March 2007
How to be a "Teacher's Pet"
By Jessica Stahl

We’ve all seen them, sitting in the front row of Nitze 417 or sneaking around in front of BOB – they’re the classmates from hell, seemingly sent here only to annoy the rest of us.  The kid who interrupts the professor in the middle of a huge economics lecture to make some inane comment about Chinese trade policy, that guy who systematically goes up to talk to the professor during the mid-class break when everyone else leaves to get water, that girl who stays after class every time to talk to the professor about some topic indecipherable to the rest of the class.  We’ve all seen them and laughed in what we hope is scorn and pity, but what we hate to admit is also a bit of jealousy and self-doubt.  A small part of our brains can’t help but wonder if these know-it-alls know something we don’t.

With midterms looming on the horizon and job applications already hanging over our heads, it is hard not to question whether we’re doing all we can to succeed at SAIS.  Is our hard work enough, or will it be the obnoxiously overzealous kid who gets the good recommendations, the good networks, the good job leads?   

What, in the end, do our professors actually want from us?

It is comforting to know, first of all, that all the professors who contributed to this article had overwhelmingly positive things to say about their students at SAIS.  We have alternately been described as “talented,” “intelligent,” and “insightful.”  One professor even called himself “lucky” to be able to teach us.  So, despite our uncertainty, insecurity and sometime less-than-stellar grades, we must be doing something right.

That being said, professors have definite, and surprisingly similar, characteristics that they look for and value in their students.

Of course, professors value students who are actively involved in their classes.  For most professors, what this means is informed participation in classroom discussions and not what one professor described as “parroting” (the condition of “being incapable of shutting up”).  It is preparation and interesting insights that many professors value most in their students.  
 
According to one sought-after professor, if you really want to wow him in the classroom, “A knowledge of history, and its wonders and disappointments, works wonders on me.”
 
Some professors add that they like students who are willing to challenge them in class.  One professor notes, for example, that his favorite students are those who are “willing to speak up in class, even if contesting the professor.”
 
In language classes, active involvement can take on even greater importance.  The small size of language classes means that every student has to pull his or her own weight.  One language professor says that “with the size of the class being rather small, when we have non-proficiency students, unless they are well-disciplined…some tend to slow down the pace of the class, affecting others.”

In addition to participation, professors almost universally cite timeliness as an essential quality in students.  Apparently it is not enough that we do our work well, but we also have to turn it in on time.  So much for those midterm extensions you were considering.
 
One professor considers his biggest pet peeve “a student who does not show up for an agreed conference with me or who appears very late.”  He notes, “SAIS students usually manage their time well, but there are exceptions.”
 
There’s nothing too incredible or ground-breaking here – professors like students who contribute to class and do their work responsibly.  Buzzwords like originality, responsibility and insightfulness come up over and over again as the way to stand out in class.
 
A slightly unexpected addition to the list of oft-cited dos: honesty.
 
One professor says that she appreciates students who “approach the learning process with honesty.”  For this particular professor, honesty is about academic honesty – taking responsibility for yourself and not expecting to get away with things.
 
Another professor talks about honesty in terms of being true to yourself.  One of his pet-peeves is students who, as he eloquently puts it, become “zealous operators before having eaten from the tree of knowledge and experience.”  He appreciates students who are honest with him and with themselves about what they don’t know, and open to new possibilities.
 
And, believe it or not, professors do not appreciate students who pretend to be something they’re not simply to get a recommendation letter or a better grade.
 
As for the major no-nos, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that the list includes rudeness, cheating, slacking and immaturity.  Another major one is grade-grubbing, or grubbing for other types of special treatment, particularly when the grubbing continues long after the semester has already ended (“Please professor, I know they’ll give me that job at the World Bank if you just up my grade to an A!”)
 
Somewhat surprisingly, personal connections with students play absolutely no role in the grading and assessment process for most professors.  Their personal feelings about their students are completely separate from how they evaluate them in the classroom.
 
One professor even went out of her way to disavow the mythical link between personal feelings and grades.  She notes that “one of the occasional problems of being a teacher is that a student may think that he didn’t get a good grade because the teacher dislikes him; another may think that the teacher dislikes him because he didn’t get a good grade.  I hate seeing students duck me in the halls because they are not doing well in my class.  There’s no link.”
 
That is not to say that student-teacher interaction is not important or valuable to some professors.  One professor says that one of her favorite qualities in a student is staying in touch after graduation.  She says that she likes to hear from her students about their career progress and to share articles of mutual interest.
 
So, what is the magic formula for succeeding in a class at SAIS?

If:
W=responsibility; H=honesty; I=insight; S=sucking up; U=success

U = (W+I/S)H

And there you have it.  Or at least there you have a formula that might get me some creativity or insight points with my econ professor.  
 
It turns out, there is no one perfect student.  If you’re working hard in a class, you won’t miss that A because the other kid chatted-up the professor after class while you ran out to go to the gym.  And if you’re turning in late and incomplete work, you won’t bring your grade up by sharing your professor’s love of the Yankees.  Little surprise, what professors value most is hard work and originality, in whatever package it may come.
 
So take the Observer’s advice and when it comes to comporting yourself in the classroom, don’t worry about becoming the “teacher’s pet” and just be yourself.  As long as yourself isn’t an impolite cheater with tardiness issues.

Jessica Stahl is a 1st year MA candidate in Conflict Management

Out of respect for the professors who so kindly contributed to this article, all names have been withheld.  You can try to guess if you want, but you probably won’t figure it out.