Garden of Daisies

The contract between a student and a teacher

July 12th, 2006

I feel like there is a contract implied between a student and her teacher. The teacher will do their best to communicate information to the students and to facilitate their learning, and the students will attend class and do their best to engage with the material the teacher is putting in front of them.

For this reason I often feel very guilty when I’m not on time for class, or when I don’t pay attention during lecture. But I resent when I know that my tardiness or boredom result from what I consider to be a breech of contract on the part of the lecturer…

When I am paying up to $500 for a class I feel like part of what I am paying for is an interesting, if not captivating lecturer–any less is a breech of contract. Considering I pay money for the text book above and beyond that which I pay for the course I feel like I should be exposed to material in lecture that I could not simply have gotten from the textbook at home by myself–not exposing me to such material is a breech of contract. Finally I feel as though I should not be treated like a highschool student. There should not be more than 5 minutes (tops!) dedicated to talking to me about preparing for tests or essay writing. To spend time on this is a breech of contract: You teach me the material–I’ll worry about the test.

I’ve had two really incredable professers who taught well and gave fair tests. Two. $500 a course. …ridiculous.

Entry Filed under: University (Studies and Classes), Education