WEBVTT 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:40.960 Okay, so I don't know what, is there somebody 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:44.020 who ever explains to students what office hours 00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:48.420 are? I'm realizing that every single semester 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:50.219 I have to tell students, especially ones that 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:52.200 are first coming into college, I have to explain 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.100 to them what office hours are. I'm wondering 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:56.420 if they just don't have it in high school. I 00:00:56.420 --> 00:00:59.079 should ask my brother if these things actually 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:03.609 exist. Yeah, like students don't actually come 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:08.730 to my office hours as much as I would like. I 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:10.969 would like to be very busy during my office hours, 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:14.870 but not enough of them come. And I've been asking 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:16.510 them exactly why, and I've gotten a range of 00:01:16.510 --> 00:01:18.230 responses, so I'm trying to kind of clear the 00:01:18.230 --> 00:01:21.109 air on exactly what these things are. So faculty 00:01:21.109 --> 00:01:23.810 members in college are required to have office 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.650 hours where they are required to be in their 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:29.750 office and available to students during those 00:01:29.750 --> 00:01:33.180 set hours. They usually are drop -in, so you 00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:35.180 don't even need to make an appointment. You just 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:39.799 show up. I usually am sitting in my office twiddling 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:41.760 my thumbs during this period because a lot of 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:44.099 students don't show up. And I cannot understand 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:46.019 for the life of me why students wouldn't want 00:01:46.019 --> 00:01:48.400 to take advantage of it. And the reason I say 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.560 this is I don't think students realize just how 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.920 valuable this particular time is. If I were to 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.700 put a dollar amount on how much I would charge 00:01:56.700 --> 00:02:00.260 a student for one hour with me in that sort of 00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:01.760 setting, just chatting about whatever, it could 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.879 be about life, it could be about courses or whatever. 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:06.920 If I was in the private sector and I had to charge 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:08.319 students, I would charge anywhere from $200 to 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:11.240 $300 in an hour. That's how much I would charge. 00:02:12.769 --> 00:02:14.889 I think that might be kind of close to how some 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:17.210 of these faculty members are paid, but they are 00:02:17.210 --> 00:02:20.210 possibly more, maybe less if you're like a lecturer. 00:02:20.830 --> 00:02:23.750 But, you know, like it's still quite a bit of 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:26.189 money and you're letting that money kind of go 00:02:26.189 --> 00:02:28.370 down the drain by not taking advantage of these 00:02:28.370 --> 00:02:33.310 office hours. You know, faculty. My experience 00:02:33.310 --> 00:02:35.430 has been most faculty want to be there for their 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:38.650 students. They care. There are a few, you know, 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:40.310 in research institutions, there might be a few 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:42.770 that are so focused on their research. But even 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:45.590 then, you know, if you're talking about something, 00:02:45.810 --> 00:02:47.189 I mean, I'm assuming that you're going to go 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:50.250 in and talk to the faculty member about something 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:52.750 that they're teaching, I'm guessing, or something 00:02:52.750 --> 00:02:55.169 adjacent to it. It's going to be something they're 00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:57.349 passionate about anyway and they want to talk 00:02:57.349 --> 00:03:00.860 about, right? Think of it as like not necessarily 00:03:00.860 --> 00:03:02.819 doing them a favor, but they're not going to 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:05.139 be mad at you for showing up to office hours 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.719 in most cases. Right. Most of them love having 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:09.120 students over and having these conversations. 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:13.879 And I think probably the biggest thing is that 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.219 these office hours are a chance for you to get 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:20.620 good quality, like one on one or small setting, 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.719 you know, more intimate sort of engagement with 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.020 the faculty member. And I think it does a couple 00:03:26.020 --> 00:03:28.449 of things. One. You see that a faculty member 00:03:28.449 --> 00:03:30.250 is not anything particularly special. They're 00:03:30.250 --> 00:03:32.849 a human being like anyone else, okay? In fact, 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:34.509 going to their office could be really eye -opening. 00:03:34.669 --> 00:03:37.389 I've been to some of my own professors and going 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:40.930 to their office and being like, ooh, wow, I see 00:03:40.930 --> 00:03:44.629 the disorienting nature of the work that you 00:03:44.629 --> 00:03:47.250 do or maybe the way that you organize your office 00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:49.009 because things are all over the place versus 00:03:49.009 --> 00:03:51.349 like faculty members. I'm like, whoa, super organized 00:03:51.349 --> 00:03:53.210 and they look like they're really on top of it, 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:59.409 right? I think you also gain a lot in terms of 00:03:59.409 --> 00:04:01.469 not just the exposure to that more intimate setting, 00:04:01.530 --> 00:04:04.289 but through that, you gain a deeper insight both 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:06.030 into the topics that you might be discussing, 00:04:06.129 --> 00:04:10.169 but also into getting to know one another. And 00:04:10.169 --> 00:04:11.530 that's probably going to be the most important 00:04:11.530 --> 00:04:14.250 thing. Like, I mean, I'm assuming that a lot 00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:17.949 of students actually will want or need to look 00:04:17.949 --> 00:04:19.910 for letters of recommendation at some point. 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:23.790 And it's really hard to write a letter of recommendation 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:27.870 or to connect with a student or to work with 00:04:27.870 --> 00:04:32.009 a student to help them out. I have a really hard 00:04:32.009 --> 00:04:34.750 time being there for a student that I don't really 00:04:34.750 --> 00:04:37.490 know very well. And it's not necessarily because 00:04:37.490 --> 00:04:39.910 I don't want to be there for them in the ways 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:43.629 that is appropriate. It's that sometimes I don't 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:45.670 know because I just don't know the student well 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:47.649 enough. And office hours are the opportunity 00:04:47.649 --> 00:04:50.199 to really get to know them. Even if it's just 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:52.160 career -oriented, it doesn't have to be anything 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.839 deeply personal, right? But it could be things 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:56.680 like things that they're interested in and things 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:59.379 that they want to pursue later on after school. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:03.000 projects that they're working on outside of the 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.660 classroom, right? Getting to know these little 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.860 tidbits can be really useful and it really opens 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:12.600 up the door for the kind of connections that 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:16.160 I think will serve students well later down the 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.300 line. And in the worst case scenario, there's 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:22.079 no necessarily any like exchange or benefit that 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:25.319 you gain from it other than just simply getting 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:29.350 to know somebody else. Right. There's a joy in 00:05:29.350 --> 00:05:31.870 kind of hearing from different experiences and 00:05:31.870 --> 00:05:35.829 learning from other people's experiences. And 00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:38.949 I'm going to I think I really want to encourage 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:41.829 specifically students that are I mean, with community 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:44.050 college students is a little bit different in 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:45.430 the way that I connect with the students. But 00:05:45.430 --> 00:05:48.470 I remember teaching at these research universities 00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:53.850 and thinking, you know, like it would be really 00:05:53.850 --> 00:05:58.230 nice if. the students had connections to people 00:05:58.230 --> 00:06:01.410 that were not other college students. It's been 00:06:01.410 --> 00:06:03.329 a thought of mine that has, it's a thought that 00:06:03.329 --> 00:06:05.310 crossed my mind a lot of times when I would think, 00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:09.949 man, I wish that these 18 to 22 year olds, right, 00:06:10.089 --> 00:06:14.790 which majority would be, would hang out with 00:06:14.790 --> 00:06:17.740 people that are not 18 to 22 year olds. outside 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:20.339 of like family, right? Like we'll see with community 00:06:20.339 --> 00:06:22.839 college students, they have access to, because 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:25.300 of their, you know, their life circumstances. 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.680 Most of them are connecting with fellow students, 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:32.139 but they're also holding down a job. And so they're, 00:06:32.139 --> 00:06:33.579 you know, in the professional setting with people 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:35.079 that are older than them, that have different 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:37.680 life experiences, that have longer life experiences. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.240 They're probably not necessarily living in dorms 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:42.939 and confined to an environment where it's just 00:06:42.939 --> 00:06:46.660 a bunch of 18 and 22 year olds. And so as a result, 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.019 they stay a little bit more grounded, I feel 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:52.060 like. I'm not saying that this is like somehow 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:54.740 like professors are going to be like you're grounding 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:58.180 in these sorts of things. But I think it's always 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:01.480 helpful to engage with people outside of just 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:04.839 fellow college students, right? This is why I 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:06.600 think a lot of students, a lot of people in the 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:08.939 workforce, a lot of employers might feel like 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:10.519 college students straight out of college don't 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:12.759 feel like genuine professionals. It's probably 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:14.439 because they haven't engaged with anybody outside 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:17.720 of their age group in a really long time. Now, 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.240 the exceptions I've seen, and I saw this back 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:22.699 in college too, students who are heavily involved 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:26.500 in the alumni program were very good at engaging 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:28.810 with... Different people from different backgrounds, 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:31.250 different age groups, different generations. 00:07:31.370 --> 00:07:33.329 They were very good at it because that's part 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:35.689 of their job. That's what they kind of did a 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:38.930 lot of as part of the alumni program is that 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:40.949 they would connect with alumni, people who are 00:07:40.949 --> 00:07:44.310 much older than them. And if you don't have those 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:48.290 opportunities to kind of interact, then, you 00:07:48.290 --> 00:07:50.310 know, at least your instructors are kind of a 00:07:50.310 --> 00:07:52.069 good place to start. Now, I understand that there 00:07:52.069 --> 00:07:55.629 is a power dynamic, but at the same time, like. 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:58.480 They're being paid to be there for you, right? 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:00.439 That's what office hours are. They're being paid 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:01.959 to be there for you. It's almost like somebody 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.800 gave you money for free tutoring. You just need 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:07.839 to show up during those times, right? So take 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:10.279 advantage of it, right? Get your money's worth. 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:15.519 Stop by, all right? You know... If you feel uncomfortable 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:18.259 about it, my recommendation is come in with a 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:21.379 set of questions about the class or about certain 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:23.899 topics that were interesting to you. It shouldn't 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.230 necessarily have to be about an assignment. And 00:08:26.230 --> 00:08:29.410 you should generally stop by before it comes 00:08:29.410 --> 00:08:32.730 time to, you know, exam periods, right? Like 00:08:32.730 --> 00:08:35.110 you should go when it's just like a middle of 00:08:35.110 --> 00:08:38.029 a week when you just learn something, discuss 00:08:38.029 --> 00:08:41.090 something new, and you're not particularly clear 00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:43.370 on it. You can make it about the subject as a 00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:47.049 starting point. But, you know, feel free to also 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:51.289 expand the conversation to other things. I can't 00:08:51.289 --> 00:08:53.509 guarantee and got to play it by ear. It depends 00:08:53.509 --> 00:08:56.629 on the particular instructor. From my experiences, 00:08:56.690 --> 00:08:59.629 most of them just love engaging with students. 00:09:00.269 --> 00:09:04.830 That's been my experience. So, you know, give 00:09:04.830 --> 00:09:08.029 it a shot. Have a normal human conversation with 00:09:08.029 --> 00:09:11.230 somebody, right? That doesn't deal with, like, 00:09:11.269 --> 00:09:14.129 you know, schoolwork necessarily, right? Try 00:09:14.129 --> 00:09:16.049 to get to know a little bit about them. Brush 00:09:16.049 --> 00:09:19.590 up on your social skills. I don't know. But in 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:23.190 the end, please, come by my office hours. It's 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.580 very lonely there. Very often.