Last week, one of my managing editors told me I should write about something happy for a change. I must admit that writing about my qualms with social injustices or complex world issues can be ?cumbersome.
So, I thought I’d give it a go.
After racking my brain — yes, this took some thinking — I found something ‘happy’ I could write about for my column this week. So, I’ve decided to take this time to express my gratitude and appreciation for all of the hard-working, passionate and dedicated professors here at IU.
Our professors are one of our most important assets as college students. And too often, I think we undervalue them. We may not truly realize just how much time and energy our professors will put into the lesson plan ?for each day.
Just like learning necessary skills is our job as students, it is our instructors’ job to help us gain those skills. It is their job to challenge us, question us and prepare us for that ever-daunting thing called the real world. Let’s give them some credit for it.
I’ve had professors who I know I’ll remember 20 years down the road; I’ve also had some I will probably not remember in that time. But for the teachers whose influences are life-changing, I think that is something to celebrate.
When registering for classes each semester, I always look at the instructors’ reviews on RateMyProfessors.com. The reviews are usually accurate and I can gain a sense of what kind of professor I’ll be spending an entire semester with in the classroom. I’ve based many of my decisions for which classes to take from these reviews. And I’ve been pretty satisfied with my professors in my three years at IU.
And when you have a professor who you just know is going to make a long-term impact on your life, it’s a pretty good feeling.
It’s those professors who push us, who drive us to be the very best of ourselves. It’s when you can see the passion in their voice and the fire in their eyes when they are teaching, and when you can feel it ignite that passion in yourself as well.
It’s about the feeling I get when I walk out of class every day, learning something I hadn’t known when I walked through the door an hour beforehand.
I remember becoming genuinely upset once last semester when the professor of my favorite class canceled the lesson one day. But we had so much to cover. But I wanted to learn.
The professors who put their faith in us, who encourage us to voice our opinions because they genuinely believe that our voices matter, are the people we should be celebrating.
They are here to help us learn from our mistakes and to see us grow. And surprisingly enough, they care about us, too.
They are our educators, our guides and our motivators to learn all that we can in our four short years as students. Let us always remember this and thank our professors profusely.
nrowthor@indiana.edu
