After several interviews and campus visits with potential suitors for my services, I have reached a worrying conclusion about my fellow faculty. It was something that I originally thought was limited to the cultures I experienced at Remus and Romulus, but I am learning that it is now more widespread than I first believed. The level of faculty indignation towards students is way higher than I ever realized.

I know I am not breaking any new ground by saying that college professors do not always have a favorable view of their students. Heaven only knows that I have had my fair share of moments where I wondered how these kids survived childhood and made it into my classroom. However, I am still aware enough to separate the actions from the person and not quick to condemn a student if they do something that makes me want to rip my hair out.

From what I gathered during several of my interviews, I noticed not only a hint of disappointment regarding the student body but also an air of superiority among my colleagues as they roam among the hoi polloi. It started off harmless enough. I had to field questions about a potential student body that is not prepared for college’s rigors. At first, I chalked this line of questioning up to the fact that some of my potential landing spots put more weight on teaching than research, but then I noticed it in the interviews where research was a little more important.

I understand that the committee is trying to see how I handle myself when students do not meet my standards. Honestly, nobody can live up to my standards, myself included. I am reluctant to say I always meet students where they are, but I can say I will provide them with all the support I can. This may come as a shock to some faculty, but things are a little different now compared to when we were twenty years old. I know that they have a different skill set than we did. Some would even argue that they don’t have a skill set at all. I would argue that the professors who taught me probably thought the same thing about me when I walked into their classroom.

I am starting to believe that the main reason students don’t engage as much as they used to is that we, as faculty, don’t relate to them in any capacity. I am not suggesting that anybody has to learn how to languagemaxx to reach the utes, but we should have a little bit of interest in the things that might affect their lives. From my speech faculty, they call this audience analysis. If you know who you are targeting, your lectures might be more apt to engage students.

I fear that notion speaks to a larger issue some of my fellow faculty face in the classroom. Many of us fear that we will lose control of our space if we expose some character to our students. From what I can tell, showing some humanity and some interest in what they do tends to create a better environment for all. It is okay to show them that you have interests beyond your boring lectures. Who knows, maybe you have more in common with the students than you know.