Three years down the road... I understand how important college is. This institution will give me opportunities out in the real world to build a career, to support myself, and ultimately set me up for a life that I love.
But can we take a frickin' chill pill on all of these assignments?
Your job, as my professor, is to prepare me for life in the real world. I am in your class so I understand the concepts that will be applied to my job in the future. I get that, I know it is all important, but most of you guys seem to think I am only taking your class.
Preparation is key when it comes to comes to learning information. I take in so much more information if I actually prepare for my classes. Read ahead, take my own notes, and actively pay attention while I am taking notes (aka the reason why I don't take notes on my laptop anymore). But eventually...there is a time when outside work just becomes too much.
Most college students are full time (so at least 12 hours) and have a job or two. Most people that I know are taking at least 15 hours and are working a job, plus extracurriculars, plus just trying to keep their heads on straight. So on top of keeping track of how many places we have to be, we have to remember all the 50 thousand little assignments we have due.
I just received an email from a professor asking that we read four chapters, and watch two documentaries in preparation for our next class meeting. At first, I thought "I guess this is reasonable." Then I opened the documentaries and realized there were both an hour long. So now on top of the two hours, it is going to take me to read the assigned chapters, I have another two hours of watching docs. I also have a five-page essay and 10 journal entries all due next week and...
This is all for one class.
There are three other classes that require just as much of my attention as this one does. I currently have all my syllabi printed out and stuck up on my wall just to ensure that I do not miss an assignment or a deadline. Even with all of this reminder literally, right in front of my face, I have come close to missing some.
Yes, I know your class is important. Yes, I understand you are preparing me for the real world. I also understand that college is supposed to be hard, and I probably shouldn't be a whiny brat, but hey everyone has their days.
So college professors, here I ask for your compassion.
We're tired, broke and honestly doing the damn best we can. Can we have a little break and not have so many outside assignments? Can we just learn in class? Maybe have a group exam? We'll be learning either way.
