What is Proper College Classroom Etiquette?
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- Tkuther
- FloraBFINE
- lucyblue
- FloraBFINE
- smittyhartman
- DietPepper
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» FloraBFINE - Classroom Etiquette
Dear Tara,I'm glad that this article will be useful to you. It definitely needed to be written.
Dr. B
-- posted by FloraBFINE
» lucyblue - classroom beahvior
I teach freshman-sophomore English classes at Kansas University, and have done so since 1972. Until about 3 years ago, I never had a problem with attendance, tardiness, or inappropriate behavior in my classes, but in the last few years it seems that students are less attentive in class, if they are even there, and that they are more likely to have private chats, to write letters or do other homework, or to stare out of windows. Most students are still great, but there will be at least four, five, even six or seven, students in a class of, say, 30-35, who simply can't behave properly. Have you noticed this to be a relatively new phenomenon--as if a whole new breed of students is coming up through the pipeline?-- posted by lucyblue
» FloraBFINE - Misbehaving--a new phenomenon?
Dear Lucy,Misbehaving students probably seem to have increased at the college level because more students are going to college than ever before. At the start of the 20th century college was reserved for the select few, the wealthy and the "upper crust." Now students are going to college not just for the fine education we provide, but in response to threats from parents to "go to college or get a job." Add to that the fact that modern students grew up being "entertained" and you have a whole new breed who are easily bored and seldom impressed.
-- posted by FloraBFINE
» smittyhartman - college classroom etiqutte
I am doing research for a project at West Virginia University in the area of college classroom etiquette. I love this site!!! Found it by accident. If anyone out there has good resources on appropriate classroom etiquette, social skills, etc. in this area. Please let me know!!!! sincerely smitty-- posted by smittyhartman
» DietPepper - Door Locking
Locking a classroom door is inexcusable in my opinion. There are many reasons why a student may be late to class and barring them from the classroom is unfair..
--- more students today are single parents and may have difficulties with childcare or the child's school schedule (not everyone lives at home so the grandparents can tend the grandkids)
--- older and returning students also have difficulties balancing the needs of their job, their children, and their own class time (just because my offical time off is at five, doesn't mean I can leave instantly at five, and even if I do, the drive across town is an hour long and the class may start at six)
--- more disabled students are in college. No one would deliberately bar a student with a physical disability from entering the classroom late if it's because of the disability, but locking out a student with a "hidden" diability seems to be "justified" by too many professors, even when they are informed of it by the campus disabilities office. That "hidden" disability can be equally problematic and responsible for the late behavior (chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, psychological and mood disorders, sleeping disorders, and medication side effects can all effect a students ability to arrive "on time")
--- often the class a student needs is only offered once every semester or once a year and always at a time that is difficult to get to on time because of schedule conflicts (at school at work, etc.)
Most classes are lecture format, not an organized activity in which the students are dependant on one another to be present and on time (sports, music, theater, etc).
Most students are not especially bothered by another student entering late and those that are (I suspect) have "issues" of their own (attention problems, psychological or personality problems, etc).
Most teachers are not so bothered by a student entering late that it truely interrupts their lecture and those that are (I suspect) probably have some of those "issues" too.
There are teachers out there who are chronically late themselves for similar reasons (schedule conflicts, illnesses, disorders, disabilities, childcare problems, etc) and it is no viewed as a discipline problem by the school. The students have been informed, are asked to wait those few minutes, and they do eventually get accustomed to it. So long as the professor shows up and the lecture happens, his being late is not preventing anyone from learning.
As for students, so long as the tardy student enters the classroom as quietly as possible and is willing to learn the missed material on his own, why punish him for it? He isn't really preventing any other student from learning the material, and there are all kinds of other "distractions" in a classroom than a tardy student (should we demand that all cars, emergency vehicles, airplanes, thunderstorms, etc be rescheduled for the convenience of the classroom? ).
-- posted by DietPepper
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