The amount of pressure that college brings is stupid. It’s a growing experience no doubt, but there is no reason we all have to be under immense pressure to go through college in four years or less just to graduate and move on.

Our professors can result in a lot of pressure and stress. Especially when you disagree with them. In my experience sitting in lectures and realizing a professor has more pride than compassion and grace to give, my disagreement with professors has been with how they teach, and not what they teach.

Sometimes they just didn’t make sense or weren’t clear with their information. The last thing I wanted to do was go to their office after class and ask more questions. There was this feeling of “why should I go the extra mile to clarify what the professor should have in the lecture?”

As an introvert, I want to learn the things I need to know and then get the hell out. My solution; online classes. I was very hesitant about them in my first three years of college. I thought I would procrastinate and not get the work done.

But with the pressure on me to do my job, it was the best fit. I could make my own schedule when it came to doing the work. All that was given to me was the assignment and a deadline each week. No lectures, no miscommunications and no time wasted. I was able to have all my work done in one day and have the rest of the week to do what I want. All this to say, if you haven’t considered online classes, give it a shot. It could be just what you’re looking for.

Make sure that you find the right professor for you.

It won’t happen the first semester, but you’ll learn what to look for over time. There is so much pressure to jump into classes and just make it work. Even worse is when you get dropped from one and only have a day to fill the slot. That’s totally understandable, but that doesn’t always have to be the case.

Don’t sacrifice your needs just to take a class and graduate on time.

If you have disagreements, first let them know you have concerns and that you would like to talk with them about it. Meet your professor during their office hours and try to talk it through. Being mature and professional about these conversations does half the work for you already.

Explain your situation.

Sometimes they are willing to work with you as long as you show them you are determined to pass their class. Never feel that a concern is too small to not bring up. We pay a lot of money to just blow our concerns over our shoulder, and the professors get paid to do this job. Take your time and make sure you say what’s on your mind. If they can only meet for 30 minutes, don’t feel rushed to talk about everything. Talk about what you can and continue the conversation another time. Remember to listen to them as well and not talk at them the whole time. The goal is to come to a common understanding and meet in the middle.
-Ty

July 24, 2018