Here they are, courtesy of Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman at the U.S. News “Professor’s Guide” blog. Read the post for more details on each “sign.”
Messiah College students and former students: If any of these relate to me, please don’t comment! (Only kidding). OK–you can comment, but if you do I will never write another letter of recommendation for you again. (Also kidding!).
1. The professor is boring
2. The professor is bummed out
3. The professor doesn’t give out a syllabus
4. The professor isn’t clear about the requirements and how much they count
5. The professor assigns an undoable amount of work–or no work at all
6. The professor has incredibly petty rules
7. The professor can’t fill the whole class period
8. The professor seems unaware about the material
9. The professor presents the material in a confused way
10. The professor never involves students
Wow–I hope this “bad professor” does not really exist! Unfortunately, he or she probably does exist, and has tenure!
Great article. I would say also that a “Bad professor” is subjective to every student. I do like your article, because it does highlight the not top ten attributes of one.
Colin
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