professors were the ones in my big lecture classes. Some of the worst classes I've been in only had ten people. Don't worry about blending into the crowd. If you don't want to, then you won't. Just don't be afraid to speak up.
Does any of this help?
So, in answer to your question, either the faculty has changed its tune in the past fifty years, or you are getting some bad advice. I know this is what you expect me to say, but keep in mind that my friends read this, too, and I would be laughed out of the dorm if I wrote anything that wasn't true. If any current student reads this and has had a different experience, feel free to let all of us know.
• • •
5 Comments:
Great advice, once again.
Surprisingly, however, the thing that struck me the most about your blog was your reference to Joyce Carol Oates...I LOVE her. It's nice to know that someone else knows who she is...seems like no one in high school does.
"Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is probably one of the best written, creepiest short stories ever. Just got finished writing an essay on that...
Thanks again!
Thanks. "...And Answers" was featured in my short story class this semester. It's a great dramatic dialogue, and a wonderful example of unreliable narration--although, I hope the blog doesn't remind you of that aspect of the story.
Yes, that helped a great deal. I've decided not to attend that Ignite Summit Program (I can't seem to recall why I considered it in the first place) and I feel a little better about the teachers. Someone also suggested I look at a web site where students rate their college professors to see if the teachers I'll be having are on there. I might do that.
Orientation is free? I had to pay $99 for me and $30 for my mother to sign up for it. Maybe they changed the price this year? That's just my luck!
Thank you for your time! I truly appreciate this.
Ashley,
Sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking. You have to pay for orientation. That's not new; I'm just dumb.
ratemyprofessor.com is a good tool, but it's dangerous. Keep in mind that most of the students who post on there are just angry that they didn't work and got a bad grade. You have to be very careful about who to trust. Also, if your professor is not listed, it's probably a good thing.
Nah, you're not dumb. No worries!
Oh, I didn't know that about the web site (or I think it should have been a logical thing to conclude, but I didn't think too much about it so I didn't logically conclude... nevermind).
Thanks for that. I'll be careful!
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