Despite contrary belief, we are adults, and I’m tired of being treated as any less than that.
Granted, many college students still receive aid from their parent or guardian – whether it be for insurance, cell phone bills, tuition or otherwise. Regardless, we have left our parents’ home and begun a new phase in life. And yet, often times, we are spoon-fed and hand-held through college as if we were still adolescents. Frankly, it’s demeaning.
Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely love the fact that the majority of faculty and staff at Oklahoma Christian University are caring and helpful to their students in many ways. However, there’s a line between a director and dictator in the classroom.
Professors that direct their students provide constructive criticism and encourage growth opportunities. These relationships prosper on a foundation of mutual respect between two adults and often times can become a mentorship-type of relationship. In contrast, there are some professors that use their authority to demean and bully their students based on the idea that they are superior. These are the relationships that breed contempt and fuel negative experiences.
In these situations, it’s important to realize that as adults we are in college by choice. That choice should be upheld with respect, not seen as an avenue to assert authority over another person. College is meant to be an atmosphere that prepares us for the professional world we want to build a career in. It is a unique incubator for professionalism. How, then, are we to learn healthy intrapersonal skills if we are treated as inferior to people we are supposed to be learning from?
There should not be uneven parallels between the adults on campus and distinctions between “adults” and “students.” I understand that not every student will act as an adult, but there should not be preconceived notions that all students will require being treated as children.
Furthermore, every individual on this campus recognizes that we are receiving a Christian education. The name “Christian” in the title should make all the difference. So, if the age of a person isn’t enough reason to give them respect as an adult, the command to treat each other equally without separation definitely should be.
I don’t want to be treated with any less respect because of any demographic category I may fit into. My hope for everyone at Oklahoma Christian is that they receive edification and respect in all endeavors, especially in receiving a Christian education. No one should be made to feel inferior to any one else, regardless of degree or position in life.
Michaela Lawson is a junior at Oklahoma Christian University and the News Editor for the Talon.
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I debated for quite a while whether I wanted to address this article or not. To be honest, I dislike confrontation and generally avoid it when it isn’t necessary. I’m an adjunct professor and I divide my time (not at all evenly) between teaching young adults and raising my 4 children, so that’s where I’m coming to you from. I am a professor, but I am also a mother and as such, I feel that there might be a need to point out a few things you’ve missed.
To begin with, you repeatedly suggest that your professors shouldn’t assert their authority and are not your superiors. If that were true, why on earth would you want to learn from them? The very fact that they are an authority over you demands respect and compliance. In the workplace it isn’t any different. You will be an employee who must submit to the authority of your boss, even if they are badly behaved. Your professors aren’t doing you any favors if they don’t uphold their authoritative relationship.
I completely agree that professors shouldn’t bully or demean. They should behave in a Christian manner. Let’s be clear, though: asserting authority is biblical, as is submitting to it. Not all professors are always well behaved, but they’re human. Be respectful, even if you don’t think that someone else has earned it.
Adulthood isn’t about suddenly being on equal footing with all the other adults because you have reached a demographic based on your age. It’s about taking responsibility for yourself and your life. What that often means is that you discover just how little freedom you really have. Whether you’re taking care of your children or doing your job or paying your taxes or following the law or… you get the idea.
Every situation is an opportunity for your growth. My guess is that this article stems from a particular incident, but since the incident is neither addressed nor described, I’ll just encourage you to look at it and ask yourself what part you played in it. Intrapersonal growth comes when you honestly question yourself. Was I respectful? Was I honest? Did I do my best? In life, very rarely are things completely black and white.
I applaud your choice to go come to OC, but I think you’ve forgotten that you haven’t purchased an education. You are purchasing the opportunity to learn. Take advantage of it and take it seriously.