Teachers, stop telling me I need to do better

The week before Spring Break is the one where the teachers need to crack down on slacking to keep us paying attention. It’s petty, but all the “you need to do better as a class” lectures from professors are really bumming me out.

And I can’t be the only one. I can understand the professors’ frustration.

They went to school for years to study a topic they’re truly passionate about and now a bunch of kids are refusing to read the material that they’ve dedicated their lives to.

The yelling is just an exercise in futility though. The people they are trying to get through probably don’t care anyway. Those who are actually working hard take in the words and start to feel discouraged because they aren’t doing “good enough.”

I’ve been getting these lectures in all my classes and it adds nothing to my education. It doesn’t motivate me. It just makes me feel horrible. And I have a feeling that’s how other people feel about it too.

Please, stop wasting class time on yelling. Teach the material, and if people aren’t doing well, then talk to them as individuals and help them do better. Don’t make people feel bad about being “lazy” when they are trying their best.

Your class isn’t the only class we take. Many of us do work outside of classes. We skip meals and sleep to try and do our best, and when we don’t, we feel guilty because we took care of ourselves instead of doing work.

And yes, our “sob stories” should matter to you as a teacher because we’re human beings. We understand if you didn’t grade our papers because your baby kept you up all night or you’ve been sick. Life happens.

Now, understand that we may not have done the reading or writing assignment because our lives happen too.