It is surreal watching your students grow and eventually leave the academe. I was in awe when I heard that some of them would graduate with Latin honors, and that some had gone on the Dean’s List, because I knew that their coursework was not easy. 

I admit that I was one of the professors who had given them a hard time. I used to be known as the “cum laude killer,” “the Terminator,” a “terror prof,” or “the-one-who-must-not-be-your-teacher.” 

It is also a pain for me to give failing grades or grades that would disqualify a student from awards. However, I deem it necessary to diverge from an educational system that has been bastardized for decades into purporting that the mark of quality education is the number of graduates who receive Latin honors.

To be clear, I am not bitter to see my students with Latin honors or awards, nor wish to hinder such achievements. But it is simply atrocious to find a graduate with Latin honors who cannot pass a licensure examination or does not perform well in the workplace. It is a matter of the quality of graduates with Latin honors rather than the number of graduates with Latin honors. As the Jesuit maxim goes, non multa sed multum – not many but much.

Shortcuts to being called an achiever

Much to my chagrin, students today differ from the ones three decades ago. I admit, today, it is easy to have Latin honors since most resources are at your fingertips. There is Wi-Fi everywhere, where you can find great resources, rather than sticking to antique books with old-fashioned ideas. It is easy to check your grammar and spelling and even rephrase your sentence using an app. The arrival of technology has made students advance regarding ideas and opinions.

Unfortunately, because of fast-paced technology and influencers on social media, students nowadays are also too lazy to read. I have noticed that most students do not like reading papers that are more than 700 words (I even doubt my students will read this piece of mine). Some students even copy-paste information on the internet and put it in their papers, which is plagiarism—dishonesty that is unforgivable in the academe. 

When I give them failing marks for committing academic dishonesty, they counter it with the accusation, “Your standards pressure us, and we did that because we have a lot of work to do.” I then ask them, “Is it hard to write? Is that why you committed such dishonesty?” And they would reply, “Yes.”

Suffice it to say that if you do not read much, you cannot write much. We always assume that students are equipped with reading, comprehension, and writing skills in tertiary education. However, those are students’ pitfalls, which push them to commit academic dishonesty. Of course, even if we understand the reasons, it must be clear that we ought to correct their actions by letting them learn the hard way through a failing mark. Dura lex sed lex. The law is harsh, but it is the law.

The anatomy of a terror prof

I asked some students how they defined a terror prof. They told me that a terror professor was strict in class, had a high academic standard, expected too much from students, didn’t joke in lectures, and didn’t give high grades to students who exerted effort.

Those definitions may vary from school to school, but the common denominator in all terror professors is strictness. Over the years, if we compare the kind of students before and today, this generation of students is quite fragile. When you critique their work, they will get annoyed with you because they believe they are doing their best. When you become strict and stick to the standard, they get furious because you are not considerate, and when you give them grades that are lower than what they expect, they will brand you as not teaching effectively.

I’ve met a lot of students who hate their strict teachers since they seldom give high grades. Those teachers often get low evaluation scores from students because they would mince on giving students higher grades. The department then reprimands the teacher for being strict due to student complaints and their low evaluation. This results in following what the students want instead of what the university wants. 

Professors aim to teach discipline to their students; in real-life scenarios, employers search for prospects with discipline rather than knowledge. You will then learn everything at work. In the real world, promotions and excellence in your field are the product of hardships. You need to set high standards to be the best you can be. Do not settle for less; reach for more. Lastly, if you equate your intelligence with numeric grades only, you will be learning for the numbers, not for your personal development.

I remember one student who bargained with their professor to change their grade because he was running for cum laude, and his reason was that other professors had changed his grades already. I suspect that social media creates this envy culture because many people compare themselves to their friends online, since they post medals and awards that creates a cloud of pressure from their family and peers.

I believe, then, that there is no such thing as terror professors or teachers. We need to see that the job of tertiary education is to equip you with the skills needed to join the workforce and develop you as a person. Graduates before were battle-tested and had high resiliency compared to graduates today, who bargain for their grades to graduate with honors.

In the end, it is how your university molds you and not how you are molded by social media to boost your ego. – Rappler.com

Sensei M. Adorador is part of the faculty of the College of Education at Carlos Hilado Memorial State College, Negros Occidental. He is a member of the Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND). For comments and suggestions you can reach him at sensei.adorador@chmsc.edu.ph.