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Professors deserve respect until class is dismissed |
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Thursday, 01 November 2007 |
It always happens about five to ten minutes before the end of class: the girl sitting next to me looks around, sighs, and starts shoving her things into her bag.
In goes her notebook, water bottle, and collection of pencils.
Then, like a chain reaction that rivals the one I’m studying about in biology, the next person throws his belongings into his backpack.
This continues all the way throughout the classroom until all you can hear is a chorus of zippers and shuffling papers while the professor looks around, irritated.
It is a simple issue that isn’t political or life threatening. Instead, it’s an issue of respect that can be
solved both easily and painlessly.
At least three of my professors last week had to ask students to stop packing up early because it was
so disruptive.
One time, it was in a class full of around 100 or so people, and the noise became so loud that you
could barely hear anything that was being said.
Now, I’m as guilty as the next person of looking at the clock several times during a lecture and thinking
about where I’m meeting my friends for lunch after that 12:15 p.m. class is over. I don’t always pay
attention like I should.
However, having over half of the members of the class pack up their things while the professor is
mid-sentence is downright rude.
I know it has to be frustrating to try to talk over the noise of numerous students who think they can
dismiss themselves from class.
I’ll admit, lectures aren’t always interesting, but the philosophy of “Nothing important is going to be said
in the last ten minutes of class” isn’t true all the time.
Most professors work hard to prepare their lectures, and I think it is important for students to respect
that work.
We shouldn’t throw it back in their face by acting as if the last few minutes of class time are just there
to get our things ready so we can race out of the classroom.
It’s not difficult to wait until the professor is done teaching to start gathering up belongings.
After all, most of us listening to a lecture only have to pack up a notebook or a textbook; we don’t need
ten minutes of preparation to be able to leave.
My intention isn’t to play “professor’s pet,” but instead, to encourage students to show an appreciation
for what we are listening to.
It might not be the most interesting thing we’ve heard and we might
have important things to take care of after class, but respect is an
important concept in today’s society.
Something as simple as packing up our things early and ignoring the remaining few minutes of class
can discourage instructors and put us as students in a negative light.
It all boils down to courtesy.
Anne Baker, a sophomore journalism major from Marshall, is an intern news reporter.
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