{Curious}...Food for Thought

Question: Would you go to dinner with a professor? If it was paid for by an outside third party? 

My college sponsors an event every semester called Food for Thought which invites students to take a professor to dinner. It allows the faculty and students to get to know each other outside the classroom, or just as an individual, which can be tricky at a Big Ten University sometimes. Last year I went and it was awkward, so this year I was super hesitant . . . after all, you know how office hours can go. 

But it was great! I went with my English professor, and although I had tons of back up questions to ask in case dinner did get weird, I never used them! We chatted about books, movies, films, different cities around the states. Initially I thought that taking my professor would make class with him perpetually strange and tense, but I think not now. 

So, would you do it? 

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Office Hours

My first semester of college I went to my professors' office hours constantly. Professors from giant lecture halls knew me by name, knew my intended major (which changed frequently), answered any and all questions I had, and offered advice for my post-college queries. 

Then second semester came. Never did I meet with any of my professors. I had one meeting with a TA for a course-mandated conference about revising papers. The previous semester I was determined and excited to meet my professors and suddenly I had absolutely no desire to know my professors nor for them to know me. What inspired my drastic change in behavior? I honestly have no idea. 

Logically, I would have expected wanting to meet with professors as I became more comfortable and confident at a big, big place like college. The opposite happened. I was less intimidated by faculty first semester, than the second. 

Going to office hours actually helped me in school. Surprise! I know they always say, "My office hours are in place to help you and they are highly under unitized." Now that I think back on it, they were right. Interestingly, we didn't have to talk specifically about problems I was having in class, questions about the readings, or complaining about grades; simply discussing interesting topics that were relevant to their field was what helped. I found that by engaging in the course beyond the lecture hall, grades improved. Making the academic experience personal encouraged me to work harder. I loved the classes more. 

So obviously they're right! Grades and enjoyment of the class is definitely correlated to office hours. 

Not to mention, you'll stand out to your professors as dedicated. They'll see you have a personality. Bonus? Someday when you need a great letter of recommendation, those professors will remember you as the exceptionally bright and personable student. 

Did you go to office hours in college? Did they help you? I'd love your thoughts!

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