| You are now a college student, it costs plenty, and you think you deserve good teaching. So do I, but it's not that simple. Many colleges, particularly those that are part of universities, are not at all what you might think. Your high school was primarily a teaching institution, but your college may be first of all a research institution. It is thus important for you to understand the overall college and university system so you can have a realistic perspective on your professors and on college as it really is. |
| Let's define our terms. The name of the game is learning. You want good teaching because you want to learn. That's why you are in college, to learn something. You are in college to learn a trade, to qualify for a profession. |
| I grant that you may just want to learn some things, and you're not thinking of preparing for a job. Fine, I was once like that. My parents, however, were thinking that it would be a good idea if I could get a job when I graduated. (You can imagine what they thought when I majored in philosophy. Well, that was all right. It prepared me to be a college professor. Did it prepare me to be a teacher? Read on.) |
| You want to pass courses with good grades, get your degree, and prepare for a career. Good teaching can help you reach these goals, but you have to recognize from the beginning that it isn't necessary. You can get good grades from bad teachers, receive a degree without learning anything, and prepare for a career by making the right contacts. Good teaching is not even necessary to learning, because you can learn from bad teachers and even on your own. Am I saying that good teaching is a luxury? Well, it isn't an intrinsic human right, |
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