Professors who advise students: Do you feel that it is
(1) essential
(2) important to some extent
(3) nice if it happens but not that important, or
(4) completely irrelevant
that you like your advisees?
I am not writing about any of my own students, past or present. I am musing about a comment a colleague once made to the effect that it was really important that s/he liked her/his advisees.
In the case of undergraduate students, you may be in a position to pick and choose advisees after previous interaction in classes and beyond. In the case of graduate students, it is likely to be more hit-and-miss. I think many of us try to work with whatever comes along, in terms of grad personalities, just as we hope our students will also be a bit tolerant of some/all or our annoying characteristics.
But what about you? How important is liking to you?
(1) essential
(2) important to some extent
(3) nice if it happens but not that important, or
(4) completely irrelevant
that you like your advisees?
I am not writing about any of my own students, past or present. I am musing about a comment a colleague once made to the effect that it was really important that s/he liked her/his advisees.
In the case of undergraduate students, you may be in a position to pick and choose advisees after previous interaction in classes and beyond. In the case of graduate students, it is likely to be more hit-and-miss. I think many of us try to work with whatever comes along, in terms of grad personalities, just as we hope our students will also be a bit tolerant of some/all or our annoying characteristics.
But what about you? How important is liking to you?