AFTER the madness of St. Patrick's Day (and night) subsided, I began the thankless task of chipping away at work I had ignored. In doing so, I realized something most of you probably already know: University students are a busy group. Between the rigors of classes and corresponding schoolwork, and the more self-imposed obligations of extra-curricular activities, it's not uncommon for students to be going strong from the waking hours of the morning to long after the sun has set. With all the running around that we do here at the University, it is easy to pass up (or pass by) one of the best resources available to students: office hours. Professors and TAs hold office hours for the benefit of their students, but far too often this option is under-utilized by undergraduates. Students should attend office hours with more frequency to reap benefits that extend far beyond the immediacy of that next assignment. This time offers a more fulfilling approach to the academic experience.
For the longest time, I thought I was above attending office hours. I wrote pretty good papers, and I had pretty good grades and study habits; What could a professor tell me that I was not going to pick up in class anyway? As I recently discovered, office hours are not solely intended for students with specific problems in a course, or a place to get a few answers before that looming midterm. Not surprisingly, however, the first time I stumbled into a one-on-one with a professor, I was seeking just that: answers. With three days to go on a particularly thorny midterm, I finally bit the bullet and attended office hours last semester, desperate for anthropology answers. I was heartily disappointed to find out that merely showing up to talk with my professor did not promptly earn me an answer key to the test. Despite that setback, the conversation was revelatory because it gave me additional knowledge as well as a more effective angle from which to complete the work. Intrigued, I have since attended office hours sporadically when assignments are due.
This most obvious function of office hours tends to be the most common reason students come through their professor's door. As English Prof. Herbert Tucker confirms, there is a definite spike in attendance when there is an assignment due. The reason for this is clear: Students are looking for answers, and when trouble arises, there is no more logical place to turn than the source of the problem. Speaking with professors about specific assignments or responsibilities in a class is a great way to improve one's approach to the work (though not necessarily the product), and professors will not be offended if they only see students at their doors on the eve of a big paper or test. Even at this functional, short-term level, however, students often ignore the resource. It is even more rare for students to attend office hours without a specific assignment in mind, despite the fact that professors hold these times open for just that purpose. Like most students, I have strictly avoided just showing up to chat at office hours, but as it turns out, talking with your professors can be beneficial even when there is no assignment on the horizon.
At a glance, there is fairly concrete reasoning behind this stigma attached to office hours. A face-to-face conversation with a professor draws the student out from the relative anonymity of the classroom. It is far more difficult to hide the fact that you have yet to do any of the readings when you are speaking directly to someone familiar with the material and in control of your grade. Students fear being exposed, and there can be "discomfort dealing with authority figures," admits Tucker. People are busy, too; after knocking off hours worth of class each day, the motivation to go to office hours is difficult to find. Without having a specific issue or assignment to discuss, students fear that attendance at office hours will turn into an uncomfortable inquisition.
However, going to see a professor outside of class does not put you under the microscope necessarily, and the intellectual opportunity office hours afford to the individual student are many. "I'm surprised people don't see an opportunity to form an intellectual relationship," said Tucker. The sort of dialogue that can occur outside the strictures of lecture is "intellectual sparring" and can help a student understand the course at hand while also enriching his or her academic ability in a broader sense. Further, as Tucker points out, "It's very hard to give instruction on things with three or four marks in the margins," but when students pursue coursework beyond the conventional sequence of submitting an assignment and receiving a grade, they stand to gain perspective that will improve their work in the future.
University students work hard, and when it comes to approaching professors at their office, a tight schedule is only one of several reasons that students here opt out. Office hours exist to help the student as an individual. Without taking the relatively small leap of faith and entering a conversation with professors (even if it is only to talk about an upcoming assignment), University students are missing out on a valuable opportunity to improve their practical performance as a student. More importantly, office hours provide a venue to refine intellectual abilities or to get to know a professor beyond the material. Find out your professor's office hours, and stop in to ask a question about class or work, because it really can't hurt.
David Infante's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at dinfante@cavalierdaily.com
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