<p>There were a few classmates who were foolhardy/bold enough to voice such opinions at my public magnet HS. </p>
<p>All of them ended up being publicly condemned by a few teachers for “expecting to be spoon-fed”, prompted short lectures on how if we continued this attitude that we wouldn’t last very long as undergrads as they were expected to take the lion’s share of responsibility for their learning, and frustration from classmates fearful that they’d hold up the class due to their “laziness/lack of intellect”. </p>
<p>In that environment, one learned rapidly that complaining about “boring teachers” or worse, using that factor to explain poor academic performance tends to reflect poorly on him/her as an “excusemaker” not only among parents…but especially fellow classmates and parents.</p>
<p>I do not think an instructor has to be “entertaining”, but it can help! While it is definitely true that many, even most students do not really take their own education seriously (even in college!), to whatever extent well-intentioned students can struggle to follow, instructors can make an effort to bring them along. For some students that effort is best found in office hours and other one-on-one encounters. For other students, a little help staying awake and engaged can help. </p>
<p>I worked all the way through college, including a year when I was a 3rd shift security guard. I don’t blame the “less entertaining” professors for the times I would come in on 48 hours of sleeplessness and doze through their class, but I really appreciated the more engaging ones whose entertaining or engaging styles helped to keep me alert and learning.</p>
<p>Put another way, there are students who will learn no matter what, and others who won’t. In the middle there are a lot of students who need a little help, and a good teacher tries to find a way to reach them.</p>
<p>I personally think there is a major difference between ‘engaging’ and ‘entertaining’, although students likely are blurring the difference between the two. I did have some professors who were entertaining, and while I loved their classes, it didn’t necessarily mean that their subject was any more easy than others. I had two professors in particular, a physics professor I had for half of both physics I and II and a chemistry professor that I had for both organic I and organic chem lab. The physics professor did real demonstrations of concepts using things easy to understand (bowling ball on a chain, etc.). The chemistry professor was engaging, told jokes in class, and associated with students in a manner that most of my other professors didn’t. She treated us like equals, rather than as students.</p>
<p>On the contrary, I had many a professor who droned on and on and on directly off a series of Powerpoint slides. It’s hard to pay attention there’s no notes to be taken beyond what’s already on the slides.</p>
<p>As a student, I think there’s a difference between being entertaining with the material and being a clown. Making bad puns and goofy joke is fine, but telling us about your personal life for “entertainment” is downright obnoxious. I’ve only had two go for the former; most prefer the latter.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s true. Comparing experiences with my friends at other schools, the problem isn’t that there’s a shortage of math teachers. There’s a shortage of math teachers who can explain a concept in a way that the class can understand it. Where you went to college/how many degrees you have and how good you are at explaining concepts are not related.</p>
<p>My daughter has, since her first year, signed up for at least one extra class during registration so that she can drop the prof she doesn’t like. At this point, she knows most of the profs she takes class with, but next quarter she has one last req, in her sr year, she never got to and she has signed up for two classes which will fill the req. Whichever teacher is most engaging is the one she will keep.</p>
<p>But, she is dyslexic and really relies on classes and professors more than reading. She does the reading, but the professors are the ones who make it meaningful to her. She spends time in office hours because of this and prefers a prof she likes. However, the one she likes isn’t always the one everyone else finds most “entertaining,” just the one who is the most organized and easy to follow.</p>
<p>Of course, very few dyslexics make it through college, so I’ve always just supported her following her instincts on these things. Still, I imagine if this is helpful to her it is probably useful to the students who aren’t dyslexic, too.</p>
This is a good practice for many students, and something I did for a while as well. No dyslexia, just the realization that at least one class would turn out to have some unexpected negative, like a bad professor, unwanted material or focus, or heavy/problematic workload.</p>
<p>Actually, there’s such a shortage of math and science teachers that in many schools…especially those in poor inner-city/rural areas…certified teachers or even teacher trainees from programs like TFA are being pressed into service as math/science teachers…even English lit majors with no math/science minor background. </p>
<p>Saw a PBS program where they actually pressed such teachers into service as math/science teachers.</p>
<p>This is kind of a difficult question. I think there is some shared responsibility here. Of course a student is obligated to come to class and do whatever it is they need to do to do well, but I also think the professor bears some responsibility, too. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice if we could ALL go to work and put out whatever amount of effort we want and have it be immune to criticism regardless of how ineffective it might be? </p>
<p>I write insurance policies for a living, and while I could certainly write up what I think is an awesome insurance policy all by myself, without taking into consideration the needs of my client I don’t think I’d be doing a very good job. I don’t think you get to do that when you work with people. But, I am part of the younger generation we are discussing here, so maybe that’s where my perspective comes from.</p>
<p>ETA: And just to be clear, as I stated in my earlier post, I don’t mean that professors need to crack jokes to keep students entertained. I just think that part of giving a quality presentation is knowing your audience and doing what you think will make the information most accessible to them. The professors that I thought were “boring” didn’t do that, at all.</p>
<p>What Cosmicfish said. On the rare occasions when my kids would call me and excitedly tell me about a certain prof and how enjoyable the class was, I had to ask myself, why it was so rare.</p>