Dear Gabby, I am a mature, hard-working student and single mother of two. I have returned to Sinclair after many years in customer service and bank management. Like other students, I strive to be my best and hold myself to high standards. This semester I find focus lacking in a particular class due to the professor. The first few weeks of class the professor had introduced herself/himself to the class as being “single.” Over the course of the seven weeks that I have attended class, I have witnessed many unprofessional behaviors, such as the use of profanity, slang, and discussions about personal interests that the professor holds. The professor has made several open invites to the class to join him/her in some his/her personal interests outside of class time. This professor has even made it common knowledge as to where she/he resides and that they are currently online dating. Other students in this class have confided in me that they also feel uncomfortable in this setting. This class is most challenging and requires focus on the material. Despite all of the unprofessional behaviors, I do believe the professor could be an effective educator. I do not feel secure in approaching this professor alone. How should I handle this without making this semester any more awkward?
Sincerely,
Worried student
Dear Worried student,
I think being a teacher requires lots of responsibility not only in the
classroom, but out of the classroom as well. In general, teachers of any type set examples and are viewed as role models. I think that all teachers should take that in consideration, and know that respect is really important, especially in the classroom.
In my opinion, it sounds a bit strange to me that the teacher is discussing personal things, as well as being unprofessional in his/her behaviors. I don’t know the details, and what exactly goes on in your class, however, from what I can gather from your perspective is that his/she hasn’t set any boundaries for his or her self in
the classroom.
Sometimes with situations like this, the best thing to do might be go to the chair of the department that the class is under, or go to the ombudsman. I don’t know what class it is, but you can always go to our.sinclair.edu on the portal to find who the chair is. It always helps to have people back you up, so if you could talk to other students about them going with you to explain their perspective in the class as well, it will be more beneficial. The other option is going to the ombudsman and stressing your concerns with the teacher and class. The ombudsman can help you solve problems and/or direct you in the right place.
I think the biggest concern should be that you want to make sure you’re getting the education you deserve and that you are paying for. If you feel as though it is affecting your focus and grades then it might be time to bring it to an authority figure. I do know some teachers do feel comfortable with sharing personal information, which can sometimes create a positive relationship because he or she might have experiences that are relatable, but if you feel as though it’s crossing a line then I would take it upon yourself to contact someone above your teacher, who could check out the situation and make sure that the class is being taught correctly and that the teacher is held accountable for his/her actions.
Good luck,
Gabby