Current Connection: 1.1

    In an article written by Samantha Noel Cartwright entitled "Teacher attitude on student performance," Cartwright, a student herself, uses her personal experience to prove that teachers' attitudes do make a difference.
    
     In her article, Cartwright shares about having a professor who was "renowned around the campus for her sternness and being unreasonable." Students fear teachers with reputations such as this. Some may even opt out of a certain class, afraid they would not succeed.
    
     The author also claims that students "were afraid to ask a question in class for fear of being scolded" in the aforementioned teacher's class. Being too afraid to ask questions could potentially lead to a student falling behind. Since we first learn how to talk we gain knowledge by asking questions.
    
     Having a professor with such an awful attitude, a negative air about students, caused Cartwright to tell herself things like, "Why even try, she'll tell me I did it wrong anyway." This kind of an impact on students can steer them towards a lazy, negative outlook on their school work. Obvious bad consequences could be the loss of credit or even the loss of scholarships.
    
     I myself have experienced or witnessed each of these three areas. I have had teachers that harbor a bad reputation, a label given to them by students. I have been belittled by a teacher, causing me to fear speaking up in class. I have also watched "good grade" students slack off and become "bad grade" students on behalf of a mean teacher.
    
     Teachers' attitudes have become a big issue. When students are too afraid of a teacher to ask for help, something is wrong. We should look up to teachers as mentors and as counselors.