Power and the Professor by Eritha

Power and the Professor by Eritha - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

Dear Professor Y.,

I’m a big fan of yours truly. English literature in general is my strongest suit. Not only is the subject my favorite, but you are the most laid back professor I’ve ever encountered. That may also be your greatest weakness. I understand not wanting to rule with an iron first, and instead taking a more relatable approach to your students, but most of the time the power fell within the hands of the children instead of yours. My advice for you would be this: put your foot down! In all honesty, you are the adult and we are the children. We are in your class to learn, not to witness the greatest power struggle in teaching history.

Recalling the first week of English Lit. class; the week of introductions and syllabus instructions. You went down each row, asking every student to state their name, one hobby, and one expectation we had of you. Then, after we were finished, you took your place at the front of the room and popped the cap off of your dry-erase marker. You signed your name on the board and uttered what you wrote, and most to all of the students, including me, had to lean in a bit. Your voice was so small, so timid, to the point where it was immediately mistaken for weakness.

Even after the first week, the second, the third, your voice wouldn’t increase an octave. If there were disruptive students, with your small voice, you would tell them to cut it out. Even you knew this discipline tactic wasn’t effective by the way you slumped your shoulders in defeat. You never once alerted the assistant principal, the behavior specialists, or the guidance counselor. It was painful to watch sometimes; seeing you trying your hardest to teach over the rowdy voices and the insults. I knew then how nice of a person you were. That’s why you didn’t find it within your character to send students to the office or notify their parents.

It seemed to me that you were already afraid of us, so you avoided taking the proper measures to get your class in order. Maybe you thought that by being the only professor who didn’t enforce rules would make you more likable among the class. Maybe you thought that too much discipline bred worse behaviors. What it really breeds is blatant disrespect. You allowed us the opportunity to take advantage of your kindness and you rarely called us out on it. Therefore students continued to act wildly due to the unspoken permission you had granted them.

As a fan, it was hard to watch a genuinely good professor crack under the torments and the pressure. I wish I would’ve spoken out a bit more, or offered this bit of advice to you when it really mattered. It’s understandable and commendable to have wanted to take a different approach to teaching your students, but I wish you would have been sterner. There are many ways to be nice to your students while establishing your authority. I hope within my absence you have learned a few of them.

Sincerely,

Row Two, Seat One.