Hunter Fullhart
Photography & Social Media Editor
Whenever we were in high school, we always had to deal with teachers’ pets and believe me, I hated them too. They would always suck up to the teacher to get what they wanted without usually doing the work that was assigned. Now don’t get me wrong, high school was one of the best times of my life, and when I left, I thought the teachers’ pet hoopla was gone. Boy, was I wrong.
The definition of a teachers’ pet is simple. According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, it is “an annoying student who kisses up to the teacher and does a bunch of favors for said teacher in hopes of getting a good grade. The kind of student who raises his hand for every single question and buys expensive gifts for their teacher. This student thinks they are superior to their peers because they are the teacher’s favorite and therefore they boss everyone around.”
The amount of favoritism that I have seen in my two years at Butler Community College is sometimes revolting. One prime example of favoritism that I remember was from my algebra class during my first semester. The teacher started to show favoritism to one student, and this student, I kid you not, would volunteer to carry the teacher’s things for him to his next class every day. Not too bad, right? It gets worse. This student would always, and yes I mean always, bring the teacher a coffee from McDonalds. This kid somehow got A’s on everything even though he never did any homework. How do I know he didn’t do any? He was my former roommate. The teacher was always talkative and was interested in him rather than the rest of us.
We came to college to better ourselves and become more independent in our lives. We want to make the best of our college years and show the world we have what it takes to become successful individuals in society. We can’t do that if we essentially “buy” the teacher’s love and admiration. It will get us nowhere. Having the teacher hold your hand the entire time during the semester is just preposterous in college. Middle school is understandable, high school maybe, but college? No way! Grow up, put on your big boy panties and take control of your life. If you need to buy the teacher’s affection just to pass, then you might need to reevaluate your priorities.
This life and experience is whatever we make of it. Favoritism is always going to happen whether it be in sports, the workplace and obviously in the classroom. It will always happen, just don’t be that guy or girl that needs someone to hold their hand the entire way through your life. Pity parties are no bueño, so make sure that you enjoy your college experience, do your work and ace your classes. Just don’t suck up to the teacher, because, trust me, people won’t be too happy.
