It seems like some students would rather sit through a surgery without any anesthesia rather than ask for help.

Here at Simpson, all full-time professors are required to have at least some office hours where they’re available to students outside of the classroom setting. However, how many students truly take advantage of professors’ office hours?

Simpson prides itself on its small, tight-knit campus and the availability of the professors to the students, but it seems as if many of those students are too lazy to take advantage of the aid their professors can give them.

Granted, I am only a freshman, so I have a slightly na’ve perspective on this. But it seems as if many of my classmates rarely take it upon themselves to go ask the professor a question, and instead end up asking a classmate who may or may not know the correct answer.

For me, the availability of professors at the same time each week was one of the reasons I chose Simpson, and I take full advantage of that when I need to. I’m not saying that I sit in my professors’ offices for hours upon hours talking nonsense, but when I have questions, I’m not afraid to go to their offices and ask them.

I realize that some students may feel inferior asking a question in the classroom, because I used to feel the same way. However, if you’re too shy to ask the questions in the classroom, why not go to their office and ask them in a one-on-one setting?

Professors are constantly encouraging students to ask for help when they need it. They aren’t going to get angry or go crazy on you for asking a question. I’d even bet that they might even thank you for taking the time to meet with them instead of coming to class unprepared.

Odds are, if you need to ask for help, you don’t understand the material, or you need clarification on an assignment. If you don’t understand something and you don’t ask, you’re risking receiving a lower grade in the class. Relying solely on your classmates isn’t always a great idea, because they may not be right. Not to mention, they’ll probably get irritated if you continually ask them for information covered in class.

Even outside of Simpson, you’re going to be put in situations where you may not understand what’s being asked of you. What are you going to do then? Not ask and possibly get fired from a job because you couldn’t muster up enough courage to ask a question? Here’s a news flash to some of you, USA Today reported that employers are more likely to hire the interviewee that asks questions at their interview.

If you don’t understand something, it’s got to be human instinct to ask a question for clarification. So why do you stop that instinct and just decide to not ask the question? Why would you risk doing poorly in a class when it’s as simple as walking to your professor’s office and asking the question?

So, if you’re one of the students that have problems asking questions, I’d recommend just taking a deep breath, walking into your professor’s office, and just asking your question. In the end, you’ll be glad you did.