Tutor Needed for [course]
Is anyone interested in tutoring [course] this Fall? The instructor is Professor [name] and there is a sophomore who would like some additional help with the course.
If interested, please let me know.
Thanks,
[secretary of department]
Oh man, the first day, and already someone thinks they need help.
To be very fair, the course above is a weed out course. The average tends to be a C+, and the coursework is grueling. It's very likely the student was merely daunted by the work ahead. Nothing to be ashamed of.
But a lot of my friends laughed, as I did. We wouldn't be surprised if the professor's behavior led the student to request help. He has quite a few eccentricities, and also tends to treat the material with nonchalance. "Oh it's so easy..." he might say.
Impressions from a professor in just a day can make all the difference to either get students stoked about learning the material or stressed about how difficult things appear.
