I've always been one. I hate to fail. I love to learn. I love to be good at things. Growing up, my parents didn't tell me I was pretty--they told me I was smart. Maybe that has something to do with it.
This semester, I went back to college. I'm only taking one class, but it is a calculus class. I've taken this particular class before, but it has been about 6 years since then. I haven't missed a single class. I have done all my homework. I have done well on all the tests. I haven't really even studied. I'm finding that going to class, paying attention, and doing the homework helps me retain the information--crazy!
I'm really tired tonight, so I'm having trouble intelligently connecting my thoughts. I have noticed a lot of things about my classmates that piss me off. I don't know if this stuff bothers me because I'm an adult, or if the Navy has just ingrained in me that there is a certain way to act as a student in a classroom. Either way, these kids are killing me.
There are no less than 6 people who come in late EVERY SINGLE DAY. You can't leave 10 minutes earlier? My professor doesn't even seem to notice, which blows my mind. I would be kicking people out if I were him. If you can't show up to my class on time, then don't come. Get out of my class.
Several of those same people don't even take notes. Seriously, this isn't a psych class--it's a calculus class that is geared toward engineering students. Some of them don't even bring a pen or pencil with them. That is called not being prepared. Get out of my class.
The guy who sits next to me sleeps through every class. Why are you even showing up?!? You (or someone, probably Mommy and Daddy) paid MONEY for you to attend this class. WAKE UP! Get out of my class.
So what I'm getting at is, I would not make a very good teacher. Or maybe I would. To my teacher friends--am I crazy by thinking that students should show enough respect to their instructors to show up on time, stay awake, and take notes? How do you handle this kind of behavior?
In my regular classroom, I will usually call out this sort of behavior. If a kid sleeps, they miss out on whatever we cover that day and lose points. I'm not their mama--I don't wake up them up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught the college class, I was pretty relaxed. On the first day of class I said that we were all adults and were responsible for the choices we make. That meant a couple kids flunked, but most were awesome.
Well, apparently we are asking too much when we demand to get rid of those sorts of behavior. These days, we're supposed to pat them on the back, hand them a pencil and tell them it's not their fault.
ReplyDeleteHow well do you think that goes over in my classroom?
Let's see....
ReplyDelete1)when did you grow up, Tara?
2)There are adults in my classes that I want to smack for being disrespectful - and I hate school! They are just rude.
3)I have to take the stance that... college sucks. It sucks. Period.
4) I have had my fair share of college classes - and one of the biggest issues I have had, is the change in teachers. Teachers in grades k-12 are, in my opinion, caring. They don't do it for money, obviously. Some of the people I have had as teachers, seemed like total tools and idiots at the time, but being the best in a subject, or being the smartest, is not necessary to be a good teacher. That saying "those who can't do, coach/teach" .... Not always true, but sometimes it has a lot of merit. It takes a special person to care more that students are learning, than caring about being the best, smartest, etc. Some of my favorite teachers from growing up, were not always the smartest, nicest, coolest, etc. The characteristic that stands out the most in my mind about those teachers - they cared. They cared enough to cater to the learning styles of different students. I have seen this in my mom, one specific teacher at Jonesboro Elementary, Bill Miller (God, save me!), Mark Laster, Paulette Aronson, and at the high school when I was there.... Ed, Bill, Doc, and Brett... I know that Crystal, Katie, and Sheena all have it, too. I guarantee that I don't have it!
Having said that, I am sure there are k-12 teachers who totally suck. I can think of more than one. Sometimes, they are just as selfish as college professors. Perhaps they are simply gaining experience for a job they want down the line. (Administration, college professor, coach...) And, on the other hand....I'm not saying all of my college professors have been complete assholes, but..... the majority.... think they are gods, and take the stance that it is their job to present the material. The End. They make it clear at the beginning of the course that higher education is the responsibility of the student. They present the material. Period. They don't care - they collect the money and use the institutions for their own gain. Listen, dammit! I am paying a load of cash, and this should be a setting where the teachers care about the students learning!! College professors should be excited to increase the knowledge of their students. They are molding the future of this country.... into douchebags! I understand wanting to "teach" college students that they have to take responsibility, but there are ways to do that, without being a greedy dick! I think this is really why I HATED ISU and SIUC. I don't want to be a number, that equals dollar bills.
I really think this is why I like my school. My teachers aren't always the foremost authority on the subjects they are teaching, but they work hard to prepare and present the information - and are always willing to work with students. They care. They are still forward about responsibility, but they want the students they teach to succeed. That situation should be reserved for k-12 and private colleges and universities.
Keep caring Crystal & Katie. Maybe those jerky kids you teach will learn from you, and won't be sleeping through college if they get a chance to go.
My attitude about this is not something I just came up with--it is something the Navy beat into me. When the Navy pays you to sit in a classroom and learn for 12 months, (5 days a week, 8 hours a day, with study hours and homework after school) they demand that you act a certain way while you're in that classroom.
ReplyDelete1. If you're late, you don't just sneak in the back. You get called to the "office" and screamed at by a Chief or four--however many happen to be in that office drinking their coffee at that moment. Then, you go back to the classroom and your instructor will berate you in front of your entire class. Maybe some people don't care, but it's pretty embarrassing to be called out in front of 15 other students, and it's intimidating as a lowly E-3 to be screamed at by an E-6 or E-7.
2. If you get tired, you stand up. We had lecterns at the back of the room for people to stand up and take notes. If you fall asleep more than a few times, they put you on what we called "Mando Stando," and you lose your chair for the remainder of the time you are in the class.
3. Homework was absolutely NOT optional. It was due the next morning. If it was graded at less than a 4.0, you resubmitted the questions the next day. If your resubmit was not 4.0, some of the instructors would assign additional homework to help you learn the material.
4. There was no eating during lecture. There were no cell phones even allowed in the building. That definitely cut down on the number of times I had to listen to someone's dumbass ringtone in the middle of a test--which happened during my last calc test, actually. There were no side conversations. Disrespect and poor attitudes toward the instructor were NOT tolerated, and were corrected on the spot.
5. People failed--A LOT. No one tried to make them feel better about themselves for failing. Instructors told them to work harder. They read grades aloud in class after exams. If you didn't want your grade read, they would skip you, but then everyone knew you were the kid that failed because each exams statistics were posted in the back of the classroom. Yeah, each student had an ID number so their name wasn't posted, but it was never hard to figure out that there were 2 failures and 2 people didn't want their grades read aloud.
It's a shame that teachers in public schools aren't allowed to do any of this stuff. After all, we wouldn't want America's youth to step up and take responsibility for their own actions. How would they feel if we told them that Real Life doesn't utilize "No Child Left Behind"? That would just be cruel.