Think about your favorite class you have taken here at Monmouth University. Now think about the person who taught that class? Was he/she the reason you loved it? Did they make the class what it was? The question we find is what makes a professor a good professor?
A professor is there to use the knowledge they have acquired throughout their career to teach students about that specific topic. But what makes a professor a good one? I think that a good professor is one who loves what they are doing, truly cares about their students, wants everyone to succeed, and forms a connection with their students.
A professor who loves what they’re doing is a great one. You can genuinely see it while they are teaching. The course does not feel like it is dragging, or the material is just being read to you from a screen but instead it is interesting and gets everyone involved. You can see when a professor truly loves teaching and loves what they are teaching about.
I am taking Intercultural Communication this semester with Professor Jennifer Shamrock. She is hands down one of the best professors I have ever had. What stands out the most about her is how you can tell that she loves teaching us and is passionate about the topic. Professors who also care truly about their students are a big component of what makes them great.
Caring about their students allows students to feel a lot more comfortable about coming to class and inspires them to put their all into the course.
When I took Introduction to Communication during my first semester of college, I had Professor Shannon Hokanson. She was excellent because she made the class comfortable, connected to all of us, and if there was ever an issue she was very approachable.
In high school when I thought about a college class, I pictured a huge lecture hall with one professor and two hundred students. When I got to Monmouth and learned that the class sizes were smaller it made me feel so much more comfortable because it was not a drastic change from high school.
In high school, teachers typically had connections with students and cared about them on a personal level. I truly feel that the small class sizes are how professors are able to connect and care about their students on a deeper level.
A professor who does everything to make sure all of their students succeed is a great professor. I’m not saying this is a professor who gives students the easy way out and just gives everyone an A but it is a professor who helps students out and gives them all the tools in order to succeed.
I think that being passionate about what they do and caring about their students is what elevates just a professor to an excellent one.
As F. Sionil Jose once said, “The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future.”
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth University