Do professors care about their students?

Question

Do professors care about you? Or do they just lecture and treat you more like a customer than they do a student or a fellow worker? I've heard that when professors fail students, they don't care whether the student will have to retake a course or have a later graduation.

Answer 1

yes ..if students not understand their teacher teaching students inform 

Answer 2

The good ones care very much, then there are the ones there just for the money!  If your lucky you will get one that cares.  But then you can learn from either type, but one that cares is a bit easier to learn from!

Answer 3

It all depends on the professor..........some care and some don't.

Answer 4

Don't generalize so broadly about "all professors" when you have no idea.  Some professors really do care--and some don't. This isn't so much a question as a complaint, I think--and since you don't really know you're simply stating what someone else has said without any basis in fact or reality. 

Answer 5

Yes, i think they do! I personally had the privilege .

Answer 6

You're talking apples and oranges.  Professors are individuals; you can't lump them all together.  Some professors care more than others.  I care very much about my students and am glad to help anyone who asks.  



Giving grades has NOTHING to do with how much a professor cares.  As much as I'd like all my students to get A's, I'm not going to give them grades they haven't earned.  That would be dishonest and would be doing them no favor in the long run. That's life.

Answer 7

are they supposed to , thought that was parents  where for , arent they , anyway why cant you care for yourself , lazy are you . they are payed to instructs you , not to look after you .

Answer 8

In genuine, they really care about students. Some detached incidents occurs sometime but these incidents are not common like professors do not care about students.

Answer 9

Having to retake a course or delaying graduation are not valid concerns for a professor. If you fail to meet standards & requirements, be an adult & take responsibility for your actions. It's up to YOU, not a professor. Stop whining!

Answer 10

Care in what manner?



You asked under higher education so I'm guessing you're in college. Most of the time, you're like a hundred in each class. With multiple classes per teacher, there's no way for the professor to get to know all of you personally so don't expect that to happen. 



You mean going the extra mile to make sure each and everyone of his students understands the lesson? Hey, it's college! The teacher is there only to tell what the student should know and grade him on whether he learned what he's supposed to. The learning part is all up to the student. The teacher can opt to teach but then again, he may choose not to. Just the same, at the end of the grading period, the student must prove he learned or else, fail.



Do professors care if their students repeat the subject? It doesn't matter actually. They get paid no matter what and it doesn't matter who sits in his class. He just has to do his job whoever is in there. College students should know better than to waste time in class and should either study hard enough to pass or drop out already.

Answer 11

Actually the students have way too much power.  Most teachers fear for their lives.  One false accusation or lie and he loses his job.



I have seen many teachers fired because the student either lied or just complains all the time.



The students play on their phone 24/7 and never do homework and then file a complaint saying 'they don't understand the lesson'.  Next week the teacher is gone.



Then we have the complaints that are just 'we don't like the teacher'.  No reason at all.  Don't even get me started on racism.  I've seen a lot of Asian, black and Indian professors fired for no reason other 'we don't like the teacher'.



So yes they do care about the students and the job.  If they make one mistake they are fired immediately.

Answer 12

Umar

There is an expression dont live where you work. This is the hardest lesson to learn in real life. A business is a business at the end of the day people just want to make money and go home. If I could give you advice it be the less you tell people in a professional environment the better.   It is not that they dont care it is just the fact you dont mixes business with your personal life. Work is the hunting ground to get food and pay for your cave in a sense. If you are buying a car from someone they will laugh at your jokes. Say you are beautful. They are going to do anything to sell that car even if it is not a good deal they know it. They have bills to pay just like we all do. As far as professors go there is also the fact it is considered unethical to get close to students. The dynamics of someone having power over their students blur the lines. It is this idea of caring but from a distance. 

Answer 13

This is what happens when professors show they care about students. College can be a stressful ride for students, but a new report has found that small steps professors take to show they care about students can have positive results.

Answer 14

In maximum cases, I would say no...



Any professor is passionate about their students until he is new and not find his job monotonous. After 5 or 6 years it becomes a habit because maximum times the syllabus does not change and the same portion is to be taught.



There are very less professors who have been imparting the industry standards knowledge to their students and not sticking to the only syllabus.



I had one professor who was amazingly amazing during my MBA and is still my mentor and guide cz sir was amazing then and also now.

Answer 15

I believe that the same applies to all high school teachers in most counties. Some have a positive attitude towards their students and others don't really care whether students study or not.



However, most professors don't have the time to monitor every student on the premises. This is why all colleges have student counselors on site.All parents are responsible for their children's basic education and make sure that they have all the available resources and support throughout their tertiary education too.

Answer 16

Only the ones that follow their political doctrine.

Answer 17

why should they? the whole idea of grading is to grade. i do not think they have a 'might have to retake class' option. and even if they did THAT IS THEIR JOB. they evaluate abilities in a reproducible fair way. that is why there is a grading system. caring is important but so is evaluating ability

Answer 18

I was employed at a State University and informed that our own academic work should superseded the future of America’s young people. 

Answer 19

When I was a professor i cared about my students and I went to bat for a Vietnam vet who was about to be kicked out because though his grades were not that bad but when he was drafted he left school without saying anything so he was flunked in all of his grades and came back after the war with all of those failures going against his record. When I heard from him that he was about to be flunked out and kicked out of his dorm room I went to the president and provost and talked them into giving him a chance and he was allowed to stay in school. 

Answer 20

Some do.  Some don't.

Answer 21

Some of them might

Answer 22

They treat their students like adults. Most of mine cared about how their students fared, but if a student didn't do the work they would not carry them.

Answer 23

Yes, and if they fail a student, it is becaw that student earned a failing grade, and it would be wrong to send that student forth with a stamp of approval.

Answer 24

I am an instructor at a college, not a professor. To be honest: no I don't really "care" about my students on any sort of personal level at all. I don't even know all of the names. It isn't like I completely don't care though. I do sometimes re-look at someone's final if I saw that the score pushed them just below a grade cutoff. I don't want any subjectivity on my part to be why anyone failed. 



I know instructors who are far better at this than me. A colleague of mine cares almost excessively about his students. He literally has no life because he is constantly busy going above and beyond with lots of extra credit assignments, lets students redo things during office hours, etc. I respect him, he is a better instructor than me, but I'd never want to live my life like that. He is working double the hours he is actually paid(which isn't much). I doubt any professor (who has research obligations-unlike an instructor) would be willing to to do that though. 

Answer 25

There is no general answer for this. It would all depend on the professor. Everyone is different. You could have a professor who is just starting, and wants to have every one of their students go above and beyond, or you could have a professor that has been there for 30 years and just wants a pension and doesn't give a damn. 

You do have to realize that university is heaps away from high school. You are considered an adult now, it is completely up to you to stay on top of the course load, to hand in assignments on time and to keep your grades up. It isn't up to the instructor. Itis also up to you to tell your instructor that if you are struggling so that you can get the help you need. If you can't keep your end of the bargain and pass the courseload, then it isn't up to them to worry about you failing or retaking the course. There are hundreds of others who will gladly take your seat in the class, and the instructor will teach them just as easily as they will teach you. 

Answer 26

We usually don't feel a personal attachment to our students, but of course we want them to learn and do well.



However, if a student does poorly, that's owed to the student. We certainly understand how difficult it is to have to retake a course or graduate later, but we can't change the fact that the student's performance was a poor one. If you are suggesting that we should give the student a passing grade on a failing performance simply because a failing grade will cause problems for the student, that would be wrong -- a form of lying and unethical.  How can we pass a student in a class when he or she clearly didn't learn the material?



If you fail, it's not because of the professor; it's because YOU did not perform to an adequate, passing standard.  Complaining that the professor doesn't care about the student's difficulties is just a form of refusing to accept responsibility. 



Edit: To the person who claims that teaching assistants work for free -- don't be stupid. TAs are paid. I know, I was one as a doctoral student. And most TAs work with supervising professors who already HAVE tenure.



The rest of your claims are just as ignorant.  

Answer 27

You are mixing up to different issues.  Professors care that their students master the content of the classes so that they can apply what they've learned.  Failing a student who is unable to meet the minimum standards for a class doesn't mean the professor doesn't care.  They are doing their professional job of not passing on someone who hasn't earned that privilege.



It is not the professors job to be concerned about what failing a student does to that's student's ability to graduate at a certain time. University gradation is based on a student meeting or exceeding the requirements for gradation, which include passes all the appropriate classes. 

Answer 28

I went to a small college, and the experiences of someone at a large university may very well be different.  That being said, the professors did care about the progress of the serious students.  They knew which students cared about academics, and which ones did not.  Unlike what was told to high school students, professors at my college cared much more about the students than public school teachers.  



In regards to failing someone, the professors did so when it was necessary.  If the student did not meet the minimum standard to pass, regardless of other circumstances, they would not be passed. 

Answer 29

my experience is that most Professors will go out of their way to help students master the material.  Failing a student is for those cases where the student fails to master the material, even at a beginning level and is not done lightly.  that it sometimes needs to be done is a given ... and reflects more on the admissions process and student than most Professors.  -- grampa  [married 32 years to Professor of education]

Answer 30

It is always better to fail a student than let them pass when they do not know the material or have not done the work. 

Answer 31

I graduated from a state university and never had a professor that cared about me.  Had counselors that told me to get lost and stop wasting my money.  Had lots of professors who said no office hours I don;t want to talk to you.  Had professors who said look right look left.  In three weeks one of you will be history.  Others said if you find this confusing, then leave and get your tuition back before Friday/  That was all fine with me.  Had a study group all through university and we all graduated.  On graduation day one professor shook my hand and asked how it felt to be an expert in understanding that I don't know anything.

Answer 32

Speaking as a faculty dependent, yes, some professors DO care. My father taught graduate students and medical doctors. While he?was teaching he never talked about his graduate?students at home. He did ask me about 2 students who may have taken his courses of contacted him. One?student was in my high school class. The other student was a suite mate and a friend with 2 of my college friends. 



Years after he retired I found several years of midterm and final exams in one of hos desk's file drawers. He just changed the order of the questions in a three year cycle. I noticed the same person consistently getting Fs. Turns out she took his course 7 times and flunked it 7 times. Taking the same course 7 times probably would not be tolerated today Professors and teaching assistants?do Not enjoy giving Ffs to students. Yet another one of his students earned a Ph D. in parasitology and become a faculty member in the same department. She may have becomes a full professor. My father turned down the chairmanship of the?department. He never became a full professor. He just wanted?to teach and mentor graduate students, not administer a department that went through its annual photocopy allow snce in the first 3 weeks of January. 



My thesis adviser committee chairman DID care about me. I was his last graduate student. When he told me no one on the faculty. was?willing to advise me?as a Ph.D. student, I think I surprised him. I told him the university didn't offer the type of Pih.D. program I wanted. . 

Answer 33

Caring about students and failing students do not have anything to do with each other.  And I don't fail students - they fail themselves.  I try very hard to work with students who are struggling, who have things come up during the semester, or who face other barriers to success in my class.  But there are still students who don't come to class, don't turn in their work, and do poorly on exams, no matter how much I try to reach out and help. I care about those students.  I certainly understand that it stinks to have to retake the course or to fall behind.  But I'm not going to pass them when they didn't do what was necessary to pass.  



I care about students in other ways too.  I've walked several to our counseling center while they were having a crisis.  I have contributed to a student who was a single mother and lost her home in a house fire.  I have attended funerals of former students, and I fought hard to get one of them awarded a posthumous degree.  Just last week I was checking on a student who was hospitalized. 



So yes, we care.  That doesn't mean we pass everyone.  But we don't like giving a failing grade to anyone. 

Answer 34

No. That is not their job.

#1. getting tenure is prime.

#2. getting enough students.

#3. Establishing a lecture, based on the book (current) they wrote, or not. buy you must buy the book for the course.

#4. Having a Teacher's Assistant to do the work for FREE.

#5. Tricking the Administration to "require" the course for graduation.

#6. To fail a high percentage of students, thus making a redo of the course necessary to get that unrelated diploma.

#7. Make money on the (worthless) Book sales, each year.



(A) ask if the professor has ever actually worked in the field of the course. Many modern professors are "turnarounds", they graduated, post graduated, and immediately became professors, with no real experience.

(B) Is the course REALLY necessary for the Diploma goal?