Dear Professors,
As we begin the new semester, some of us are super excited about learning new things. But unfortunately, others are not. Please do not judge our whole class by the few bad apples that we have. I promise you that I will do my very best to be punctual, attentive, and contributive to your class, as will a great number of my classmates.
As the semester gets moving, please remember that group projects are NEVER a good idea. If you only knew the drama, ruined friendships, late night cramming and crying sessions, and uneven workload sharing that group projects cause, even you would not assign them. I understand that it is beneficial to put our great minds together to accomplish a goal, and that in the real world we will have to work with others, but many times these projects are left for the most studious student to do alone while other group members goof off or work on other assignments.
As a college student, who works two jobs as well as attend college full time, I ask that you be flexible with your office hours. I do not expect a response to my emails right away, and I know that you have a separate life outside of school, but so do I. Often times I go from school in the morning straight to work in the afternoon, get home very late, stay up doing homework, get 4-5 hours of sleep and repeat the cycle all over again. I apologize for not being able to make your designated time that you have set aside for office hours. I thank you for corresponding with me via virtual office hours or through email. It is really appreciated!
Just as you enjoy your time off from school and spending time with your family during holidays, so do we as students. Although we do not mind doing homework assignments or studying during a break, we also would like to have some time to visit our family and enjoy taking some time out for ourselves as well. I ask that if the exam schedule works out, you do not schedule an exam the day we get back from a holiday break. Also, if possible, please keep the assignments due during or after the break to as few as possible. I respect and understand that we have a lot of important material to cover in this class and a very short period of time to cover it in, but flooding us with projects during a break when you will not be at school in your office or regularly checking your emails to answer our questions often leads to stress and meltdowns.
Thank you for all that you do in teaching me and preparing me for my future. Thank you for knowing the balance between tough love and helping us out a little bit. A professor can make or break a college student's life. I have had teachers who inspired me and challenged me academically. I will never forget these teachers and all of their hard work!
Love,
Your Eager Student