Recently a friend of mine called me to vent about what was going on in her academic studies. She has had issues with a certain professor and the professor was not making anything easier for her.
This professor has made many people in this class feel the same way due to the way they speak to the students and how they acted with specific students. One example of many was that a student was at the doctors and was still trying to attend classes virtually even though they had a valuable excuse. The professor marked the student as absent although the student was in the class virtually along with others due to Covid-19 just because the student was at a doctors appointment.
My friend was feeling defeated because of this ongoing issue and asked me for advice. I was at a loss for words because I could not believe that professors like that existed. A professors job is to educate and encourage their students, not bring them down and make they feel like they are not worthy. The advice I gave my friend was as followed.
Do not give up on your dreams due to one person. You will probably never see that person again after this course. Do not let them have any power over you and make you question yourself in a non healthy way. This is something you have always wanted to do and are so close to achieving it. You have given up on this dream before and something in you sparked and brought you back to it. That means something. It means you are passionate about it. Do not assume everyone out there will be the same. If you believe that then you will spend the rest of your life wondering what if I didn’t give up on my dreams. What if I would have stuck with it. You do not know the outcome if you give up on it halfway through and not give yourself a chance.
Life is too short to live with regrets. We need to put put ourselves in positions of power so that teachers like that are extinct. We need to put ourselves in these positions so that the next college/high school student that is being taught, is being taught by a professor who cares. A professor who aims to inspire and help students because they were once in that position. A professor who knows how tough life can be and only wants the best for their students. That is what a professor or teacher is there for anyways isn’t it?
Yuritza 