It has to stop. The staring at me with the narrowed, slit eyes. The whispering to the kid next to you. The hint of a pout on your lips.
I know you are a senior. I know you already know everything. I know, you did an internship. Off campus! And therefore you know not only anything I could try to teach, but the secrets of the REAL WORLD. How very, very awesome you are.
But, good grief, Suze, you are giving me a complex. It's to the point that I am more worried about the length of your lip pooch on a given day than about the other wonderful people who paid for this class. And that's not ok.
- Dr. Amelia
Glad to know I'm not alone in finding that mugging nonsense distracting.
ReplyDeleteOh, dear. I had two recently who chatted animatedly through the beginning of class (despite my glares), then left early, together. The attendance sheet in that class is now going around toward the end of the hour (and I'm reconsidering whether/how I could truly learn names for this over-large supposedly discussion-style class, because, as a friend who teaches really large lectures at another school points out, knowing their names does help keep them in line).
ReplyDeleteI had a duo who constantly talked while I was talking (in a small class of under 20 students, you'd think they might care that I'd notice, but no...). I did finally pull them aside and told them in no uncertain terms that I would have them removed from my class if they didn't behave, which simply meant shutting up while other people are talking. Their behavior improved though their attitudes did not. Several years later, one of the students came to me for a recommendation(!!). Oh boy! I told hir to come in to my office. Dressed nicely s/he sat down. And I gave hir a piece of my mind for 20 minutes, about how distracting it was and how it interfered with the learning of others (one can hope), etc. So, I asked, what has changed? Hir answer: I grew up. Well s/he did. I have hir a recommendation (somewhat guarded, not effusive), and s/he has gone on and done well. And hopefully behaved.
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