teachers are my nap-disruptors

It seems a little pointless to say, but you can't experience college without the teachers.

Logically speaking, you can't learn what you don't understand unless you are taught. 

Realistically speaking, teachers are sometimes just as much a harm as they are a help. 

There are countless different types of teachers; every one has a unique teaching style. However, many of them tend to fall into one of several different categories. 

 

The Absent-Minded Professor:
This teacher has two ways of showing up for class: barely on time or drastically late. Typically the first thing out of his briefcase is a jumble of papers that he will sift through for the remainder of the class period without actually finding anything. This professor would be potentially hilarious to have as a teacher if he wasn't so pathetically sad. The chuckles that you and your classmates exchange are mixed with glances of absolute terror. If Professor Spacey forgot that he explained the theory of relativity two days ago in class then he might also have forgotten more important things like your name or due dates or test scores. There's always the potential that the extra credit assignment you slaved away on to bump yourself into a B is hidden underneath an old newspaper and a stack of ungraded papers in his office. Also, and this has happened to me, there is the chance that he will teach the same class more than once. If the material starts to sound familiar, it doesn't necessarily mean you're learning; he may just be repeating himself.

The Thinks-He's-Hilarious-Teacher:
This teacher is the creator of some of the most awkward situations you will ever experience. Typically stuffy-as in, tweed jacket with elbow patches- this professor has enough credentials and credit hours and PhD's to have figured out that he's every students dream teacher. I mean, what's not to like? His jokes are humorous and they require extensive knowledge about a specialized field to understand. And the poor fellow is too busy chuckling at his successful punchline to notice the class full of blank, incredulous faces staring back at him.  His joke will appear in the middle of a long lecture, untimely of course, and will be preceded by a few signs that will make students cringe in anticipation. First, he will stop after stating some fact or point, then he will begin to smirk which will turn into a chortle and, inevitably, "Which reminds me, uh, Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender says 'How about a drink? Descartes responds 'I think not' and disappears." His sniggering will keep him occupied for a few minutes while the students will exchange chagrined glances and politely chuckle.

The Actually-Is-Hilarious-Teacher: This teacher is the saving grace for his awkward counterpart. Following the longest 50 minutes of your life with Professor McBadjoke, this class is mentally soothing and legitimately funny. This teacher is often considered as the “favorite teacher ever, dude” despite his teaching style or grading methods. There are several different styles of this kind of teacher. There is the Hilarious Jokster whose clever puns and comedic timing is the highlight of any Cold War lecture. There’s the teacher who plays youtube clips before class, the one that has a hilarious perspective that comes with years of teaching, there’s the one that doesn’t think he’s funny but actually is, and the list goes on. 

The Hard-Exam-Giver:
Easily one of the most detested teachers, this professor is dreaded during finals. Having never forgot that the root word of "teaching" is "teach", he rules his class with an iron fist, proudly declaring that "student's have complained about my difficult exams" and comforting himself that at least his students will have studied. Professor Hard-Nosed is often not only the hard tester, but the hard-paper-grader, the difficult-research-topic-giver, and the overloads-you-with-homework-er. I guess it's a package deal. Understandably, students hate his guts. However, you do learn something from this guy's class. Mostly more brands of energy drinks than you knew existed, frantic note-taking styles, and desperate study techniques. But you learn. He should be proud.

The Boring Professor: 

There will come a time where you will have that one professor that will inevitably put you to sleep. This isn't as a result of student-error. Well, not completely. However, this teacher seems genetically predisposed to putting students to sleep. His voice will be deep and dull and he will be incapable of talking about anything remotely interesting (or even on topic.) I had the misfortune of having this particular teacher in the afternoon right after lunch. No amount of caffeine will help, although attempting this class without some kind of energy boost is suicide. Dr. MakesYouNap is one of the most difficult teachers you will encounter; not because of the material he teaches, but because there's a good chance that you'll never hear a word of what he's saying.

  There are numerous other categories of professors, but maybe none quite as stereotyped as these. Teachers are a necessary evil of college. If you're lucky, maybe one will actually teach you something.


College professor--someone who talks in other people's sleep- Bergen Evans