Man, some teachers just don’t understand

Throughout the years I have attended classes here, I’ve seen a few professors that absolutely refused to give a student a break. Quite a few professors on campus have the policy of you can’t get an excused absence  or make up work/turn it in late unless there’s a death in the family or you’re extremely ill. This makes no sense to me because there are other things in life that you just sometimes have to miss class for. There have been times where I’ve had to miss class or leave early because of something that couldn’t be scheduled any other day, or some other situation that wasn’t a dire emergency but still forced me to miss class. I’ve heard stories from students telling me how teachers won’t accept homework if you’re late, or if you miss a day they won’t tell you what you missed; you’ll just have to get it from a classmate instead.

Of course, not all teachers are sticklers for things like that. There are teachers that don’t care if you get to class a little late or leave early, because outside of class they realize you do have a life. A lot of students in this day and age are fighting with all their might to get through college without having to give up a kidney to pay off those loans when they finish. According to clasp.org, 47 percent of students are independent, 40 percent are low income, 43 percent work part-time and 32 percent work full-time. Sixty-three percent say that if they didn’t work, they would be unable to attend college at all.

With that being said, there are some students that come to college and are not serious at all about their classes. As a teacher, you know which of your students try and which don’t.  So what I’m trying to say is that yes, current doctors, professors and so forth, I’m really glad you received your degree, so I can pay to hear all the wonderfully educational things I need to know  to one day have a degree of my own. If a student gives you proof of what’s going on outside of class, giving that student a chance can actually help. Some teachers say they are preparing us for the real world; honestly this is the real world. We have jobs, bills, children and other responsibilities.. You had the option to work or focus on school that many of the students now, traditional or not, don’t have. A little compassion goes a long way.