My English professor this semester is extreme tough! He gives a lot of essays that have to be 4 pages which is a lot for me. We are not allowed to be late no matter what or it counts as a half absence, we can’t leave the room to go to the bathroom, and gives a lot of homework. He is nice and doesn’t yell but the rules on the syllabus is just too strict. I tired to switch out of that class but I wasn’t able to because other classes were filled up. Do you think these rules are way too strict or fair? All I want is to have a fair professor that doesn’t have strict rules and of course I have a professor this semester that is way too unfair =[
I mean, that doesn’t sound too strict to me. Don’t be late, go to the bathroom before you get there. As for the essays and homework, you just need to streamline your process. Is it a lot because you’re diligently working and are still struggling to get it done, or because you’re working and then websurfing and then working again? If the former, talk to him about seeing if he has any strategies for keeping up. If the latter, the solution should be obvious.
Usually the reason that a professor has strict rules is because of previous students.
Don’t be late because it disrupts the learning of other students.
Don’t go to the bathroom because the in and out disrupts other students (or could be a method of cheating during a test).
Your professor has a goal for the class for what you are to learn. He feels that 4 page essays are what you need to do that. If you are having issues, go to the Writing Center or see your professor during office hours.
You’re an adult now. You have to act like one. Part of that responsibility is following the professor’s rules, which sound reasonable ot me.
I don’t think the rules are particularly strict. I’ve had high school teachers with rules like that.
Besides not being used to the rules, what about them are too difficult for you to follow?
Do you have trouble making it to class on time? If you have some unavoidable reason for consistently being late (like having a class right before this one that is all the way across campus or something), then perhaps you could speak to your professor about it and ask if there could be an exception made, or leave your other class five minutes early. If you’re just not used to having to be on time, well, then now would be a great time to learn to do so. Think of school like a job. If you’re consistently late to your job, you get fired. If you’re consistently late to your class, you fail.
The bathroom rule is a little weird, in my opinion, but it’s really not that hard to go to the bathroom before class or to wait the 1hr to 1hr and a half to go to the bathroom after. Is your class really long? If it’s like a three hour class, then you could ask if the professor wouldn’t mind having some sort of break halfway through. If the class is just an hour and a half or an hour long, then I think you can handle not going to the bathroom. If you have a medical reason why you have to go to the bathroom during class, speak with your professor about making an accommodation, but I really don’t think that’s the case here.
Now, I think the real problem is that your having trouble keeping up in the class. Look at how your structuring your time. College in general tends to have more outside of class work than in-class time, whether that work is homework, writing assignments, or just studying. If your having trouble keeping up, perhaps you should talk to your professor for advice. But take a serious look at how much time and effort you are spending on the assignments. Try to find more areas in your day when you can work on assignments. Are you taking on too much extracurriculars, spending too much time with friends, working too much? School should come first, so if you don’t have enough time for school, then you have to give something else up. 4 page papers really aren’t very long, especially for college level writing. The extra practice of having to do multiple 4 page papers is probably good for you, to be honest. Try to ask for extra help from your professor or the writing center, if you need it.
I honestly really disliked when students would get up to go to the bathroom during a 50 minute class (which was realistically more like a 40 minute class with all the stragglers) - unless your class is 6+ hours long, there’s really no reason to use the bathroom during class.
4+ page essays don’t seem to excessive at all, really. If you hunkered down in the library, you could easily bang one out in 1.5 hours or less if you stayed focused.
He doesn’t seem too strict. I took freshman comp last semester, and we had to write four three-five page essays. They did get tedious any annoying, but when the semester was over, I realized that the class helped me become a more critical writer than I once was.
A lot of professors are lax about bathroom breaks and tardiness, but occasionally, you will get a professor that really doesn’t like those things. Also, if this class is 50 minutes, it isn’t unrealistic to expect students not to have to use the bathroom unless it is an absolute emergency. Most college students can control their bladders.
I found that I would always get way more annoyed than the professor when students would come in late, especially if the class is later in the day. Being late is disruptive and shows lack of respect for the professor.
That doesn’t sound strict at all. That sounds like a standard expectation of behavior. Be on time or it will be counted as late. How is that not fair? It is a literal description of the situation. Go to the bathroom before class. College students are adults. The typical college student has had at least 18 years of experience in regulating their bladder. Stop at the bathroom before class. A four page essay is pretty much standard fare in an English composition class. If this is Comp I, then it’s not at all unusual. When I took English Composition I, we had 5 papers throughout the semester, each of which had to be 3-4 pages in length.
Personally, I like when professors have these policies. When students walk in late or get up in the middle of class to use the bathroom, it is distracting.
drop the class
Actually, if it’s an emergency, it is. And if you’re a woman and you have the unfortunate luck of experiencing your monthly cycle while you’re in that 50 minute class (which has happened to me few times before), going to the bathroom is perfectly valid because continuing to sit in bloody underwear is just unsanitary (and super embarrassing if you’re wearing white pants or jeans).
That is one of the FEW exceptions IMO. However, for the most part at 18 you should be okay to not have to use the bathroom for 50 minutes. You use the bathroom before class.
Anyway to the OP, those are not strict at all. 4 pages is not a lot of writing, and if you need help go to the writing center or tutoring center.
Why should the professor accept your being late? It’s disrespectful.
I think you are severely over reacting. HIs rules are plenty fair
His rules seem fair to me. You might want to look into whether your college has a writing center where you can get some help with your papers/essay. But they usually have strict rules, too (you need to come in a certain number of days before the assignment is due). But it sounds like you have a syllabus, so you should have a handle on that.
This still sounds pretty cushy compared to the working world – there you also have to be on time, try to schedule your breaks when you don’t have to be in a meeting, and crank out a lot of high quality work on time. Year in and year out, and they let you go and your lose your income if you can’t do it.
Those rules all seem fair except for the bathroom one.
If not using the bathroom is more than an inconvenience for you, discuss it with your professor. Most people are embarrassed by other people’s bodily functions, and your prof will probably fold as soon as you open the discussion. I make accommodations for students all the time based on nothing more than a short conversation.
If that doesn’t work, discuss the matter with your doctor, and if the doctor agrees, bring it to the attention of your school’s ADA coordinator. If you warrant an accommodation, one will be made.
He sounds like he is genuinely trying to get his students to reach new levels. My advice is to try hard to live up to his standards.
Oh no, a college professor that gives homework. The horror.
If OP is a STEM major and writing is not her thing, then maybe 4 pages seems like a lot. Use your syllabus to plot out your time so you won’t be caught writing the night before paper is due. Ask for help. Try writing center or ask professor is he will meet with you and go over an outline or draft.
If you are English, History, Philosophy, etc major, then get use to it. That is about the length of many informal response papers my Ds have written.
I will say that although this seems quite fair for the most part, it’s unreasonable to not allow students to ever go to the bathroom. It happens sometimes. If you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. But what I’ve seen in my classes quite often is the same students consistently getting up to go to the bathroom day after day. Sometimes even multiple times. It’s definitely possible that some of them have medical conditions causing it, but I’m sure it’s not the case for all of them.
Seriously, the bathroom thing isn’t a big deal. Emergencies are few and far in between - that’s why they are emergencies. Nobody is going to prevent you from leaving the room if you have an emergency (and if it is a problem, you can talk to the professor after class) - but he just doesn’t want people popping up and down all the time. Seriously, adults should be able to hold it for 50-75 minutes barring emergencies.
The rest of the stuff all sounds standard.
@sweetlacecharm - I don’t think the professor means that no one can ever dare go to the bathroom, ever - just not to make it a habitual thing. If it’s an emergency, it’s an emergency. But someone isn’t going to have their period every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at exactly 10:34am or whatever.