Nicki Tyska

Because pet peeves are featured in this issue of the Review, I figured I’d share one of mine: disrespect.

Disrespect in general is just plain rude, but what upsets me most is when students disrespect their professors, especially in the classroom. What in the world makes people think this is OK?

In several of my classes this year, I’ve seen students mouth off to professors, treat them with a snobby attitude and blame the professor for a bad grade, forgetting they did not ask for help from said professor or anyone else in the class. Whose fault was that D again?

We all have one or two professors who just rub us the wrong way. We don’t like his or her teaching style or they’re confusing, too argumentative, rude, whatever. We complain about them to our friends or family as a way to vent all those frustrations. Keep it that way.

Being angry with a professor doesn’t give us the right to take it out on them. What if they happened to reciprocate and vented what you do that frustrates them in front of the entire class, making you the dunce in the corner? Doesn’t sound like a pleasant situation to me.

Professors hold their titles because of the years of effort they have put into their academic careers. Most, if not all, are working outside the classroom to become published authors, or to find better ways to teach material to students.

They continuously earn their doctorates. Many even give students the opportunities to work with them on research, and allow us to receive hands-on experience that looks fantastic on a résumé.

This whole diatribe comes down to the Golden Rule we all learned in kindergarten: Treat others the way you want to be treated. If your professor doesn’t extend the same courtesy to you, then go with a “kill ’em with kindness” approach.

For those of you who do treat your professors with the respect they deserve, thank you for stepping up. For those who don’t, learn how.