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With Fran Northcutt, Honors Adviser, Hunter College of the City University of New York
HoH Video
of the Week
Best (and Worst) Professors
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Why Can't We Be Friends?
(When You and Your Professor Just Can't Get Along)
HEAD Start
Maybe it's chemistry. Maybe it's in the stars. Or maybe you were archenemies in a past life. Every once in a while, you come across a professor who affects you like fingernails on a blackboard - and, in the worst cases, it seems like they feel the same way about you. Oil and water, fire and ice, day and night...You're just polar opposites, and you, for one, can't wait for the semester to be over. This isn't the invigorating intellectual debate they talk about in the college view books; it's war. And unfortunately, the battleground is your transcript! So what can you do?

HEAD Lines
DO:
  • visit your professor during his or her office hours, and say straight out that you want to do well (or at the least better!) in the course.

  • practice this speech while looking in the mirror - you want to make sure your facial expression doesn't undermine your words!
DON'T:
  • avoid class - that will just make things worse.

  • make wishy-washy half-apologies. You'll get a lot more credit from your professor if you say, "I'm sorry I haven't been participating very much in class," than if you mumble, "I'm sorry for any convenience this may have caused."
You and your professor may never be best buddies, but sometimes you can mend the fences. And if you can't, just be grateful that a semester is only 13 or 15 weeks long.

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From Other HEADS
THE PROFESSOR WHO ENDED UP being my favorite was one of the most hated professors in the English department. He would find people who hadn't done the reading, and embarrass the hell out of them. I was so scared to not do the work that I ended up learning more in that class than any other.

-- ZACHARY URNESS
UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS


YOU CAN END UP BECOMING GREAT FRIENDS with some of your professors, and they become your advisors, able to give you recommendations for after college as well. One of my English teachers helped me out with an independent study project during senior year. We still e-mail back and forth. She gives me general advice on what I'm working on and career advice. I had questions concerning possible career choices, and she has been able to give me guidance.

-- ELIZABETH
FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY




Web Resources
Bone up on your people skills:
ezinearticles.com/?People-Skills:-Eight-Essential-People-Skills&id=12294


HoH Tips
  • Appealing Options: If you and your professor have a serious dispute and can't work things out informally, talk to your advisor to find out the appropriate way to appeal. There's usually a chain of command, and you'll have a much better chance of success if you talk to the right people!

  • Culture Wars: Is your professor new to this country? It could be that in his or her country of origin, professors and students are much more formal with each other than in the United States. What you may perceive as chilly behavior might just be business as usual for your professor - not a personal attack at all!
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