Teachers who trail off topic. TAs who think their corny jokes constitute stand-up. Lab teachers who expect students to "just know" the material. While teachers have their list of complaints about student behavior in the classroom, UB students have complaints of their own and were given the chance to grade the performance of professors at UB. Students, who have pet peeves when it comes to the classroom, aren't afraid to voice their criticisms. The Spectrum recently sat down with students to hear what bothered them the most in the classroom and this is what we came up with.
While students should be pushed to the edge by their teachers, learning as much as possible about each topic, students aren't always getting their money's worth when too much information is crammed into one class.
Often, teachers are criticized for assigning too much reading.
"Teachers want us to read a million things," said Matt Vertel, a junior legal studies major. "Not only do they assign too much work, but they also expect you to be on par with them mentally and forget that we are still learning."
Poor communication is a huge peeve for many students, who believe that confusing lectures and vague directions often makes course material difficult and prompts students to skip class far more often.
"When you already know what the class is about and the teacher is just reading out of the book and you can just (learn the material) yourself, you feel like you're not missing anything," said Josie Khoury, a senior legal studies major.
Students also feel aggravated when test material is a surprise and questions were never discussed in class.
"The tests have nothing to do with what you've learned," said Christopher Riggi, a junior business major.
As children, we always wanted to believe that everyone is equal and life should be fair. While students have conceded that life is anything but fair, there is still an annoyance and tension in the classroom when teachers pick favorites and choose to embarrass or exclude those who aren't on their list of preferred undergraduates.
"Teachers should be impartial to everyone and not favor any one student over the other," Elliot said.
It's hard enough to get up for class to begin with, but when a professor or teaching assistant has no interest in the material they're teaching, students often feel their time would be better spent back in bed.
"If you don't enjoy being in the classroom or don't enjoy teaching, how will your students enjoy (learning)?" said Richard Strahan, a UB alumnus.
Parking at UB is never a picnic and is especially frustrating after you've fought
"When teachers cancel class, especially in the winter, and they don't e-mail (students), I arrive at school to find out that it's cancelled after driving all the way out here," said Khoury.
Professors who don't have the common courtesy to send out an e-mail when they know class will be canceled frustrates students and creates many problems for commuters who travel from home.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
