Whenever the final for a class wraps up, one or two students usually take the time to thank you for their experience during the semester. Most students will utter “thanks” and move on with their lives. However, there are always a select few who let you know how grateful they are for their experience and want you to know about it.
At the end of one of my short courses, a couple of students approached me to tell me that I was their favorite professor. They told me that my class was some of the best time they ever had while in school. One blurted, “You’re my favorite because you aren’t boring.” I suppose I can take that as high praise.

I am not here to write an article documenting all the adoration I receive. I am not a fan of adulation and all the fuss accompanying it. I would rather do my job and move on to the next thing. I would do anything to keep my head low and out of sight. I am also aware that my approach to college teaching is a little “unconventional.” I tend to use shock and awe tactics when I teach students because I like to remind them that anything could come out of my mouth. I like to think that my teaching method is essentially bad standup comedy. I say outlandish things to get the point across, which apparently works. Students visit me months or years later to tell me their favorite line from my class. Half the time, I don’t remember saying the line, but if it helped them, then cool. They probably couldn’t recall any of the course material, but whatever.
However, that last comment about not being a boring professor sits with me as I stare at the wood paneling in my office. I like to think I am good at what I do, but statements like that make me wonder about my fellow faculty. I’ve sat in enough faculty meetings and campus holiday parties to know who has charisma and who has the personality of wallpaper. I also get reports from students whenever they feel comfortable complaining about Professor X and how they teach. I try to take those complaints with a grain of salt because students love hyperbole.
However, when I hear these grievances, they give me pause. I know we professors are never current with our pop culture, nor can we make everything relevant to the lives of our students. We are products of our time and can’t keep up with the latest social media trends. This factor does not absolve us from the task of engaging students in the classroom.
The argument’s flip side usually includes the claim that professors are not entertainers. That is true. Most professors wouldn’t even garner crickets if they were performing live on stage. Some subjects would be difficult to make interesting, and even comedians would struggle to make anything funny out of them. Still, there has to be a middle ground somewhere.
The first step would be for professors to sound like they have a genuine interest in the material. I know a lot of the material that professors present is at an elementary level for them. Still, if we sound like we want to be anywhere other than the classroom, it will soon be reflected in the engagement level of our students. Now, I am not suggesting that we start acting like Fortnite live streamers with all the fancy bells, whistles, and screaming, but we do need to address our “boring” condition.
I don’t think I can find an answer to this issue in one article, so I will poke around and see if I can figure some things out and report them back to you. Just don’t hold your breath. I don’t want to be held responsible.