Our discussion group referred to the third prompt for our first writing project. We started with the questions, “How does a student befriend a professor?” and “Is it relatively easy or hard to establish a relationship with them?” We all agreed that it really depends on the students’ personality. If a student is very shy or introverted it would probably be harder for them to form a relationship with their professors. But, we also talked about how there is a gap between the student and the professor. The professor is the boss and it might be difficult for some students to look past that and see them as more of a friend that is trying to help them. The prompt provides a quote from Freire, that states, “Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction.” We all agreed with that statement and listed many different examples of how a student could overcome that barrier with their professor. Students can make small changes, such as sitting in the front of the class, making eye contact, and asking questions. The professors also help break that barrier by providing their students with office hours, where they them can ask questions one-on-one. Overall, there are many ways in befriending a professor and overcoming the “teacher-student contradiction”.
Laura McGroary
Amanda Jaing
Leah Schreffler
Sam Livorno
