1) Students getting their BA who complain, "I'm a X major, I don't see why I should have to take any class outside of my major" Because if they only wanted to do job training they should go to DeVry not get a liberal arts degree. BAs are not specific job training, they are about expanding your critical thinking, giving you a higher level educational base so that you can then be prepared for more specialized training afterwards and to make you a better thinker and citizen. Also, being more ignorant is never the preferable state.
2) Students who complain about grades...not because the work was good, but just because they *want* a better grade--especially when that grade is an already generous B+ or A-. I had a guy come up to me crying because he got a C, and I explained that it was because he didn't turn in a LOT of his work. His response? "But I really need an A!" My response? "Then you should have done the work." This is especially irritating when they bring me a paper they got a B on, and they are in no way interested in learning how to write a better paper, which I'm happy to spend hours tutoring them on, they just want the grade bump.
3) Students who plagiarize.
4) Students who decide that because my class is in the music department, they shouldn't have to do any work in the class...even though I explained to them on the first day that this class would not be easy. My class is not your easy class that you don't think you have to do any work in.
5) Students who Facebook/email/play games/talk on the phone during lecture class. This distracts the other students and you are taking up a slot that I had to turn away someone else for since my classes always have students on the wait list. So if you don't want to actually be here: get out and let someone who will actually participate take that seat.
6) Students who write what they think I want to hear on their papers or who just repeat what I said in lecture on their own research paper. I want to hear your original ideas backed by your original research. Otherwise, what is the point?
7) Students who, after I explain that we will be using footnotes and exactly how to do footnotes a) don't use footnotes or b) use them completely incorrectly in a way that defies logic.
8) Students who talk over other students and don't let everyone participate.
9) Students who don't do the reading/listening/preparation in seminar classes--which diminishes everybody's experience
10) When a student's parents claim their kid as a tax deduction (thus blocking that kid from being viewed as independent for financial aid purposes) but refuses to help that kid with tuition and fees. That is seriously messed up.
11) Universities who say they value teaching, but then don't take teaching into account when looking at your tenure file. "You get outstanding teacher evaluations? Won the teacher of the year award? Always have waitlists for your classes? Do lots of service with the students? Yeah. Okay, but you need to publish more." I'm not saying publishing isn't important...it is...but if you actually valued teaching as much as you advertise you do, you'd count teaching for more in the tenure process.
12) Excessive faculty meetings where everyone wants to over process. Can't we just run them like we did meetings in the Army. Get in, get it done, get out.
13) Anonymous journal article reviewers who give you a bad write up on your article (that you need for tenure) not because the article was bad, but because you didn't cite them. Yeah, I know who you are, and I didn't cite you because your work is either not actually relevant, or I think it is bad.
14) When our university that considers itself a Tier 1 research institution doesn't have ProQuest Historical LA Times...probably because it is from the West Coast and East Coasters don't care.
15) When you ask your colleagues who have tenure (and therefore more time) to participate in a program in the evening or the weekend to help first year students, and they are all "away."
