AUG. 24, 2005, 10:02 a.m. First day of your college career. You're seated in an auditorium with two hundred students for your first 101 class. The professor walks in -- gray hair, spectacles, Oxford jacket -- stereotypical scholarly attire. He starts his lecture, and you think he's speaking in a foreign language. His vocabulary consists solely of words with four or more syllables. He drones on, and as the fifty-minute period winds down, you're left in a daze wondering if you were sitting in the right class. You try to make your way up to the lectern to ask the professor to decipher his cryptic lesson, but before he can finish his last sentence, he's out the door.
This is probably the image most students about to enter college have of what their academic experience will be like. At some colleges, this is true. Some professors, although brilliant, aren't always "student-friendly."Fortunately, for the incoming first-year University student, this is the exception to the rule.
You've most likely heard your parents, high school teachers, University Guides and orientation leaders tell you to talk to your professors during office hours or after class, but you've balked at such a preposterous suggestion. I know I did. I was way too intimidated, even after hearing all my professors encourage and welcome office visits. One of my professors even quipped, "Don't worry, I don't bite."
I figured I wouldn't be able to form a coherent thought and they'd wonder how I managed to be admitted to the University. Eventually, during my first semester, I gave it a shot, and I found that professors at the University aren't abstruse, esoteric figures who can't relate to 18-year-olds; they're real people, too.
One of the unique aspects of this University is the culture that fosters wonderful student-faculty relationships. All institutions of higher learning like to boast of such a notion with facts and figures of student-teacher ratios and the like. But at the University, this environment is more than just a numeric statistic that helps our rankings in U.S. News & World Report; it is a key component to a truly comprehensive learning experience.
One of my professors during my first year explained to us that professors are not only expected to do research, which is typical of all universities, but emphasis is also placed on their teaching performance, something alien to some other elite institutions. Professors here don't just sit in the back of the classroom writing books while a TA does all the work. You'll come across some very prominent, world renowned professors, some of whom are at the top of their fields of research, teaching 101 classes with energy and enthusiasm. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to acquire knowledge from intellectual giants -- both inside and outside the classroom.
Since my first office hour visit, I've talked to many professors about a variety of subjects. You will gain a wealth of insight from taking just 10 minutes to talk with your professor. You will discover, as I have, that these instructors are genuinely interested in answering your questions, no matter how basic or complex, learning about your intellectual pursuits, passions, and future career goals, and encouraging and assisting you in realizing your aspirations. If you're still too daunted about speaking with a professor at first, most are accessible through e-mail and reply promptly despite their hectic schedules, which took me by surprise in the beginning.
It is also not uncommon for students to ask their professors to join them for lunch on the Corner, something unheard of on most campuses. The Arts and Sciences Council will even pick up the tab. Throughout the year, there are several events including class student-faculty dinners, as well as luncheons hosted by the student group, Faculty and Students Together, that allow students to interact with their professors outside of the classroom setting.
So, as you embark on your college journey, remember, don't be shy about approaching professors for help or advice and experience the University's distinctive culture first-hand. Politics Prof. Larry Sabato sums it up best. "If you always want to have a dull, rules-driven, pleasantly boring life, then don't connect with students. But why would anyone want to teach without connecting with students?"
I know that I've encountered many professors that share this teaching philosophy, and I'm grateful to them for their willingness to invest time and effort in students' academic endeavors.
Whitney Blake is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at wblake@cavalierdaily.com.
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