College Teachers

(This essay is taken from Refining Composition Skills by Regina L. Smalley and Mary K Ruetten, et al.)

Three categories of college teachers:

1) The positive teachers

• the most agreeable teachers
• interested in his/her subject and his/her students
• try to learn all of the students’ names
• allow for questions and discussions in class and do not seem to mind if a student disagrees with him/her
• show interest out of class as well
• available for conferences (consultations); encourage students to see him/her if they need help
• relatively small in number

2) The neutral teachers

• not very agreeable teachers
• do not seem interested in either the subject or the students
• learn only a few students’ names
• in case of boring, more boring than the positive teachers’ classes
• allow for questions and some discussion, but provide less time for it and do not care about whether the students are interested enough in the topic for discussion or not
• available for conferences, but do not encourage students to come to see them for help
• make up the largest category

3) The negative teachers

• the least agreeable teachers
• do not care about learning the students’ names; hence, learn no names.
• almost hostile both in class and out of class
• allow virtually no questions and discussion
• seem inimical (not friendly) to the idea of having conferences and are almost never available in their offices
• twice as boring as any class of a neutral teacher, and often intimidating in class
• too often inflexible; seem more like a machine than a human being
• make up the minority group

College administration should try to get the neutral and negative teachers to improve their teaching methods and attitudes; otherwise, they should consider dismissing at least negative teachers and make effort to hire those teachers who show promise of being positive ones.