The dynamic between students and professors lives at the heart of the college experience. For the students, professors seem so singular and unchanging. Each semester brings a brand new crowd to the classroom, but the professors remain. In that rotating mob, who are we to our professors?
“Students seem very singular to me,” shared Erin McNicholas, professor of math. “I bet students would be surprised how much we do remember you.” This was the consensus amongst professors; even across the years, students stand out as individuals, each with their own identity and contributions.
“I’m sure that this is a very typical response, but I really think the students are the best part of this job,” said Annette Hulbert, professor of English and Writing Center director. “Even students I’ve had seven to 10 years ago, I still remember comments that they made. … And it goes both ways. It’s meaningful in both directions. Every single semester, there will be a couple classes that just blow my mind in terms of the kinds of conversations that we're having.”
For students, professors occupy a unique position between the classroom, the academic field and the university as an institution. For the university, they are the “conduit,” as Meredy Goldberg-Edelson, professor of psychology and women’s and gender studies put it. “There’s the stuff the students see and then there's stuff behind us that they don't see,” she described, speaking on the complexities of administration and university infrastructure. “Other layers which affect what our curriculum is, and where we get our money, and what we prioritize.” Professors play a crucial role in making these resources accessible, which are fundamentally meant to help service the students’ academic experience. In the academic field, they are more of a “tour guide,” in her words. Emphasizing this point, professor Goldberg-Edelson’s teaching philosophy paraphrases Galileo: “I can't teach you anything, I can only help you to find out stuff for yourself.”
Self-motivation is key. In the students’ curiosity lies the reciprocity of the relationship. “I get a lot of energy and benefit from that … capacity for exploration, and hope, and the naiveness, because I was that way,” said professor of biology David Craig. “Compared to other folks from my era … they’re much more cynical and sometimes jaded, and I’m not. I’m meeting all these young folks who believe stuff is changeable and doable.” The power that comes with that passionate optimism can serve as the fuel to a professor’s work. “I can meet folks who will live another 40 years into the future from wherever I finish, and the oak trees we plant and the things that we save and the ideas we champion and the art that we celebrate or help make — all those things go on.”
Professors see the college experience on a different timescale, but that is exactly what makes students stand out as individuals. “One thing I love about teaching college is you're teaching young adults,” said professor McNicholas. “Their whole life is before them, but the starts of what they will be are there.” In fact, my interview with her was briefly interrupted by a visiting alum, returning to catch up with his former professor. Professor McNicholas reflected on how the student-professor relationship changes over time. “I can look back and think about who he was when he was a student and see who he is now. I can see that he was that person then, but I couldn't have known all the adventures and the things he would do.” Playing a role in shaping that trajectory is what defines the professor’s role, and the trajectory is built on the student as an individual.
“You’re working through some important personal identity issues,” said professor Craig. “Sometimes somebody's health and well-being or their growth stage just isn't aligning with the time.” The influence of personal circumstances can never be ignored. Forces outside both the students’ and professors’ control always play a part, varying in scale from the personal and mundane to the global and overwhelming. However, seeing those circumstances overcome — and supporting students along the way — is exactly what a professor is here to do.
Professor Craig recounted confessions from former students and how he views them, saying, “I know you didn't read the book, and I know I gave you a B+ on the paper and you felt like you got away with something, but it was enough at that time.” Though the semesters come and go, the lives keep getting lived, lessons stick around and changes happen in both small and big ways. Professor Craig continued, “Students have asked me to officiate their weddings, and I said nope. I won't officiate anybody's wedding until everybody can get married. And now I’ve officiated six weddings.”
“[Seeing] where students find themselves has been one of the real joys of this experience,” said professor Hulbert. “When people check back in with me, where they find themselves in a couple of years, and where they find themselves a couple years after that …. It’s really lovely to think about the idea of shaping somebody’s trajectory.”
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