I Wasn't like Them as a Student, so How Can I Relate?

Every college class has a bell curve if the professor is honest with themselves and the students. There will be some students who study or just understand the concepts well. There will also be some students that don't study, or just cannot grasp the concepts. Everyone else falls in the middle. Isn't that just like real life? It is how it should be.

We should not be in the business of leveling the playing field just because we feel sorry for the students who are not trying to get passing grades. Obviously we have to work with those students who are really trying and just not understanding. When we start to cater to the students who are not able to succeed on their own, we do them, ourselves, and society, a great disservice. When someone graduates with a college degree, don't you make certain assumptions about them? Don't you expect that they know at least a little about their major field of study and a basic understanding of how to problem solve and work with others? For most of us that is the minimum that we would expect out of a student that graduates from college. If, however, the professors are not willing to give a failing grade when it is well and truly deserved, they are undermining our whole society.

One of the problems that exists is that people who make it through enough schooling to become a college professor generally never was like those students. If anything the people who become college professors rather excelled at their chosen field, which is what propelled them on to do more and be more. Therein lies the dilemma. How do I relate to my students who refuse to try? How do I make them understand that there is more to life if they just try a little harder?

The bottom line is that you need to be sympathetic. Let them know that you were in college once too and that you are willing to be flexible for real life drama. However, they will appreciate you much more if you don't break. Give them the F if they deserve it and you may end up saving their career. It may just be the wake-up call they need to realize they can do more and be more. Stick to your guns and you will be thanked in a speech someday, just wait and see.