Dear college students,I present you with a guide to speaking to your professors. Really, it's a guide to give you the best chance at getting what you want. Hopefully, you want knowledge, inspiration, respect, and to be challenged. But this will give you a good shot at getting a re-do on a grade too.
10 things to keep in mind when speaking to your prof in office hours
1) If you missed class, please don't ask if you "missed anything important"
2) Approach me with respect. Even if you're positive that something was graded wrong, be respectful. We are humans, sometimes we add numbers wrong. Sometimes we can even be persuaded that a test question was a bad question. But only if you begin with respect. Understand that I am in the position of authority.
3) Talking to your prof. is often student's first chance at learning professional communciation. Don't say things to your prof that you wouldn't want your parents or boss to overhear.
4) Don't lie, and understand that we are going to be suspicious that you are lying. It comes with the territory. A colleague of mine had a student fake a pregnancy to get out of a bad midterm paper. At the end of the semester, other students teased him "I can't believe you fell for that. She's 'gotten pregnant' every semester since she's been here!" If there's something you can bring me a note for, do it. If i don't ask for it, you're golden. Please don't be offended if I do.
5) Don't call me names. This means that if you think a test was unfair, don't call ME unfair. Say that the question was unclear, or that you would like to understand the question better. Don't put me on the defensive.
6) Don't start a discussion with what you want. Build up to it. "I have been reviewing my assignment and had a couple questions" is so much better than sitting down and saying "I want an A on this."
7) Use provisionalism in your language. Say things like "maybe" "probably" or "it seems."
8) Take responsibility. Guess what, I was in college too, and I know that some days you sleep through your alarm and miss a paper deadline. Tell me, take responsibility. I'm much more likely to give you a break
9) Don't argue. If you present your point of view, and I respectfully disagree, that's it. Cut your losses and go home. You're not going to get anywhere by arguing. For example: If you think a grade was unfair and you say "the study guide wasn't posted until the night before" and I say "actually, it was posted 2 weeks before, and I sent an email out to let you know when it was. It's important to read my emails." Pack up, smile, say thank you, and go home.
10) Don't email the department head about something you haven't even discussed with me. This can't happen in the workplace, it can't happen here. If you want to appeal a decision I've made, okay. It would be courteous to let me know, but at least have the foresight to discuss it with me and let me have a chance to deal with it.
*Note: Ms. Litia is a pseudonym. It stands for liberal-teaching-in-aggieland. Mostly because I want to be honest and I don’t want to lose my job.
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