One Thursday evening late last semester, Joe Student was sitting in his dorm room, and in a minor panic he realized the deadline to register for classes was the next day.

But all was not lost. Despite his procrastination in actually choosing classes and filling out the schedule request, Joe was doing his homework all along—he had investigated professors

Like many students, Joe believes choosing the right class instructor often is more important than the actual class. Even a class that appears exciting and has a great deal to offer can turn out to be a flop if you don’t mesh well with the teacher.

Later that evening Joe, a political science major, ran into a group of students he met in his political science classes last year.

The group made suggestions to each other about which professors to take, but the easy ‘A’ and ‘killer’ teachers weren’t what he had in mind.

Then one woman said to Joe, “Well, I took my last poli‘ sci’ class with a professor who I really enjoyed. He wasn’t easy, but he wasn’t impossible either. I guess I would say he was just an enthusiastic teacher and I got a lot out of the class.”

This is what Joe was looking for during his semester-long search. A teacher who taught in a manner that inspired students to learn. So he signed up for a class taught by this man.

Joe got to class bright and early on the first day. He grabbed a syllabus and read it over. Much to Joe’s expectations, the course looked to be challenging yet worthwhile.

Soon after the bell rang, Joe looked up, but the teacher wasn’t there. Instead stood a woman with a shaky voice who rattled off basic facts and figures that just about any dolt could figure out by reading the book or applying common sense.

Confused, Joe nudged the kid next to him and asked, “What’s this? Where’s the prof?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear?” the kid replied. “He’s in the back corner observing. It’s T.A. time, pal. What a bummer, huh?”

In all fairness to the other side, maybe Joe was a little more enthusiastic than some students about his first day of class.

But the fact of the matter is, he signed up for a class with an understanding that it would be taught by a specific professor with credentials an arm long.

This does not mean all teaching assistants are poor. What it does mean, however, is an upper level college course is not the place for student teaching experiments.

Sure student teachers need to get experience. But if that’s the case, students should be informed of what classes are taught solely by T.A.s and what classes are not. When you purchase an education, its only fair you see the merchandise up front.

Students pay nearly $1,000 a semester to be educated by the best teachers NIU has to offer. And when the course professor is moved aside for an unqualified replacement, it’s students who suffer.