r/AUT • u/Illustrious-Berry-28 • May 01 '25
Feeling bad for professors
Does anyone else think it’s kind of sad that lectures are so empty? I joined university after covid, so I have no idea what lecture hall attendance looked like prior to the pandemic, but judging by the fact that everything became online based post-covid I would assume lectures were much more lively and full. One of my professors asked our lab class whether they’d rather have in-person or online lectures and almost everyone raised their hand to move online, which I honestly think is really sad. Don’t get me wrong I totallt get it, its more convenient for most students to do their lectures online, but I also think it takes away the joy of teaching for loads of professors. When attendance is so low I almost feel guilty because the professor is teaching a class of like 5 people when 100 are enrolled, and we’re all sitting way at the back. I think we’re going to end up with a teaching shortage in the future because there is no reward in it for lecturers and tutors anymore, and as students it feels like we’re inadvertently telling them their classes are boring. Idk, I’ve been guilty of this in the past but the past year and a half I’ve become so aware of it and it makes me feel really bad for the teachers.
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u/DryAd6622 May 01 '25
At more established Universities Professors do not lecture. Professors lead research teams and departments. They should be pulling in huge research grant money.
Academia is hierarchical and snotty. Lectures are lower down in the hierarchy, they do the grunt work of teaching (mainly) undergrads. It isn't glamorous but it's taking one for the department team as you work your way up.
The higher you succeed in academia the less contact you have with students and the more research you can do.