It’s that time of the year again. You’re ready to
pull your hair out because there are 13 different classes you could
take to fulfill a requirement you don’t really care about
fulfilling, 27 different professors, 62 teaching assistants, and no
way to know which combination is going to be at all palatable for
the next 10 weeks of your life.
It’s driving you crazy because you know how important the
decision can be. Three small clicks on URSA can mean three very
long months next fall.
There is perhaps no more important task a student can do than
selecting classes and professors. A miserable professor can spoil a
fabulous topic, but a provocative one can render even an accounting
class fascinating. It really doesn’t matter what kind of
college student you are ““ whether you’re pursuing the
perfect GPA or counting the days until you can get a real job and
kiss all this goodbye ““ a rotten professor can ruin your
quarter. Choose wisely.
If you’re at a loss, a good starting resource is the
Professor Review section on bruinwalk.com. Professor Review offers
comments and professor ratings on different points: effectiveness,
difficulty, concern, availability and overall recommendation.
Students post general comments and are invited to discuss their
experiences with professors and their TAs.
But as with any resource like this, it is important to know
yourself. I can’t say I care so much about professor concern,
but I am very interested in competence. I have been saved from
“enthusiastic” first-year lecturers who aren’t as
effective as the “difficult” but eminent professor. But
I’ve also been saved from the established, eminent professor
who forgot to learn how to teach.
Although some administrative and professorial backlash against
the site has tempered student comments to a certain degree, you can
still get a good idea of what you may be in for.
For example, I read the following negative comment about a
professor: “He actually told a person in my class that the
question they had asked was the stupidest question in the world,
laughed in their face, and said “˜next
question.'”
I cannot tell you the number of times I have sat in a class
longing for a professor to say something like that. I’m
sorry, but there really is such a thing as a stupid question. I
immediately signed up for that class and was not disappointed. I
loved it.
But there is more to a good professor than just a good score or
a like-mindedness with regard to stupidity. A lot of what makes a
good professor has more to do with the quality of their students
than their lecture style. If you don’t do your part in class,
you are not going to be happy. This is particularly important
during discussion sections with TAs. TAs may or may not have a lot
of teaching experience. They may or may not have a lot of
experience with the particular topic they are supposed to be
discussing. If the students in class don’t do the readings,
ask questions, and involve themselves in discussion, the section is
a waste of everyone’s time. You will also know it’s a
waste of time, and thus hate it even more.
The same principle applies to the professors. You can make a bad
situation tolerable by making a little extra effort. Go to your
professor’s office hours, ask questions, discuss paper
topics. You may find that the most boring speaker in the world is
much better mano-y-mano. Knowing the person behind the droning
voice can actually make lectures more interesting. And ““
trust me ““ doing the reading always makes a lecture more
interesting. (Also, you can better judge when it’s OK to tune
out for a minute.)
The final trick is to always have a backup plan. Registering for
one extra class and dropping the loser is a perennial favorite. Or
simply audit a few extra classes the first week in case you need to
switch. And don’t get locked into a particular subject
““ something may not sound interesting in the catalog, but a
great professor can turn that annoying general education
requirement into something special.
Sutton is an assistant Viewpoint editor.