By Natalie Forster, Associate Editor
While discussing an article in my Internet and the Law class, Carole McNall, assistant professor in the Jandoli School and advisor for The Bona Venture, noted how she strives to create a classroom where students want to show up and succeed. For her, this student involvement is what sets some classes apart from others.
And this sort of mentality is what sets some professors apart from others in the hearts of their students.
Being taught in an interesting way or generating thoughtful discussion in class can set one class apart from others. This organic chemistry, which is created through the teacher and students’ dynamic, can’t be orchestrated by anything mandatory.
Some classes have attendance points included in the grade, and some classes have class participation included, as well. However, at what point do we stop counting for attendance and have students decide whether they want to make the adult decision and go to class for themselves, leaving them to deal with the consequences of a bad choice?
While I do understand that participation can be important for generating class discussions, grading students based on how often they raise their hands can generate anxiety in students. Along with this, being told that they have to might lead to students repeating what others say, not necessarily adding anything to a conversation but rather creating an atmosphere where there only tends to be one correct answer to a somewhat diverse question.
Along with this, no one likes being lectured at, and while it sometimes can be necessary, students need diversity at times. Not everyone is an auditory learner, and some students do prefer to deal with the material in a hands-on or visual setting. Having a healthy mixture of both when necessary can keep students intrigued and involved in ways they might otherwise not be, while keeping them from zoning or daydreaming during class.
Up until this point, I have only critiqued teaching styles, but learning is a two-way street. Students must want to learn and try their hardest for any sort of successful classroom setting to occur.
But that isn’t always the case. After a Thursday night out at The Burton, or a late night finishing papers, some days students don’t want to go to class. Students clutter into class the next morning sleep deprived, hungover and sometimes generally unhappy, blaming their professors for their problems and sometimes poor grades.
And frankly, that’s not fair to all the wonderful professors who do want each and every student to learn and enjoy learning.
We, as students, usually want to learn, but we also want to be treated with respect and valued. For me, being a part of McNall’s class makes me want to not only show up despite a somewhat-flexible attendance policy but participate even more than ever before. Without the mandatory requirements yet valuing her students and their passions, she truly has shown me what all classroom atmospheres should be.
forstena17@bonaventure
