Words: 686
Alexandra Hearer Dry. Burks English 1301-WAS 05 March 2013 Most people think of professors and teachers as basically the same profession. It is easy to get these occupations confused since they both earn their way of living by educating society. Teachers and college professors both educate their students but, when it boils down to how they teach and which standards they have, they are very much different. The first difference between teachers and college professors is the quantity and quality of homework assignments.
For the most part, teachers rarely give homework assignments and the amount of work given is relatively small. If students do not turn in homework, they have a good chance that the teacher will allow them to turn in their late work with little to no deductions at all. For example, once I had to turn in an essay for a high school English class but I only turned in half of my essay assignment. When my teacher Ms. Bazaar noticed that I did not complete my essay she told me that I could take it home and complete it but that there would be a 10 point deduction for every extra day that I would turn it in late.
College professors on the other hand, they expect homework assignments to be turned in on time and if they are turned in late, the penalties are much harsher. The homework professors give out to their students is also more tedious and challenging than normal school work. In fact, once I had a professor who under one circumstance gave her students a homework assignment that consisted of writing the definitions of one hundred fifty words, and reading an entire chapter in only two days.
The second difference between teachers and college professors is how important being to class in time and actually attending class is. In high school, students could miss school frequently and still maintain a passing grade without struggling as much. If a student is late to class the teacher must mark the student as being tardy. After the student receives a certain amount of truancy’s, he or she will be given a letter from the truancy officer and may have to pay a fine if the student remains unpunctual.
If students are absent frequently and are failing, teachers are prone to create extra credit sheets. Some students are lucky enough to be absent frequently and not be dealt with. One school year, I remember one of my teachers mentioning that they had a student that once had around sixty absences in one school year or so and still managed to pass onto the next grade level. In college, professors expect students to attend class but the students are not penalized by a truancy officer if they do not attend.
Instead, if a student is absent for a certain amount of times, the professor has he ability to drop the student. Although professors do not mind if their students are absent or not, they do expect that if a student is absent he or she must gather the information they missed from other students who did attend the class. In my History 1301 course, I had a professor named Lindsay who would do nothing but give absent. When I returned to class after the next day, I asked him “Sir I was absent, did I miss anything? ” He Just chuckled and said miss, a whole lecture.
Ask for your neighbor’s notes once class is dismissed. And continued on with his business. A comparison of teachers and professors proves how the expectations of teachers and professors are not alike. Teachers are more easygoing and less harsh, give out less homework that is easy to complete, and sometimes have ways that allow a student to bounce back up if they are absent. On the contrary, professors are unforgiving, give out more homework, and do not mind if a student is absent unless it crosses a limit. Therefore, the professor’s expectations are more difficult to reach than teachers.