A few days ago
sharon

Do you hung out with your college professors?

On the first day of class one of my instructors asked us to introduce ourselves.We stated our name and the major we were after.When it was my turn I did so & since I have a thick Swedish accent the professor asked me where I was from. He said that his wife is studying my language and suggested that I should go out with her so she can practice with me.This felt kind of funny since this person was a TOTAL stranger to me still and it seemed kind of manipulative and coercive as I was put on the spot in front of the whole class (expected me not to say “no”??!)and it sounded as though I was there to fulfill the needs on his agenda.I had one expectation: to go to class and explore new exciting subjects.Quite frankly this came as a surprise to me. Evidently he must have thought that offering distractions instead of his knowledge was acceptable.Isn’t it kind of wrong?Is mixing up boundaries a little personal (lost objectivity on his part?)?How would you have felt? Or do you have similar stor

Top 2 Answers
A few days ago
jateef

Favorite Answer

This situation just sounds like a cultural misunderstanding to me. He was probably trying to just be friendly. I’ve had similar situations, as a German speaker. Probably no hidden agenda, he probably thought you’d enjoy speaking Swedish. Unless you want to get to know this lady, I wouldn’t approach the topic with him. If he asks you again in front of class (I bet you he won’t), say that you will speak with him after class. Then let him know that you really don’t have the time/etc to tutor. I bet you he won’t bring it up again, though.
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A few days ago
Anonymous
I would have felt the same way as you. Perhaps you can tutor her or something. But I agree that there should be boundaries between instructors and students.

I went to a small private college and went out with a few friends and a professor in education (who was very much “Mother Goose” to all of us, because we had her for many many classes). None the less it was more like a business lunch than hanging out. I think it would be best if you do something similar unless you feel completely uncomfortable with it.

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