No matter what age you are, sometimes your professors just don’t seem to get it.
Take one of my professors this semester, for example. A comment was made in class to the effect that none of the students were of the proper age to have ever had an original idea.
Now, I must admit that on the subject matter which he was talking about, I actually didn’t have any original ideas.
However, I would like to think that over the course of my 28 years that I’ve had at least one or two ideas. Otherwise, why am I still here? I might as well hang up my hat and join the sheep out in the field.
This comment aroused several questions in my mind, actually. One – is there an age limit on ideas? After all, George Westinghouse obtained a patent for a rotary steam engine at the age of 19. Then again, maybe it wasn’t completely original.
But the most pertinent of the questions raised in my non-original-idea-inventing mind was – does the professor assume that we are all of a similar age? Perhaps he simply thinks that young people from the ages of 18 to 23 can’t originate new ideas. In that case, I still disagree.
Yet, this does bring up the issue of how professors deal with adult students in the classroom.
Recently, a few of our classmates on the NET have raised their hands and pointed out that their professors seem to dislike their curiosity. Are professors more wary of older students, afraid of the questions we might ask? I’m really not sure, and I am glad that I haven’t run into this problem.
In English classes, most of the professors seem to relish the new questions and ideas that adult students bring to class.
However, I do acknowledge that some professors on campus do either ignore the fact that some of us are not inexperienced youngsters – or simply ignore us altogether.
The best solution to this issue is to go to your professors let them know who you are. Tell them where you’ve been, and why you’ve come back. If you have a job and children to take care of outside of school, let them know about that, too. The more you and your professor know about each other, the better your classroom experience will be.
By the way, my first comments about one of my professors this semester was not meant as a slight. The professor is wonderful, and I merely think the comment’s full impact was realized. Happens to everyone at some point!

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