Don’t Say That

EAST PEORIA — The relationships between students and professors at ICC are most often very professional, but sometimes those relationships could be even stronger if it weren’t for the occasional poor choice of words.

To help promote effective and appropriate communication between faculty and students, the Harbinger surveyed both groups to find some suggestions for what is better left unsaid.

Professors probably shouldn’t:

  • Respond to a question with “I don’t know” or “I can’t help you.”
  • Respond to a comment or question with something discouraging like “Wow… you are dumb.”
  • Say they don’t care if their students come to class or “I’ll be paid whether or not you’re here.”
  • Put the spotlight on a struggling student or bring up an individual’s shortcomings during class.
  • Make comments about a student’s physique or appearance.
  • Devalue their own course by saying things like “You won’t learn much here.”
  • Talk about alcohol or partying with students.
  • Make broad statements about a certain personal belief being “wrong.”
  • Lecture about their political opinions.

And students shouldn’t:

  • Go into unnecessary details about the health, family or personal issue that caused them to miss class.
  • Ask if they are going to miss anything by being absent from class.
  • Ask a professor about an email instead of simply reading the email.
  • Complain about poor understanding after repeatedly skipping class.
  • Say they are going to miss class to prepare for another class.

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