The college experience includes almost everything, ranging from the agonizing boredom of seemingly being the only person in town over Thanksgiving break, to getting the opportunity to meet and listen to some of the greatest minds on the planet today. It seems, however, that students and their professors rarely take time to interact on a personal level.
I only noticed this reality after I was invited to a professor’s house for dinner at the end of last semester. I can honestly say that going to my professor’s house, along with several other members of my class, is one of the best experiences I’ve had at the University, and is something that I’ll always point to as something that helped me develop as both a student and an individual.
Our generation spends too much time in a technological bubble. Facebook inspires some degree of networking, but most people’s friends are at or around their age. Instead of constantly communicating with our peers, we need to branch out and learn to talk to people from generations before us. When we inevitably enter into the job market, it won’t be our peers interviewing us. It will be our elders. Who could possibly be better to learn to talk to than a professor, an individual who has dedicated their life to furthering themselves academically? And who could possibly understand the life of a student better than someone who has chosen to spend their entire life in a school?
Furthermore, some professors have some really interesting and funny stories. I’ve had one professor who paid his way through Brown by moonlighting as a magician and another that is part of a Swedish royal family. More often than not, professors are willing to share their stories over coffee or after class; it’s just a matter of asking.
The responsibility does not fall solely on the students. Professors should play an active role in spending a little extra time with students. If a class is interested, there’s no reason to not have a coffee hour or meet a group of students for pizza. The classroom isn’t the sole aspect of college that prepares students for life, nor is it a facet to give us real world experience or help us establish connections with people in the real world. Casual conversation, however, can be extremely beneficial to a student.
I learned quite a bit when I had dinner with my professor. When students know their professor is a real person, not an enigmatic figure that resides in an office from 3-5 on Thursday, they are more likely to be active participants in class.
This, in turn, will cause more people to pay attention and an increased understanding of the material. Professors are charged with educating to the best of their ability, just as students are charged with the task of learning as much as possible. If simply getting to know each other will cause both parties do their jobs better, then it is imperative they do so.
Getting to know a professor is easy; it’s merely a matter of talking to them after class or visiting them during their office hours. If neither of these times are convenient, professors are usually available by appointment. I’ve always found that professors enjoy, or at least appreciate, when students are involved with the material and come to ask them questions.
If expanding your horizons doesn’t convince you to get to know a professor, do it for your grade. I can’t think of a situation where more fully understanding what you’re learning and participating more actively in class could possibly hurt your grade, and if you’re looking at going into grad school, having someone with a PhD write you a letter of recommendation probably wouldn’t hurt either.
