Why Are Professors Rude To Students
It’s a common misconception that teachers choose their careers out of a genuine passion for kids rather than a focus on financial rewards. Given that teaching isn’t often regarded as a high-paying profession, this might be somewhat true.
So, it can be quite concerning to see topics around professors acting rudely toward students. And while this could be attributed to individual experiences, we’ll be taking a look at the reasons professors may be rude to their students.
After all, this debate is split between students who had great experiences with their professors and those who did not.
Are Professors Rude
Professors have to deal with students from varying backgrounds daily. And while some students tend to cause little to no trouble, others can become a handful.
Some are outright rude to their professors and try to take advantage, any opportunity they can find.
Students also have a tendency to take any advantage they can find including taking advantage of a professor’s kindness. While this may only apply to a few students, professors need to remain strict to ensure fairness.
To ensure that students have an equal playing field, professors can sometimes be uncompromising with their deadlines.
Students sometimes neglect to follow instructions provided by the professor which can lead to a professor getting angry and sounding rude to the student.
A typical example is instructing students to appropriately format their work. Poorly formatted assignments are difficult to read and the professor would simply warn the student the first few times.
Some students continue to commit this error despite warnings, which may irritate the professor. And while the professor could simply mark the student down, they may choose to show their displeasure to ensure that students do not lose points.
This is just one example but there’re various other instances of similar cases in the classroom that can become a source of stress for the professor.
Just as everyone is unique in some way, not all professors are rude. Some professors go above and beyond in being gracious to both their students and their colleagues.
If you’re concerned that all professors are rude, you should know that’s not the case in the slightest.
Why Professors Are Rude
Let’s take a look at the reasons why professors may be rude to students.
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Inattentive Students
Even at the tertiary level of education where students are more mature, dealing with students can still be a pain sometimes. Imagine giving out instructions for an assignment only to have a student present something contrary to your instructions.
It’s almost like some students go the extra distance to annoy their instructors. A typical example is a student who delivers their assignment without properly formatting it.
Even after multiple warnings, the student still continues to do the same thing. And while some professors would simply grade them down, most professors would try to alert the student.
An example of a situation that can annoy a professor is something that happened when I was still a student. A friend always slept in class even when the professor was teaching.
Keep in mind that the class wasn’t boring. The class was quite exciting but he simply dozed off in most classes. He would wake up in the middle of the class just to ask a question that had already been answered at the beginning of the class.
While the professor retained his composure in this case, some professors may not deal with such cases the same way.
Most professors wouldn’t mind their students missing classes in college but they expect students to follow instructions to keep up with academic work.
Poor Student Performance
While professors hope their students would easily understand their lessons, the reality is that each student has their absorption rate. Some may understand lessons quicker while others may take longer to understand or remember a concept.
Some students, although might be putting in the effort may not be able to easily absorb and remember concepts they’ve been taught.
Teachers who are oblivious to this may be rude to students as they might have the impression that the students aren’t putting in the necessary effort to understand their lessons.
Disliking or being rude to students as a result of their poor performance is a sign of a bad teacher. Good teachers strive to understand the unique needs of their students, and how they can get them to improve academically.
Drunk On Power
This point may be debated but the truth remains that some professors are simply drunk on power. They get a kick out of the authority they have over students. After all, they can make decisions that could for better or worse, impact their students.
Some professors take advantage of their position to hurt and harm their pupils because they like having control over impressionable and helpless students.
After all, professors create the curriculum and leverage various means to assess students. Students need to pass these courses and professors know it. This level of power over students leads some professors to believe they can be rude to students without fear of consequences.
They may be brilliant academically but could end up using offensive words (unfiltered words) when speaking to students.
Shield
With news about teacher-student relationships all over the internet, it’s no surprise that teachers sometimes try to keep students at arms-length sometimes.
This is no different for professors as most educational institutions have policies that forbid professors from dating students despite their age (adults).
Some professors may seem unfriendly or even rude to students simply to maintain a distance between themselves and their students.
It’s not easy to become a professor, so no one wants to risk their license and reputation over any false accusation.
Entitled Students
While most students are respectful toward their professors, there’re some entitled students who get a kick out of disrespecting people. Stories of angry students being rude to their professors over a poor grade or something else are not uncommon.
Most students from high school simply don’t understand the difference between professors and teachers. They feel entitled since they’re paying huge sums of money as college students.
After all, they’re paying to study and professors are being paid to teach them. They’re essentially the bosses of these professors.
This couldn’t be far from the truth as professors have significant control over their courses, how they structure the curriculum, and even how they instruct students.
Students who expect professors to spoon-feed them would only be disappointed. Depending on the professor, class attendance and participation may even be graded.
College students are considered adults and professors expect to prepare them as adults for their chosen and future careers. Entitled students who confront such professors may consider the professor to be rude.
Busy
Professors are the highest level of educators and usually specialize in a specific academic subject or field. They’re in charge of creating the curriculum, assignments, exams, and projects for their students.
And while being overworked is never justification for rudeness, some professors who are under stress may lose their temper with them.
Personal Issues
Professors, like their students, have their personal challenges to deal with. Unfortunately, some professors may end up taking their frustration out on students.
College life isn’t easy and students have their own challenges to deal with. The last thing they need is a professor lashing out at them as a result of their personal issues.
Pride In Station
Professors are at the highest level of educators and they take pride in that. They are critical at their colleges and have specialties in certain fields. In some cases, you’ll find there’re only a few professors with experience or expertise in a particular area.
Their institutions have high expectations for them and set skill goals they want their students to meet each year. Frustrations from students not meeting these targets can cause some professors to lash out at their students.
