A need for introspection

Quite often we find ourselves as students clamoring about how we are mistreated by the lecturer. It has been nearly two and half years since i entered UG, as per my observation, we as students will be treated as we treat or approach the professors.

It not a surprise  to see ourselves cursing or accusing a teacher of being overly strict. Here we need a bit of introspection. We always complain that a lecturer shouldn't shout and discipline us like a primary school as we are not small kids. Have we even thought that if we had kept our mouth shut there was no need for the lecturers to screech their throats?  In a class the need for discipline arises only when there is disturbance, why should we make the class a chaos? Only when we ourselves breach the discipline there is need to sharpen the tongue. It is always better to make sure we do not have a stain on our own cloth before accusing others of being dirty.

We can expect the faculty to heed our pestering only if we respect and honor the position of a professor. Apart from teaching and other arbitrary duties of the college, a professor is not charged with any duty of bearing with our tantrums. We may go on and on with our criticisms for not doing their job, anything outside the syllabus is no more than a favor we get from them. I am not denying that there may be genuine reason for the criticism but we as students should be more circumspect. We get to point fingers only when we are at a higher ground, morally. It is disappointing to say that we hardly make use of those initiatives by the faculty and accuse them of showing no interest in our welfare. We get to accuse people only if we have done our bit. As students we need to capitalize on every inch of opportunity we get, on the contrary it is very shameful to admit we slack over chances which could have enhanced our abilities.

I strongly believe in filling the pot holes as we go on building a road towards greater wisdom. It is a sign of inefficiency to let the doubts go unanswered. The doubts are very natural when we learn anything new. A lot of students shy away from interaction with the professors thinking that if they question they may end up antagonizing the professor. We need to be were careful about our tone and language especially in an open class. Language holds the key to a healthy interaction, we should be mindful of the words we are using. We cannot expect anybody to be polite if the sentences are what we use are full of slangs or even if it is a direct question on the person’s ability. We need to restrict the question only towards a particular intrigue. Even in our case, can we imagine being polite to a classmate who questions our ability, it is very human to have ego, there is no reason why we should overstep and hurt somebody especially in an open class where the center of gravity is around the lecturer. In my experience a valid question has never gone unanswered while the audacious and uncouth ones have attracted the wrath. The most preferred form of sentence is interrogative sentence which is constrained only to ambit of a particular subject.

I am not in any way suggesting the faculty is perfect, there may be shortcoming on their part too. The point here is that we need to be accountable for our words. It is very irresponsible on our part if we are oblivious of our inherent duties and always point fingers at the other side. It is nothing more than passing the buck on. It calls for some maturity to understand the constraints of a lecturer. We can’t expect them to treat us like peers. We are not their peers. There has to be a greater degree of respect.

When we on our part are courteous and well mannered, we get that moral right to point fingers and say this is not done. But when we lose the sense of manners and civility, there is no reason why the faculty should heed to our inquisitions.

Whoever the lecturer is civility and manners come first. We are going to venture out into a professional world where it is not easy to get a second chance. It is always better to learn while we are in college itself as we step out we will not have that cushion like in college where we are dismissed saying we are immature. 

The best way is to be on top of what we are supposed to do rather than whine for about the ire what we are bound to attract for slacking.