thegradstudent

I am such a sucker for professorial approval.

I just received a short paper back with a high grade and positive comments, ending with a general assessment of the paper as “astute and witty.” I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, as if an absentee mother finally admitted that she loved me. While I am grateful for the grade and the comments about my analytical abilities, I must admit what made me glow most was the “witty” characterization. I focused on a rather humorous manifestation of a usually serious trope and I enjoyed writing about it, so I’m glad all of that was reflected in the product. More importantly the professor is undoubtedly witty, so I value - ok, and crave - her approval. I don’t think it’s bad to want to be liked if the judge is a qualified one, and I don’t think I’m unique in the matter. Grad students are only a step away from being colleagues with professors, so more than ever we want them to like us, to enjoy not only our work but also our company. They don’t actually have to hang out with us outside of class - in fact those that do often have the sketchiest reputations - but we want them to want to.  We’re somewhere between hero worship and just trying to fit in around our future workplace.  It can be difficult though, especially when you move from a small college to a large university. It was much easier to get to know college professors on a smaller campus when I had 4 years to do so. Here I’m thrown into a giant fish pond with less than 2 years to make connections and make my mark. No wonder every compliment I receive sends me joyfully reeling. And yes, I realize it’s a little pathetic. It also makes me wonder what on earth I’m going to do in a thankless real world job. I’ll become like Angela on The Office and live for performance reviews. Terrifying.

When/if I become a teacher I hope that I have easily manipulated students like myself. Articulated approval is an excellent motivator for me. More than the grade even, specific positive comments (from someone whose opinion I value of course) will make me want to continue to turn in good work. I may even become afraid of letting the instructor down and strive to continuously improve even if I have the grade in the bag. And from the other side, low grades and critical comments, as long as they seem somewhat on the mark, will drive me to work harder on the next paper so that I can improve not only my grade but also my standing with the professor.  Really the only thing that fails to motivate me is an unmerited and unexplained high grade. If you seem to be throwing out As for no reason than why should I work for them? Give me an A that I believe I’ve earned and the praise to support it, however, and I’m your student forever.