College students that were homeschooled...?

Question

Do you find it hard to talk to your professors one-on-one? I am a senior in college and I am getting sick of wasting class time listening to professors lecture about 'how to talk to your teacher." Most of my peers seem unable (or unwilling) to get help from the professors. I was wondering if maybe there was a difference in how homeschoolers feel about talking to teachers. I dunno if it was my homeschooling or not, but I find myself getting impatient when I have to wait my turn to talk to my professors.

Answer 1

That's the way college is run.  By appointment, in office hours, with concise questions and dissertations.

If you are in need of hand holding you should NEVER have been homeschooled.

Hand holders REQUIRE Brick school

Homeschooling is generally independent studies and that is also what College is about.

To be frank, if you are in need of hand holding to cross the streets, you should even be in college.  You should be stocking shelves at K-Mart.

In college they LECTURE, they assign text book reading, assignments and YOU are expected to do the research on your own.

NO ONE is going to hold your hand for a Doctorial Dissertation.  They give you guide lines and YOU are expected to know what to how and to figure out how to do it.

Answer 2

I think I'm understanding your question differently as well.  Are you just getting tired of being reminded of the process for talking to your profs, or is it that getting reminded of the process and being (seemingly) the only one who follows it what's bugging you?

Office hours and appointments are how it works in college, as profs are only required to be there for a certain amount of time...that is different than homeschooling, where you could contact an instructor or turn to your parents for help at any time.  

However, many classroom-schooled kids learn to be pretty apathetic to their work and don't ask for help, unless they happened to go to a school where they were constantly challenged - so yes, you may see the thought of going to a prof for help not even crossing their mind.  I can see how the constant reminders that go unheeded would get a little frustrating.

Answer 3

Oh poor little thing....get over yourself Hon

Answer 4

I think I'm understanding your question differently, although I have to say that I don't understand how on the one hand, your peers are unable/unwilling to get help (which sounds to me like they're NOT talking to the professor) yet you're having to wait your turn (which sounds to me like they ARE talking to the professor).

This high school homeschooled teen I know is currently doing driver's ed through a local company. She gets frustrated by the lack of interest shown in the class, the lack of willingness to respond to the instructor's questions, the lack of willingness to present information when they've worked in groups. She's the one (the **supposed** anti-social homeschooling teen who can't function in a group and is too shy to say anything) who answers the bulk of the questions and who presents the information from their groups. She has no problem talking to the teacher, asking questions...

Answer 5

My son was homeschooled and currently faces no frustration in that department.

Answer 6

As a homeschooled college graduate, I found myself more often than not wondering why I was spending my hard-earned money for an "education" in things I already knew.

The only classes that I actually gleaned knowledge from were my Business and Management courses. All of the Liberal Arts classes (i.e. English, History, etc.) were merely regurgitated blather I learned in 10th grade. I did find it true that the vast majority of the students who came from a public school were very poorly prepared for the college-style education system though and many would take a failing grade before they would discuss anything with the instructor.

As for all the comments regarding office hours: I figured that since most instructors use the absolute minimum amount of office time (all schools have a requirement for office hours that instructors must obey), if they failed to ever meet that quota I would report them. My constant complaints to the Dean acted as catalysts in the firing of two instructors who did not keep the minimum number of hours. I decided that if I was paying these people, they should be doing their job (wouldn't your boss fire you if you worked less than the agreed upon number of hours per week?).

Answer 7

I graduated from an Ivy League University and we were told when office hours were and what information we were expected to learn in class and what our homework was (and frequently, we would get most of our assignments for the semester at the beginning and *we* had to remember to do them). That was it. Now, I'm taking a class (admittedly, a freshmen-level science class) at a local state school, and the teacher repeatedly explains that note taking is important, has handouts that are missing some information to try and force us to take notes, repeated explanations about each detail of our assignments and reminders to do the readings.

I don't tend to get annoyed as a rule, but if I had a less laid-back personality, it could really be making me crazy.

I think these kind of things happen on a school by school (or even a class by class) basis.