How to Choose a Professor
I can’t believe it’s already time to register for Spring 2008 classes.
I don’t know about you, but I usually have a three day window to lock in my classes. And that doesn’t give me much time to research professors and find out what classes fit best into my schedule.
One thing I’ve learned about being motivated and excited about a class is to find a good professor. It doesn’t really matter if the class title seems really boring - it’s all about who is teaching it.
You see, a great professor can make even the most trivial subject seem interesting. They can make subjects come alive and cause you to think about the topic in a whole new way. And it’s those types of professors that you should gravitate toward. Those are the ones that will help you think better — and that’s what college is all about.
When I was an undergraduate student, I tended to choose instructors who I heard were difficult. Yep, the professors that students warned me about were the ones that I actually really liked. I think it’s because I loved the challenge of a difficult instructor. And I loved being mentally-pushed by an instructor who really loved teaching.
Now, let me tell you that I didn’t just choose difficult professors willy-nilly. There are two types of difficult instructors: those who really love to teach; and those that don’t teach in an organized fashion (and don’t clearly articulate what they are looking for in assignments). You obviously want to choose the professors who love teaching and want to help you succeed.
It’s so important to think more about who is teaching your classes, rather than what classes look the most interesting to you. It can make all the difference in the world in terms of your motivations, interest-level, and ultimate class grade.
So how do you find out who the good teacher are?
Well, aside from asking your classmates for recommendations, check out these online resources:
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March 18th, 2008 at 1:43 am
[...] of the time, I’ve been able to avoid these Profs by dropping them, but sometimes there’s no way around it. Sometimes that course is mandatory [...]