Exploring Educators at a large university Speech

Introduction
I. Here we are at The University of Kentucky, and for some of us, we just finished our first
round of mid terms and getting ready to register for spring semester. This brings us to
some very hard and some very emotional conversations with our professors regarding the
rest of our fall semesters, should we drop classes, is there anything we can do to bring
grades up, or our we doing okay? Its these conversations that make a huge difference in
our first semesters as college freshmen, it gives us baseline of what we are dealing with,
how to handle college.
II. Remember in high school you had that favorite teacher, they were your adult best friend
and would help you with anything. Now in college its a different ball game, you can still
have that but you have to start all over, reintroduce yourself, and get out there again, yet
its still harder.
III. Even then back in high school all teachers talked, so it was possible they more than likely
knew who we were, making introductions less awkward, and we had something in
common.
IV. This time we have together, we will look at the relationships between faculty members of
the university, and the relationships between faculty members and the students of the
university.
Body
I. professors really do care for students
From what I have seen, it is true, our professors really do care if we succeed, sometimes it
doesnt feel like it but they do. I know this from interviews I held with Corrie Scott and Jeanne

Marie Rouhier Willoughby. The same behaviors can be seen in pop culture. In Harry Potter and
the Order and the Phoenix, Professor Mcgonagall fights her hardest against delores Umbridge
and her medieval punishments to protect her students. (Rowling, J.K. 2005)
I rarely see instances where the professor just blatantly doesnt care but it possible. If it
ever happens students should find an alternate teachers such as the students of Hogwarts did.
Harry become the leader or teacher of Dumbledores Army and teaches the students of Hogwarts
defense spells behind the back of Dolores Umbridge, which does not end very good but at least
they did what they need to for them to succeed.
II.

Interprofessional relationships
In my interviews with faculty at UK, I was told there is a sort of, initiation process, the

more experienced you are the more voice and control you have. Well sometimes that is not
always the case, especially when one brings outside influences into the mix. In the case of Harry
Potter, when Dolores come to Hogwarts, she thinks she has all this power because she is friend
with the Minister of Magic, which could or could not be true, yet no really tries to put her in
place but professor Mcgonagall and Umbridge uses the fear of the ministry to put the other
professors into a trance. They want to be free and help protect the students from what is to come
but they also want to keep their jobs and protect their families. So ultimately the respect for each
other is there unless you have a ulterior motive, for some it is real and others it is fake. (Rowling,
J.K.)

Conclusion
I. The relationships between faculty and students are not meant to be weird, we are all
human and it is natural to form relationships and to trust someone we spend so much time
with.

II. Though we are looking at fictional place and fictional characters, the likeness between
professors is portrayed similarly, because it is a common value to most faculty in
education to care about its students and those who dont care about the students are an
anomaly to the culture.

References
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K, Rowling, 2005.