<p>I don't get it; I have a Prof I keep in contact with that I only had for one semester. Why do some people say this is weird?</p>
<p>Because they’re weird. </p>
<p>That’s why.</p>
<p>Jess,</p>
<p>Judging by the number of threads/posts you’ve made with regard to keeping in touch with a prof, I have a feeling you’re looking to do more than just “keep in touch” with this prof that you speak of.</p>
<p>Actually this thread was in response to a thread below mine in which someone asked about keeping in contact with their professor. If you look, many say keeping in touch is weird.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should have responded to that thread then.</p>
<p>You’ve made like 6-7 posts about this professor now. Honestly, it feels like you have some kind of obsession with them. At one point, you were wondering if ‘once a week’ was too often to stop in and see them. Yes. It is FAR too much.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with keeping in touch with professors. If you’re so hung up on them that you want to see them every week, get them gifts, and invite them over for dinner…there’s more going on with you than simply “wanting to keep in touch.”</p>
<p>I feel like this has been talked about repeatedly: it’s not weird as long as you handle it appropriately. A lot of things in life can go from normal to weird when you handle them wrong.
Chatting with a professor when you run into them on campus = normal</p>
<p>Stopping by a professor’s office or popping your head in to say hello when you’re already in the area = normal</p>
<p>Sending them an email after a while to wish them well = maybe normal if you’re really close (as in BOTH of you wish to stay in contact and they explicitly and sincerely tell you to keep in touch or ask about your life when you see them) </p>
<p>Visiting them every week for no apparent reason = weird</p>
<p>Inviting them to your house for any reason = weird</p>
<p>Thinking about them all the time = obsessive to the point where you should maybe consider seeing someone about it</p>
<p>Again, if the social nuances and delicacies are natural and encouraging, it’s not a problem. But when you’re forcing and wishing it to happen, then there’s an issue.</p>
<p>What harvest and curt said. </p>
<p>It’s not strange to keep in contact with your professor after the semester. </p>
<p>It <em>is</em> strange to email them weekly or do it in a very intense way.</p>
<p>Agreed with all that has been said above. As a teacher, I make it clear that I am glad to get an occasional email or have someone stop by the office to say ‘Hi,’ but beyond that, I won’t help with homework now that they have ‘moved on’ and if they come to spill the beans about something very intense, I may connect them with counseling/advising, etcetera. I do dispense ‘advice’ on a regular basis, and word gets around among former students, but if it gets to a stalking type of situation, then teachers often take steps to find out why/to let students know what is/isn’t appropriate. I’ve even seen former students posting on other teachers’ FB sites, and again, that’s up to the teacher to make them ‘friends’… romanigypsyeyes sums it up best.</p>