Make an impression

Students must ensure they have positive vibes with their teachers.

December 03, 2012 03:30 pm | Updated 03:30 pm IST

For Educatinoal Plus: Students of International Studies department at Stella maris College for Women in Chennai.  14th September 2006. Photo: K_V_Srinivasan (Digital)

For Educatinoal Plus: Students of International Studies department at Stella maris College for Women in Chennai. 14th September 2006. Photo: K_V_Srinivasan (Digital)

Last week I had two conversations with teachers of different ages, different generations, even, which struck a chord. They were both complaining— as teachers often do— about students. One was aghast that a student had had the “cheek” to pop up on her Google Chat window and ask her a question (the night before an examination) another was equally upset that a student who had not bothered to participate much in her classroom was asking for a reference letter.

The first teacher clearly saw the online interruption (and she had her “busy” signal on) as a boundary violation. “Students don’t seem to have an idea about the fine line between informality and impertinence,” she said. The second teacher felt that she could not give an honest recommendation to a student who she perceived as having done nothing to recommend himself in her class.

“He never submitted assignments on time, or showed any interest in the course,” she said.

The teacher-student relationship is a tenuous thing, shifting in important ways as one moves from high school to undergraduate college to a postgraduate programme. In school, a teacher is often a distant and serious, sometimes, a nurturing and indulgent figure. The student is still a child, and the teacher’s expectations of him/her are limited to “good” behaviour (this might be defined variously) and attention to studies. There are usually well recognised lines of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and crossing these has very clear consequences — you would be told off in class or hauled up to the principal’s office.

When we enter college, however, a lot of our frameworks change. Apart from the college rule book (most often disregarded), there are few explicit guidelines governing the teacher-student relationship. While some colleges function as extensions of school, most treat young people as adults who know how to draw and maintain their own boundaries. The truth, however, is that we often struggle with these fuzzy lines, and must negotiate them on a daily basis. To complicate things, college lecturers may be closer to students in age and are likely to be part of the same generational culture. Some of them treat their students like friends outside the classroom and maintain certain informality even inside it. Students usually model their interactions on their seniors’, with the college grapevine serving to provide the do's and don’ts in relation to each teacher. Generally, the lecturer expects some evidence of interest, effort, regular work, and of course respect and attention in class.

Blurred lines

Then one moves to university, or a postgraduate programme, and all of a sudden the boundaries become even more blurred. The classroom equation is still tilted toward the teacher, but the expectations of students are again different. Students are now full-grown adults, and are expected to behave as such. The rules of engagement vary widely across faculty members and you have to re-learn the relational boundaries with each one. Some may not mind informal emails and text messages asking about assignments or readings while others prefer to keep all their interactions in formal spaces — inside the classroom or in their office — and through formal means, such as written notes, scheduled meetings, and properly written emails (no SMS lingo here!).

You cannot make assumptions about this and must try to get a sense of what is acceptable to different professors. It’s better to check at the start of a course whether the teacher finds chats and text messaging acceptable forms of communication.

Some may provide phone numbers and email IDs with their course outlines and be specific about how they may be contacted, but often these things are not explicitly stated.

Many students don’t recognise the importance of this relational negotiation. While the majority finish their course, get a job and never look back, there are some who need to return to claim favours on the basis of this relationship.

It’s important to remember that university professors are looking at you not only as students in their classes but also at your potential as future scholars and professionals. They judge you on the basis of your interactions with them and your performance in class — and this is more than just the marks.

This is the big reason why you need to worry about making an impression at the postgraduate level. University professors are the people who write your letters of reference, provide recommendations to potential employees, point you to jobs, and provide the first-level attestation of your suitability for a position.

If you want an honest note of appreciation from a lecturer, you’d better have done something in his or her class to earn it! At the very least, make sure that you have not done anything to create a poor impression.

The author teaches at the University of Hyderabad and edits Teacher Plus magazine. Email: usha.raman@gmail.com

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