Respect forgotten concept in college classrooms

by BROOKE BAKER, staff writer

 

Texting, sleeping, drinking, and social networking seem to be very popular in the average college classroom.

These habits are extremely disrespectful to the professor giving the lecture and can be summed up as bad classroom manners, or disrespecting your elders, or any other name. But the point is, it is rude.

Personally, when I pay hard-earned money to attend a class, I most likely am not going to take the class lightly. I understand occasionally missing class and catching up on assignments later. But when I am in class, my professor has my full attention.

“I sit by two girls in class who write notes to each other, talking about other people in the class. They just gossip the entire time. It’s annoying,” a fellow student told me recently.

People being disruptive in class can take away from the learning experience of others. While this may sound odd coming from a college student who loves to have a good time, it is true. Also, these behaviors show your professor that you do not take him or her seriously, and that you do not respect them.

If your mother or father taught a class at South Plains College one day, or even was a guest speaker for a class, wouldn’t you want students to pay attention and show them the utmost respect? The answer should be yes, unless you and your parents have extenuating circumstances.

Most of us were taught to respect our elders, so why does this rule not seem to apply in the college setting? Students who role their eyes at professors, take naps in class and stay busy with their cell phone/computer/I-pod during lectures should think twice about how this makes your professor feel. He or she attended school (just as we are), and most likely didn’t love attending class, or hearing boring lectures. But he or she did it and graduated.

Then they made the decision to teach college courses, despite how they felt about some of the professors they had. They put their time, effort and money into their profession, and they chose to be here helping us learn.

Those students who disrupt class, have no respect for their elders, or have bad classroom manners, are spitting in the faces of their professors saying, “I don’t respect you, and I don’t care.” I guarantee most of us would not use that line with our parents.

The next time you are in class, pay attention to how you treat your professor. If you are content with not showing respect, or not having any manners toward your professor, that is your decision. However, if you do express gratitude and respect for your professors, it may improve your overall grade.